Fat loss help and keeping muscle?
Zehster
Posts: 4 Member
So I've been taking in about 1500 calories a day. About 100 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs, and maybe 20 grams of fat. Lost some body fat according to my Fitbit scale. Lost the fat very slowly and lost only 1 percent. Just so you know I weigh 188 lbs. and at 20.7 percent body fat.
The workout consists of 1 mile in the morning and 1.25 in the afternoon. Then weight lifting before bed every day.
Should I up my calories to 1800 or 2000, get my protein up to 180, and give that a go? To see if I can lose the fat faster?
The workout consists of 1 mile in the morning and 1.25 in the afternoon. Then weight lifting before bed every day.
Should I up my calories to 1800 or 2000, get my protein up to 180, and give that a go? To see if I can lose the fat faster?
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Replies
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Exercise and good protein levels help you maintain your muscle mass, so you're already fine there. You'll also want to eat back a portion of your exercise calories to properly fuel your workouts. You probably don't want to be losing any faster than 1lb/week, so I'd eat to whatever MFP gives you to lose that and a portion of the exercise calories. Then just give it time, log accurately, weigh everything.3
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Faster should not be a priority. You are very likely already going too fast since 1500 is the minimum for men and you are not eating back exercise calories.
How long have you been attempting to lose weight? Scales are not really good indicators of body fat so how much total weight have you lost excluding any fast losses that may have happened in the first week?4 -
So I've been taking in about 1500 calories a day. About 100 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs, and maybe 20 grams of fat. Lost some body fat according to my Fitbit scale. Lost the fat very slowly and lost only 1 percent. Just so you know I weigh 188 lbs. and at 20.7 percent body fat.
The workout consists of 1 mile in the morning and 1.25 in the afternoon. Then weight lifting before bed every day.
Should I up my calories to 1800 or 2000, get my protein up to 180, and give that a go? To see if I can lose the fat faster?
Instead of long jogs try HIIT (high intensity interval training) you’ll see the fat come off and still maintain muscle
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Why are your calories so low? How much have you been losing per week since you have been eating 1500?3
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Something is off with your calculations. 100g of protein, 80 carbs and 20 fat is not 1500 calories. 20g of fat is too little and you are going to have issues with your joints and hormones after a while. 100g of protein is too little considering your stated stats - especially during a diet/cut if you expect to save muscle mass. Lifting relatively heavy, even with reduced volume or frequency (or both) is how you keep muscle. High volume low weight lifting isn’t ideal. HIIT and cardio aren’t needed and can be counterproductive if they interfere with your lifting.9
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I've been working out for 4 weeks now and staying at 188 lbs. With 20 to 21 percent body fat given to me by the scale. I haven't lost any weight. So I think I've been eating too little and my body has gone into starvation mode.3
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I've been working out for 4 weeks now and staying at 188 lbs. With 20 to 21 percent body fat given to me by the scale. I haven't lost any weight. So I think I've been eating too little and my body has gone into starvation mode.
It hasn't, because starvation mode isn't a thing. If you haven't lost any weight odds are it's either due to inaccurate logging or your losses are currently so small they're being masked by water weight.7 -
Can't really mess up on logging. It's automatically added in the Fitbit app.2
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Are you weighing all your food with a food scale? (I'm not familiar with how fitbits work)1
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Can't really mess up on logging. It's automatically added in the Fitbit app.
Unless your fitbit is attached to a device with a variety of sensors that you pass all your food through before it goes down your gullet, there's no way it's "automatically" logging your food and calories. You have to provide information, and that information needs to be accurate, and for most people, eye-balling and relying on package labels will not provide accurate information.
Are you using a food scale to weigh your food?2 -
Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.2
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Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
Keeping data is the way to go. You need to be consistent about your calories-in estimate, and that is most easily attained by weighing solid food and measuring liquids in oz/ml. Go for a month, then assess and make adjustments accordingly.2 -
Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
I'd scale back a bit on protein for more fat. Fat is essential for hormonal functions. Im roughly your size and i think 50-70g of fat would be a bit more optimal.3 -
Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
You still haven't answered how you are logging your food though. If you are not losing weight eating 1500 calories it is most likely that your logging is inaccurate and you are actually eating a considerable amount more than this.5 -
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STRAYDAWG6 wrote: »So I've been taking in about 1500 calories a day. About 100 grams of protein and 80 grams of carbs, and maybe 20 grams of fat. Lost some body fat according to my Fitbit scale. Lost the fat very slowly and lost only 1 percent. Just so you know I weigh 188 lbs. and at 20.7 percent body fat.
The workout consists of 1 mile in the morning and 1.25 in the afternoon. Then weight lifting before bed every day.
Should I up my calories to 1800 or 2000, get my protein up to 180, and give that a go? To see if I can lose the fat faster?
Instead of long jogs try HIIT (high intensity interval training) you’ll see the fat come off and still maintain muscle
Cardio and HIIT will not burn fat for the OP if he is not in a calorie deficit.4 -
Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
Increasing the amount of calories will not help with weight loss. Calories in < calories out. I suspect, as others on this thread, that you are eating more than you think. Or...you are retaining some water due to a new exercise regimen. How long have you been lifting? Is it a new thing?
The amount of protein you eat and the amount of exercise do not matter for weight loss, only being in a calorie deficit. (Protein is great for maintaining muscle and I find it helps me stay fuller for longer but none of that matters if I am eating more than I am burning.)1 -
jseams1234 wrote: »Something is off with your calculations. 100g of protein, 80 carbs and 20 fat is not 1500 calories. 20g of fat is too little and you are going to have issues with your joints and hormones after a while. 100g of protein is too little considering your stated stats - especially during a diet/cut if you expect to save muscle mass. Lifting relatively heavy, even with reduced volume or frequency (or both) is how you keep muscle. High volume low weight lifting isn’t ideal. HIIT and cardio aren’t needed and can be counterproductive if they interfere with your lifting.
All of this^^
I'm glad you raised protein, OP. Raise your fat to at least 50, as well, for the reasons listed up thread.
And use a food scale. Check out this thread.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10634517/you-dont-use-a-food-scale/p1
And this one. @sidesteel is a fantastic personal trainer and this thread is pure gold. Long read, but worth it.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1
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Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
I'd scale back a bit on protein for more fat. Fat is essential for hormonal functions. Im roughly your size and i think 50-70g would be a bit more optimal.
@psuLemon
Maybe it's just me, but I think your post is confusing. You mean the fat should be 50-70g, and not the protein, correct?0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »Yes and sorry. I thought you were talking about my weight. Long day. I recently upped my protein to 185 and went to 1800 calories. To at least see what effect it has.
I'd scale back a bit on protein for more fat. Fat is essential for hormonal functions. Im roughly your size and i think 50-70g would be a bit more optimal.
@psuLemon
Maybe it's just me, but I think your post is confusing. You mean the fat should be 50-70g, and not the protein, correct?
Yes. Decrease protein a bit for more fat. At 20g, the likelihood of getting all essential fatty acids will be difficult.0
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