What is the biggest deficit you can tolerate more or less comfortably?

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  • goldthistime
    goldthistime Posts: 3,214 Member
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    daniip_la wrote: »
    At my weight, I should be able to hit a 1500kcal/day deficit to lose 3lbs/week, but that would have me netting around 1500kcal/day, and I can't imagine eating that little with how active I usually am. In fact, I start to feel dizzy and got headaches if I manage to hit those numbers for a few days in a row.

    So instead I just aim for 2lbs/week. Haven't been doing too well the last few weeks after the loss of a family member, but I'm trying to get back to it.

    My condolences. I'm hoping that you see this as a "normal" response and that when you start feeling better mentally you can get back on track. Perhaps even at a slower pace initially, just to up your chances of staying on track.

  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
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    goldthistime wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Currently, 400 is the most aggressive I can get really. If I go beyond it's hard for me to hit fat goals and it screws with my hormones. But considering I haven't been able to keep a deficit at ALL lately, not sure I can answer this honestly at the moment :)

    Yeah been there done that lol. The only time I can manage to keep a deficit is when I get depressed and lose my appetite.

    I'm depressed at the moment and it's still not working. Sometimes during the day I won't really eat because of nerves but I always end up gorging on ice cream and wine later...

    Sorry to read this. You've been inspirational to many. Hope you find your way back to happy soon.

    Thank you :) Me too
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I started at 1200, went to 1300, then 1400 then 1500. I recalculated using TDEE-20% and am at 1700 cals (TDEE calcs put me just over 1800 to lose). I'm doing really well on 1700. I struggled at the lower cals. I'm having no struggle now and I'm losing consistently. I got stuck going up and down a pound for 6 weeks. So for me, a deficit of 500 cals a day is the most I can do and not feel like I'm being deprived/starving.
  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,426 Member
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    250-500 daily calorie deficit. I did not experiment with anything higher than 500. I haven't had problems functioning or problems with cravings.
    My start BMI was 30.7. My BMI today is 26.9. My goal BMI is somewhere between 21.5-24.9.
  • Vanilla_Lattes
    Vanilla_Lattes Posts: 251 Member
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    I prefer around -250/day
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    My BMI is around 1800-1900 calories...I lost weight at the rate of about 1 Lb per week eating around 2200 - 2300 calories...that's about as low as I ever wanted to go largely because fitness performance greatly deteriorates for me beyond about a 500 calorie deficit and in general, I'm just slower and move less with a more aggressive deficit which kind of defeats the purpose of what I was doing.

    You will actually find that a lot with people who run steep deficits...they have no energy so everything just slows down and they move less and end up not really having the deficit they thought because they're TDEE is tanking with so few calories.

    I've been on injured reserve here for about 8 weeks + and have put on a few Lbs...I figure once I get back on the bike next week I can pretty easily get into about a 250 calorie deficit with little ill effect on performance and recovery...and it's just about 5 Lbs, so no biggie.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    For the longest time, it was the 500 calorie/1 lb a week deficit. The closer I get to my goal, though, the harder it's been to keep that up. Lately even 250 has been a struggle.
  • Sheks41191
    Sheks41191 Posts: 90 Member
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    Currently trucking along at an 850 calorie deficit per day.

    TDEE is 2250, I'm eating 1500 a day.

    I still have just over 50 pounds to lose though.
  • kandeye
    kandeye Posts: 216 Member
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    I still have 80-100lbs to lose so 1000 cal/day deficit is working, but only when I add exercise. I've found eating between 1800-2000 calories a day is where I'm most energetic, my mood is happiest, I hit my macros and I don't feel restricted.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited September 2016
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    I can manage around a 300-400 cal deficit. Any larger, and I get hangry even though I hit my fats, protein and fiber goals and have adequate carbs.
    arditarose wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Currently, 400 is the most aggressive I can get really. If I go beyond it's hard for me to hit fat goals and it screws with my hormones. But considering I haven't been able to keep a deficit at ALL lately, not sure I can answer this honestly at the moment :)

    Yeah been there done that lol. The only time I can manage to keep a deficit is when I get depressed and lose my appetite.

    I'm depressed at the moment and it's still not working. Sometimes during the day I won't really eat because of nerves but I always end up gorging on ice cream and wine later...

    This..is me at the moment, too. Sometimes even maintenance can be rough during times like this. It seems logging itself sometimes can trigger anxiety.

  • afatpersonwholikesfood
    afatpersonwholikesfood Posts: 577 Member
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    2200 is a comfortable amount of calories for me, but that's only my goal (deficit of 500) on my two most active days per week. :/ I struggle more now with just being straight up hangry than I did before. I still stick to a 500 calorie deficit on the other days of the week the majority of the time, but it feels like I'm playing some high-stakes game of food Tetris and ideal meal/snack timing each day (the goal of which is to go to bed with a happy stomach and never an empty one).
  • Cheerios0392
    Cheerios0392 Posts: 46 Member
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    My BMI is around 23 and i can tolerate 750 def quite easily. I tend to eat low in the week then binge on the weekends. I function far better at maintenance calories or a small deficit maybe 250 a day. The optimum for me is about 500 a day.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    I've been tracking my net calories since August 15 and my cumulative calorie deficit to this morning is 36113, so do the math. There's only been one uncomfortable day in that span. I've had 8 days with 3-digit net calories, usually on weekends with yard work.
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
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    For me, it's not so much about the deficit as the number of calories. I'm averaging 1700 cals/day with high days and low days (but never lower than 1300 and not usually higher than 2000). That's a calculated deficit of 500 cals/day on average.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    I had a starting BMI of 33, now 22. The leaner I get the smaller the deficit. I'm at -250 right now and don't think I could handle any less calories. So, you're point is accurate in my view.
  • teetertatertango
    teetertatertango Posts: 229 Member
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    If I am more active, it is SO much easier for me to run a deficit. If I am sedentary, sometimes even maintenance feels intolerably low.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I like a 125-250 cal deficit best.. any more and I am le grumpy. But I usually don't have much to lose and prefer it slow and steady.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
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    250 was the only deficit I could do. Anything more, and I would end up bingeing and make a non existent deficit.
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
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    cerise_noir wrote: »
    I can manage around a 300-400 cal deficit. Any larger, and I get hangry even though I hit my fats, protein and fiber goals and have adequate carbs.
    arditarose wrote: »
    Francl27 wrote: »
    arditarose wrote: »
    Currently, 400 is the most aggressive I can get really. If I go beyond it's hard for me to hit fat goals and it screws with my hormones. But considering I haven't been able to keep a deficit at ALL lately, not sure I can answer this honestly at the moment :)

    Yeah been there done that lol. The only time I can manage to keep a deficit is when I get depressed and lose my appetite.

    I'm depressed at the moment and it's still not working. Sometimes during the day I won't really eat because of nerves but I always end up gorging on ice cream and wine later...

    This..is me at the moment, too. Sometimes even maintenance can be rough during times like this. It seems logging itself sometimes can trigger anxiety.
    Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I don't necessarily feel like eating much during these times but when I do lately, it's been cookies, cake, ice cream, etc..maintaining has been rough lately.
  • KrazyKrissyy
    KrazyKrissyy Posts: 322 Member
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    For me it depends on my diet. Example- On a low carb diet, I can barely manage a 250 deficit (never again lol). I'm always hungry. But on a high carb diet, I can manage a 700 deficit easily. I recently set my MFP goal to maintenance but have been noticing deficits from all the exercise I do (I never eat my exercise calories back because exercise wipes out my appetite).

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