Little deficit or big deficit?
MsBecca22
Posts: 44 Member
So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
0
Replies
-
I try to keep my net calories at 1200 or better (daily goal 1520). I'm no expert, but from lurking in other threads, the general wisdom is that below 1200, you won't get all your nutrients. If it's just one day, and you aren't hungry, that's no big deal. (I've got two days in the year where I don't eat anything for 25 hours for religious reasons!). But if you're asking whether having 900 calories net on a regular basis is okay, it's not. You'll set yourself up for health issues, you'll probably be hungry most of the time, it's really not sustainable.
Check out some other threads. Often, the people who are posting about how they've 'fallen off the wagon' or 'just had a major binge' are also people who ate significantly below calorie recommendations.3 -
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
3 -
I'm a proponent of eat all the calories. I still lose a lot of weight eating back every single exercise calorie. Try it and if you don't lose as expected after a few weeks eat less.4
-
I don't track exercise on mfp. I have an avg 2050 calories. But my maintenance is 2450. Workouts (heavy lifting 60-70 mins followed by 30 minutes cardio at 135 heart rate.) Probably take me near 3000 calories for maintenance. So I been doing close to 1000 calorie deficit almost every day for 55 days. Feeling more energetic then ever. Lost 17 lbs of Fat and put on 2 lbs of muscle. Been losing 1.5 to 2lbs per week. Only day I felt tired was one day that I helped my friend move. It was after leg day and I was hauling furniture from 11am to 2am the next day with less food than normal. I think you'll be fine and drop a few extra oz. Here and there.0
-
I never eat back all my exercise calories but I do eat back half to two thirds. Just because I know how easy it is to over estimate calories burned and underestimate calories consumed. This is my buffer zone.1
-
I don't track exercise on mfp. I have an avg 2050 calories. But my maintenance is 2450. Workouts (heavy lifting 60-70 mins followed by 30 minutes cardio at 135 heart rate.) Probably take me near 3000 calories for maintenance. So I been doing close to 1000 calorie deficit almost every day for 55 days. Feeling more energetic then ever. Lost 17 lbs of Fat and put on 2 lbs of muscle. Been losing 1.5 to 2lbs per week. Only day I felt tired was one day that I helped my friend move. It was after leg day and I was hauling furniture from 11am to 2am the next day with less food than normal. I think you'll be fine and drop a few extra oz. Here and there.
There is NO WAY I could do a 1000 calorie deficit lol. I like my cardio intense and effective. Get in, get the heart rate up (150-160) and get out. I guess I just don't know if I should eat my calories mostly back or not0 -
jennybearlv wrote: »I'm a proponent of eat all the calories. I still lose a lot of weight eating back every single exercise calorie. Try it and if you don't lose as expected after a few weeks eat less.
I might give this a try! Thank you!
0 -
Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout?
Yes.
Yes ... having a bigger deficit will help you lose faster.
Yes ... it may mean that you're not fuelling enough.
This is something you may need to experiment with and it may vary from day to day. The general recommendation is to eat about half your exercise calories back but that's not a hard and fast rule. One day you might be fine eating 30% back ... the next day you might want to go with 70%.
5 -
JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.3 -
JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.2 -
If you are a lean individual, I would caution you against the large deficit. It will make it harder to get adequate nutrition and could increase the chances of muscle loss.3
-
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.3 -
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.
When you use a chest HRM that measures with electrodes versus a wrist HRM that measures with light - it's pretty accurate. My rest during HIIT is only about 35-40 seconds. I don't get why burning 700 calories would be difficult for a male - if anything I thought they would burn more0 -
Taking a very simple view, weight is lost in the kitchen but health is gained via exercise.
This seems logical as caloric expenditure through exercise (IMHO) is relatively small in the grand scheme of things.
In fact, most people end up burning more calories just "staying alive" (resting metabolic rate) and exercise help tip the balance slightly towards fat burning.
So, you are already doing good things!
Focusing on your diet and doing exercise.
I realize that I've not answered the main part of your question and that's because it is hard to say if you are not fueling enough for your exercise... Are you doing cardio again... how many times are you doing cardio. How do you "feel" when you perform the workouts on the subsequent days.
Keeping track of your progress, diet and the feedback from your body will keep you on track.
Good luck in crushing whatever goals you have.
3 -
Listen to your body - if you're having trouble making it through your workouts, up your calories.
A word of caution about exercise calories - in my experience, the exercise calorie calculators tend to significantly overestimate burn rates.2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.
When you use a chest HRM that measures with electrodes versus a wrist HRM that measures with light - it's pretty accurate. My rest during HIIT is only about 35-40 seconds. I don't get why burning 700 calories would be difficult for a male - if anything I thought they would burn more
You should research accuracy of HRM and non-steady state cardio. I will leave it at that to not distract from the rest of your question.2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.
When you use a chest HRM that measures with electrodes versus a wrist HRM that measures with light - it's pretty accurate. My rest during HIIT is only about 35-40 seconds. I don't get why burning 700 calories would be difficult for a male - if anything I thought they would burn more
It's not so much that the HRM won't give you an accurate measurement of HR. It's that it is very difficult in non-steady state situations to translate that information into an accurate calorie burn.
Anecdotally, I use a chest strap HRM for strength training, interval training, and mountain bike, and I take the number it spouts out and eat it back. I've lost and maintained successfully this way, but if I started to gain again, this is the very first variable I would question.
0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.
When you use a chest HRM that measures with electrodes versus a wrist HRM that measures with light - it's pretty accurate. My rest during HIIT is only about 35-40 seconds. I don't get why burning 700 calories would be difficult for a male - if anything I thought they would burn more
Written by somebody who is very knowledgeable about the subject:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
In regards to HIIT - if you're doing it for an hour straight, it's either not HIIT or you're an elite/world class cardio athlete. It may be aerobic interval training, but it's not HIIT.4 -
In regards to HIIT - if you're doing it for an hour straight, it's either not HIIT or you're an elite/world class cardio athlete. It may be aerobic interval training, but it's not HIIT.
Exactly
0 -
OP, out of curiosity, are you doing insanity or something like that?1
-
If it's a one off and you're not hungry than go with the extra deficit. If you're doing it regularly or you feel extra hungry than eat a little bit extra to compensate keeping in mind that most exercise burns are over estimated0
-
(s)he who eats the most and still loses weight, wins!1
-
trigden1991 wrote: »JohnnyPenso wrote: »
A bigger deficit means faster weight loss, yes. Whether it's sustainable in the long run is another question. Whether it's enough fuel for the next day's workout you should be able to answer yourself when you do the next day's workout. If you are going to a net intake of 900 calories/day that's not recommended. I'd also suggest starting to lift some weights in addition to the cardio. With a calorie deficit and intense cardio you are going to lose significant muscle mass along with fat, and lifting weights is the best way to help mitigate that.So my eating is usually pretty good - I rarely go over my calories for the day (1600). I doubled up on my cardio and burned 700 calories today giving me an even bigger deficit then my normal 300. Will having a bigger deficit of calories make me lose faster or am I not fueling enough for the next days workout? I just need general advice in this spectrum - thanks!
Oh heavens. I didn't even realize I'd only be netting 900 freakin calories.
Just adding that your 700 calorie burn is likely to be greatly overestimated.
When I do plyometrics for an hour - or HIIT for an hour - it's pretty accurate. I wear a heart rate monitor across my chest. And like I said earlier - my heart rate average for those is between 140-150 with peaks of 173. But thanks for your concern.
HRM are not accurate for HIIT or pretty much anything outside of steady state cardio. Even for a male, that would be a rather high number to achieve.
When you use a chest HRM that measures with electrodes versus a wrist HRM that measures with light - it's pretty accurate. My rest during HIIT is only about 35-40 seconds. I don't get why burning 700 calories would be difficult for a male - if anything I thought they would burn more
It's really not. I advise researching this more before making claims.0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.8K Introduce Yourself
- 43.9K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 176K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.6K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153.1K Motivation and Support
- 8.1K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.4K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 15 News and Announcements
- 1.2K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions