Thanks J/K! Very helpful. Wish I could say I’m there about scale weight but tizzy here I come if the scale goes up. I’m workin on that and trying to find NSV!

@JBanx256 - Can you see my profile and diary entries? @krichly - I had my techy niece reset everything!

Do you think a 1k -1.1k calorie daily goal is too low (health wise) if only a few weeks/couple of months?

@CeeBeeSlim

TBH I don't like the idea...because what is going to happen when you increase your cals back up from poverty levels (and to be clear - "poverty macros" isn't supposed to be disparaging; it's a fairly common phrase in the BB/physique world. Absolutely not intended to be offensive, but apologies to anyone who found it so)?

100 g protein = 400 cal
40 g fat* = 360 cal
So that right there alone puts you at a bare minimum of 760, and that's with literally ZERO carbs. Where you're gonna be at there is going to be severely lacking in micronutrients, energy, etc. Is it "do-able" in the short term? Well, yeah. But I can also punch myself in the face; just because I CAN, doesn't mean it's a good idea, right? I mean you are gonna be MISERABLE. I have actually been down ~1100 calories when in contest prep, toward the veeeeeeeeeery end when bodyfat levels were well below essential levels. Lemme tell ya - you wake up hungry in the morning, you go to bed hungry at night, sleep disturbances, etc. I was never satisfied, not even close, after a meal - I'd be slightly LESS hungry, but still ravenous. Constant bad mood (my husband can verify). 0/10 would not recommend. IT SUCKED. And of course, the inevitable - when I was able to eat what I wanted again, BIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGE.

So, yeah, you CAN do it, but PLEASE don't do it beyond VERY short-term, and even then, make sure you have a plan of when/how to come out of it - don't be surprised if you rebound.

My $0.02 would be go into a maintenance phase, even if only briefly (maybe up to 4 weeks? If you have regular periods, this would also let you get a good graphing of weight fluctuations at that time), to kinda feel out the macros and maybe juggle your fats & carbs a bit to see what is most satiating etc for you. This will also give you some time to increase your activity level without feeling the punishment of calorie restriction at the same time? And THEN, after all that has stabilized and you've got a good base, start trimming some cals? But once again, just my $0.02 - your body to do with as you wish & will support you however I can whichever route you choose!

*using the 0.3gr/lb BW bare minimum for fats, yes I rounded your weight up to 130 and the gr up to 40 from 39 just to use round numbers

@JBanx256 - I defriended you because you rounded my weight up to 130! I’m 129.467!!!!!!! 🥹🤣🤣.

I hear you both. Not gonna do it. I will find a way to increase my activity. I’ve done the big calorie decrease, lose the weight, get cocky, start eating normally and gain.

Last year April I was 112 - doing just that. Became skinny mushy fat but tiny.

Now I’m doing this progressive overload ST program and just need to get my head out of scale weight - I figured I could be 112 and firm but nope I’m 129 and look pretty good and feel great and strong - just with a tad more lower belly pudge than

I’d like. And just flustered that the scale is literally staying at 128.6-129.8 for MONTHS. I use happy scale

@CeeBeeSlim can you share this ST program with me? I'd love to see how you're going about it. Sounds like it's really working for you! How many weeks are you in? As soon as I'm home and back to a routine (and my gym!) I'm gettin down to business.

And I still can't see your profile or pic (in fact it bugs up MFP for in weird ways if i try to open your page) but I saw your diary today. Nice one!

Did I dream someone sent me a message about triscuits? I saw it - walked away - came back - and it was gone?! 🤣

This is just too weird! I had a number of friends who left MFP because they hated using it.

@K8richly - love this method! I've never thought to look at my "why am I hungry?" and figure out a reasonable solution.

If I'm hungry, I check my macros - if I'm low on fats, then I eat something like 1/2 an avocado. If I'm low on carbs, I eat toast. Low on protein, eat some chicken. It's amazing how tracking my macros lets me deal with cravings in an effective low-cal way.

@JBanx256 - sent you a friend request. Hoping you have a sec to answer my question above.

SherryRueter wrote: »

Do I use carbs to fill in the rest?

This is kind of a BASE guideline for carb intake. It's not the gospel or anything, but it's a decent guideline (obviously if someone is doing keto, this is out the window, but for "my way" (which I know way more about than keto anyway), this is what I'd consider a starting point, and then being able to adjust from there):

CeeBeeSlim wrote: »

@JBanx256 - Hi! World Cup game stressing me so I’m distracting myself! 😬. Need your expertise. Because I was inconsistent with my food tracking and more than likely eating more - I think I unintentionally bulked during my 12 week ST program which I just finished yesterday.

How would you go about a cut (10lbs) and deload week?

Thanks.

World Cup is a worthy distraction!

Just to clarify - are you saying you gained 10 lbs in the 12 weeks? Or looking to lose 10 lbs, which includes a bit you may have added in the past 12 weeks?

Besides eating more (sheer quantity of food), did what you eat change at all? More carbs, more sodium etc? I'm thinking a lot of the snacky stuff most people munch on during games, not to mention if you venture into a sports bar, are going to cause you to retain some extra water. It may be worth waiting a couple days, while drinking plenty of water, and back "on plan," to see if some of that newfound weight doesn't take care of itself? And then you'll have a more accurate picture of how much you actually put on (I've literally "gained" 7+ pounds overnight thanks to going balls-out and stuffing myself on a bunch of super carby, salty foods).

As far as deloads go:
-Cutting, I go up to roughly maintenance calories. Give your body (and mind) a break. A lot of people, myself included, will often end up with a LOWER scale weight during the deload, due to cortisol dropping etc.
-Bulking, generally go to maintenance as well, since you're simply not going to be producing as much stimulus etc, the likliehood of any surplus ending up as fat is higher. Don't get me wrong, if you're in a gaining phase, you're gonna add some fat regardless (usually 1:1 is about as good as it's gonna get, unless of course you're a total newb and gettin' those newbie gains).
-I'm currently in maintenance, so when I deload I reduce calories just a bit, nothing crazy, so that I'm closer to...well, maintenance, in the sense of accounting for the fact that I'm not training as long/hard.