This might be a dumb question but just to clarify
FitnessFreak1821
Posts: 242 Member
If I consume 500 calories less and when I workout let's say I burn 200-300 calories. Does that make me 700-800 calories deficient?
There for if I do that every day it equals out to be 5600 calories deficient for the whole week? So about 1.5 pound loss?
There for if I do that every day it equals out to be 5600 calories deficient for the whole week? So about 1.5 pound loss?
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Replies
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Sounds like you got it! That’s about how I lost 60 pounds.
Good luck!6 -
SOUNDS RIGHT TO ME!2
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Ok thanks:) I'm trying to lose weight but build muscle. I have increased protein but does anyone know how much deficit I should be max in this situation?
I already lost 35 pounds. I went from 174 to 139/140 pounds at the moment and I want to lose 9 more pounds max but I need to gain my butt back. I had a peach bum but its flat now which i do not like. Also want a tighter tummy
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Just trying to figure out how much I should be deficient in consuming and burning through exercise while building muscle. Thanks again!0
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That's how calories work, yes. What you may want to consider, though, is that at your weight this kind of deficit may interfere with your goals. If you're looking to maintain as much muscle as possible a 250 calorie deficit is more fitting with only 9 lbs to lose.14
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amusedmonkey wrote: »That's how calories work, yes. What you may want to consider, though, is that at your weight this kind of deficit may interfere with your goals. If you're looking to maintain as much muscle as possible a 250 calorie deficit is more fitting with only 9 lbs to lose.
This is exactly what I was going to say. The slower the loss, the less muscle you will also lose. You should also be doing a progressive resistance training program if you aren't already.4 -
There isn't a chart that says this much deficit for this much muscle loss, everybody responds differently. But always with the same general patterns. That's a big deficit you have going, and it will stand in the way of your goal to build muscle. Stand in the way doesn't mean it's impossible, but it's hard to build muscle at all, and a calorie deficit makes it harder, a big one even more so. Exercising legit factors in to your calorie deficit.
To build muscle, you should be lifting heavy things, and making them heavier every week or two. It sounds like Strong Curves might be worth looking into.
Good luck! Sounds like you've already had a lot of success. 🙂2 -
Just to clarify, did you mean 500 under what MFP gives you? If you have it set to lose, that already includes a deficit, depending on how much you set as your weight loss goals.3
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XoXashleighXoX wrote: »If I consume 500 calories less and when I workout let's say I burn 200-300 calories. Does that make me 700-800 calories deficient?
There for if I do that every day it equals out to be 5600 calories deficient for the whole week? So about 1.5 pound loss?
It depends. 500 calories less than what? 500 calories less than your NEAT? Then yes. 500 calories less than something else? Then no.
ETA: If you mean 500 calories less than the goal MFP gave you when you said you wanted to lose X number of pounds per week, your deficit is already built into that goal. If you mean 500 calories less than what you've been eating, we'd need to know if you have been maintaining your weight and whether you were already exercising.2 -
Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.13
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.3 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
It's so easy to lose muscles, yet so difficult to build new ones. And where, in a massive deficit should the body take the energy from to actually build them?4 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
It's so easy to lose muscles, yet so difficult to build new ones. And where, in a massive deficit should the body take the energy from to actually build them?
I said nothing about building muscle. (Though that is possible for some in a deficit) I was talking about preserving existing muscle when in a deficit.3 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
With resistance training one will lose less muscle. But too high a deficit will result in lean mass loss.5 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
I think we assume that most people do not run proper training programs and get adequate protein consistently. So keeping at a smaller deficit closer to goal is a good idea generally.
However, someone with more experience and who is running progressive programming, getting enough protein..so usually a deliberate cutting cycle coming from a massing phase, generally I would say loss no more than 1% of bodyweight per week which is typically more than 0.5lb per week. However these are very specific cases mostly for bodybuilding or experienced lifters.
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cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
With resistance training one will lose less muscle. But too high a deficit will result in lean mass loss.
This.
I ate plenty of protein and did resistance training when losing my last 20 lbs, at about a 1.5 lb/week rate on average until the very end. I wouldn't have thought I lost muscle as it's not necessarily visible and I continued to gain strength, but based on my DEXA (which I had at 145 and again at 125), I did. Was it more than I otherwise would have lost? Who knows, but losing more slowly likely would have been more sensible and reduced the risk.5 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
I think we assume that most people do not run proper training programs and get adequate protein consistently. So keeping at a smaller deficit closer to goal is a good idea generally.
However, someone with more experience and who is running progressive programming, getting enough protein..so usually a deliberate cutting cycle coming from a massing phase, generally I would say loss no more than 1% of bodyweight per week which is typically more than 0.5lb per week. However these are very specific cases mostly for bodybuilding or experienced lifters.
You're forgetting the fact that this kind of deficit is being maintained from a previous 30+ lb loss. It's not a brief aggressive short period after a bulk.1 -
amusedmonkey wrote: »cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
I think we assume that most people do not run proper training programs and get adequate protein consistently. So keeping at a smaller deficit closer to goal is a good idea generally.
However, someone with more experience and who is running progressive programming, getting enough protein..so usually a deliberate cutting cycle coming from a massing phase, generally I would say loss no more than 1% of bodyweight per week which is typically more than 0.5lb per week. However these are very specific cases mostly for bodybuilding or experienced lifters.
You're forgetting the fact that this kind of deficit is being maintained from a previous 30+ lb loss. It's not a brief aggressive short period after a bulk.
I am in agreement that any aggressive deficit is not recommended since OP is not a bodybuilder coming off a massing phase. Sorry that was not clear2 -
cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »cupcakesandproteinshakes wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Running a 700-800 cal deficit with only 9 lbs to lose is a pretty surefire way to lose muscle.
Doesn’t that depend on if OP is doing resistance training and what their protein intake is?
I know it is often said that one should not aim for a loss if more than half a pound a week for the last few pounds but honestly I do f think I’ve lost much/ any muscle with a 500 cal daily deficit over a 6 week period of dieting.
It's so easy to lose muscles, yet so difficult to build new ones. And where, in a massive deficit should the body take the energy from to actually build them?
I said nothing about building muscle. (Though that is possible for some in a deficit) I was talking about preserving existing muscle when in a deficit.
Kind of. You wrote that eating enough protein and doing resistance training will counteract muscle loss, despite the big deficit.1 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Ok thanks:) I'm trying to lose weight but build muscle. I have increased protein but does anyone know how much deficit I should be max in this situation?
I already lost 35 pounds. I went from 174 to 139/140 pounds at the moment and I want to lose 9 more pounds max but I need to gain my butt back. I had a peach bum but its flat now which i do not like. Also want a tighter tummyXoXashleighXoX wrote: »Just trying to figure out how much I should be deficient in consuming and burning through exercise while building muscle. Thanks again!
So what I read from those who know here, it's really hard to actually build muscle while in a deficit. Especially a large deficit like you have. You would weight lift while in a deficit to keep the muscle you already have. Then, what people do is follow a bulk/cut cycle which means you eat at maintenance or slightly above (I think I've heard like 250 cal) and follow a progressive lifting program like Strong Curves. You will gain muscle AND a bit of fat while doing this. You try to build a bit of muscle and then you do a cut (deficit) while lifting still so that you can drop the small amount of fat you gained. Rinse and repeat and each round makes you leaner.
Although just so you have realistic expectations, if you are female, and doing everything right (the lifting, the nutrition) you can probably gain 1 lb of muscle MAX per MONTH. I think most people dont realize that when they are getting started. smile:2 -
Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.2
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XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.
So as many pointed out - that's really an unreasonable deficit at this point with only 9 lbs to go to healthy weight.
Your body will fight whatever positives you are trying to cause and will adapt.
250 deficit.
And that means logging a best estimate of exercise and NOT making the deficit bigger - so you eat the new goal that MFP gives you.
Forget building muscle in any meaningful way - you just need to keep what you've got so that when the last amounts of fat are gone - something will be there to see.
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XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.
So as many pointed out - that's really an unreasonable deficit at this point with only 9 lbs to go to healthy weight.
Your body will fight whatever positives you are trying to cause and will adapt.
250 deficit.
And that means logging a best estimate of exercise and NOT making the deficit bigger - so you eat the new goal that MFP gives you.
Forget building muscle in any meaningful way - you just need to keep what you've got so that when the last amounts of fat are gone - something will be there to see.
All of this ^^. Your deficit is too aggressive for the amount you have left to lose and your goal of muscle preservation/ development.3 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.
So as many pointed out - that's really an unreasonable deficit at this point with only 9 lbs to go to healthy weight.
Your body will fight whatever positives you are trying to cause and will adapt.
250 deficit.
And that means logging a best estimate of exercise and NOT making the deficit bigger - so you eat the new goal that MFP gives you.
Forget building muscle in any meaningful way - you just need to keep what you've got so that when the last amounts of fat are gone - something will be there to see.
Ok so I should be basically eating calories to maintain and just work out to burn 250 calories to lose and build muscle at the same time.0 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.
So as many pointed out - that's really an unreasonable deficit at this point with only 9 lbs to go to healthy weight.
Your body will fight whatever positives you are trying to cause and will adapt.
250 deficit.
And that means logging a best estimate of exercise and NOT making the deficit bigger - so you eat the new goal that MFP gives you.
Forget building muscle in any meaningful way - you just need to keep what you've got so that when the last amounts of fat are gone - something will be there to see.
Ok so I should be basically eating calories to maintain and just work out to burn 250 calories to lose and build muscle at the same time.
Understand that you will build very little muscle in a deficit. The lower your deficit the more muscle preservation along with the slim possibility of gaining a little.
Losing fat and building muscle work a little at odds with each other. If I'm you, my hope in to preserve as much muscle as is possible and lose the rest of the fat. Then, eat in an equally small surplus and work on gaining muscle.1 -
Are you running a progressive lifting program? You haven't really addressed this piece except to say you add weights every other day. What exactly is "adding weights"?3
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XoXashleighXoX wrote: »XoXashleighXoX wrote: »Yes , I know I need 2000 cals to maintain but I still want to lose weight so went down to 1500. I work out 30-45 mins three to four times a week adding weights every other day so like twice a week. Other two days are cardio. Trying to eat more protein as well. Thanks everyone for clarifying. I was never really into working out so this is all new really so I'm trying to learn all this.
So as many pointed out - that's really an unreasonable deficit at this point with only 9 lbs to go to healthy weight.
Your body will fight whatever positives you are trying to cause and will adapt.
250 deficit.
And that means logging a best estimate of exercise and NOT making the deficit bigger - so you eat the new goal that MFP gives you.
Forget building muscle in any meaningful way - you just need to keep what you've got so that when the last amounts of fat are gone - something will be there to see.
Ok so I should be basically eating calories to maintain and just work out to burn 250 calories to lose and build muscle at the same time.
Just to straighten out a concept that a couple of your comments make it sound like is perhaps misunderstood.
Eating to maintain means you would eat what you burn in total - you would have to in order to maintain weight.
Therefore working out for 250 calories would have you eating more and there would be no eating less than you burn to lose fat, no weight loss.
So your mentioned method would not have you eating at maintenance, but you would be in a deficit by whatever amount your exercise caused.
Which for lifting could be the reasonable 250 abouts, but with cardio could be much more into unreasonable level - but your stated days can make that more reasonable.
The other part of this though - your base eating goal is based on YOUR selection of non-exercise daily activity level.
Obviously that is not a set level and each day varies, but did you select the correct level?
If you went low - you are causing more deficit there by underestimating what you actually do.
Did you select Sedentary because of a desk job?
Do you have kids, pets, or household that has you busy with duties evenings and weekends when not exercising?
Then not Sedentary, but Lightly-Active.2 -
DancingMoosie wrote: »Are you running a progressive lifting program? You haven't really addressed this piece except to say you add weights every other day. What exactly is "adding weights"?
Hiit cardio/strength work outs with 5 pound weights in each hand. What do you mean by progressive lifting program? Like increasing the weight every week that I use ? I don't really have all kinds of weights (just 5 pounds and I think I might have 10 pound weights) or a gym membership. I hate going to the gym lol I thought the lighter the weight the better for toning? Is it still possible with light weights?3 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »DancingMoosie wrote: »Are you running a progressive lifting program? You haven't really addressed this piece except to say you add weights every other day. What exactly is "adding weights"?
Hiit cardio/strength work outs with 5 pound weights in each hand. What do you mean by progressive lifting program? Like increasing the weight every week that I use ? I don't really have all kinds of weights (just 5 pounds and I think I might have 10 pound weights) or a gym membership. I hate going to the gym lol I thought the lighter the weight the better for toning? Is it still possible with light weights?
This will then be the limiting factor to building muscle. You have to lift progressively(more weight/reps) in order to build. There are programs that use dumbbells or body weight progressively, but it's not as ideal as heavier weights. Check out the thread "which lifting program is best for you"5 -
XoXashleighXoX wrote: »DancingMoosie wrote: »Are you running a progressive lifting program? You haven't really addressed this piece except to say you add weights every other day. What exactly is "adding weights"?
Hiit cardio/strength work outs with 5 pound weights in each hand. What do you mean by progressive lifting program? Like increasing the weight every week that I use ? I don't really have all kinds of weights (just 5 pounds and I think I might have 10 pound weights) or a gym membership. I hate going to the gym lol I thought the lighter the weight the better for toning? Is it still possible with light weights?
To help clear up a couple of things for you, HIIT/ cardio don't really build muscle beyond a little conditioning at the beginning. 5 and 10 lb weight may help slightly at the beginning of training in an untrained subject but you are going to max out pretty quickly.
I'm not sure what you mean by lighter weights are "better for toning". There is no real definition of "toning". For some that means getting leaner. For some that means working muscles so that they are more visible. That would also require losing body fat for the muscles to be revealed. Lighter weights are not "better" for either scenario. At a certain point, all you would do is gain some muscle endurance but not any muscle mass.
To gain muscle mass, you need a program where you can progressively increase weights and work somewhere in a 6 to 12 rep range almost to failure. If you can do, say, 8 or 10 reps without strain, add another set. When you can do 12 reps with a certain weight without straining, time to add more weight.
You keep saying you want to gain muscle. To do that you have to train in a way that stimulated hypertrophy (muscle growth). You will max out very quickly with 5 and 10 b weights without having gained much muscle. And you are in a slight deficit. So, that is a factor that is not in your favor.
At a certain point, you will max out with either light weight or body weight training (something you should explore) and will need greater resistance to build muscle and need to be eating in such a way that facilitates that. Eg: maintenance at a minimum and preferably a slight surplus. Gaining muscle takes focus with the right nutrition, meaning adequate protein and calories, and the appropriate training program.
You will not accomplish much of that with your current approach. At a certain point, you will either need to get over your resistance to the gym or buy equipment to get the necessary resistance at home. Gaining muscle is just not that easy.
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