Extreme Caloric Deficit
rtlenton
Posts: 41 Member
I think I know the answer to my own question, but I'd like to hear from people with experience with what I consider extreme caloric deficit over the long-term, i.e. 4 - 6 months.
I have been losing steadily for a few months now, which is great, although it has only been .5 to 1 pound a week. Generally, I had a caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day from watching what I ate and going to the gym. However, a few weeks ago I significantly increased my Fitbit step count to 12,000 - 14,000 steps a day (never less than 12,000). I have been eating the same and still go to the gym. According to Fitbit and Myfitnesspal, that has put me in a caloric deficit of between 900 and 1,100 calories a day, or about 1,600 calories eaten vs 2,600 calories burned on an average day.
So, the questions are, is this an extreme caloric deficit for a male, 5'6" and 175 pounds? Do you know of any possible harms from being down a 1,000 calories a day for months at a time? Can the body go into "starvation mode" and stop shedding fat if the caloric intake goes too low?
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this.
Oh, for the record, I feel pretty good and I'm never light-headed or overly hungry, yet.
Cheers,
I have been losing steadily for a few months now, which is great, although it has only been .5 to 1 pound a week. Generally, I had a caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day from watching what I ate and going to the gym. However, a few weeks ago I significantly increased my Fitbit step count to 12,000 - 14,000 steps a day (never less than 12,000). I have been eating the same and still go to the gym. According to Fitbit and Myfitnesspal, that has put me in a caloric deficit of between 900 and 1,100 calories a day, or about 1,600 calories eaten vs 2,600 calories burned on an average day.
So, the questions are, is this an extreme caloric deficit for a male, 5'6" and 175 pounds? Do you know of any possible harms from being down a 1,000 calories a day for months at a time? Can the body go into "starvation mode" and stop shedding fat if the caloric intake goes too low?
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this.
Oh, for the record, I feel pretty good and I'm never light-headed or overly hungry, yet.
Cheers,
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Replies
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You don't have a lot to lose, thus weightloss will be slow. MFP is set up such that you should eat back your exercise calories, and with your current stats 0.5-1lbs per week are probably good. What happens if you lose too fast? You lose muscle. Every kind of muscle as the human body can only burn so much fat per given time. Rebuilding muscle takes a lot of time and effort and just doesn't pop up again once you stop dieting. This is also bad for bone heath. eating too little means you will get too little nutrition, also bad. You'll stress out your body. It doesn't mean you'll stop losing weight but think higher cortisol, less mentally and physically fit for work and family, poor sleep. And eventually you might just binge and give up your weightloss efforts completely. Slow and steady is always better than a crash diet.8
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There is no such thing as starvation mode so don’t worry about that. You probably want to up your calories but not as much as you think, start with 200 a day extra and review the results in a month and adjust accordingly.
If 1,600 is a deficit of 500 then you maintenance was 2,100 however all these equation are going to be dependent on counting and tracking accuracy.3 -
tomcustombuilder wrote: »There is no such thing as starvation mode so don’t worry about that.
Good to know. I may be pushing it. I'll see how this week goes and how I feel at the gym, then think about increasing slowing to something more sustainable.
Thanks!
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Extreme calorie restriction is bad/hard! Don't do it! Because of tummy aches I ate extremely low calories a few months. My hair fell out. My skin cracked like an alligator and sloughed off. No energy. Etc. Don't do it!
Oh, and I lost a lot of weight. No starvation mode.6 -
I think I know the answer to my own question, but I'd like to hear from people with experience with what I consider extreme caloric deficit over the long-term, i.e. 4 - 6 months.
I have been losing steadily for a few months now, which is great, although it has only been .5 to 1 pound a week. Generally, I had a caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day from watching what I ate and going to the gym. However, a few weeks ago I significantly increased my Fitbit step count to 12,000 - 14,000 steps a day (never less than 12,000). I have been eating the same and still go to the gym. According to Fitbit and Myfitnesspal, that has put me in a caloric deficit of between 900 and 1,100 calories a day, or about 1,600 calories eaten vs 2,600 calories burned on an average day.
So, the questions are, is this an extreme caloric deficit for a male, 5'6" and 175 pounds? Do you know of any possible harms from being down a 1,000 calories a day for months at a time? Can the body go into "starvation mode" and stop shedding fat if the caloric intake goes too low?
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this.
Oh, for the record, I feel pretty good and I'm never light-headed or overly hungry, yet.
Cheers,
While an extreme calorie deficit is indeed bad for a number of reasons, including risk of hair loss and gall stones, it's not clear to me that you are in fact in one.
Discounting the first week of your increased exercise regimen, how many pounds a week are you now losing?
Getting a good new average weekly loss is somewhat complicated due to:
1. New exercise causing water retention, which can mask fat loss on the scale, hence me suggesting you throw out the results of the first week
3. It's only been a few weeks.
Sometimes when people increase intentional exercise, they decrease NEAT. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy expended for everything we do that does not include sleeping, eating, or exercise; and ranges from simple things like standing and fidgeting to moving about. I certainly do after snowshoeing!
Here's a good guide for your target weekly weight loss:
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I think I know the answer to my own question, but I'd like to hear from people with experience with what I consider extreme caloric deficit over the long-term, i.e. 4 - 6 months.
I have been losing steadily for a few months now, which is great, although it has only been .5 to 1 pound a week. Generally, I had a caloric deficit of about 500 calories a day from watching what I ate and going to the gym. However, a few weeks ago I significantly increased my Fitbit step count to 12,000 - 14,000 steps a day (never less than 12,000). I have been eating the same and still go to the gym. According to Fitbit and Myfitnesspal, that has put me in a caloric deficit of between 900 and 1,100 calories a day, or about 1,600 calories eaten vs 2,600 calories burned on an average day.
So, the questions are, is this an extreme caloric deficit for a male, 5'6" and 175 pounds? Do you know of any possible harms from being down a 1,000 calories a day for months at a time? Can the body go into "starvation mode" and stop shedding fat if the caloric intake goes too low?
I would love to hear people's thoughts on this.
Oh, for the record, I feel pretty good and I'm never light-headed or overly hungry, yet.
Cheers,
Starvation mode isn’t what you think it is so don’t worry about that. And I wouldn’t say this is extreme exactly, but also not recommended so you can maintain a consistent loss. When people use a larger deficit they typically give up or binge.
How much have you lost in a few weeks? Posting your exact weigh-ins will help us see the trend.2 -
Corina1143 wrote: »No energy. Etc. Don't do it!
Thanks for the insight. This week, I'm working 100 per day back into the diet. If I continue to lose, I will add another 100, which will bring to a more reasonable 1800 per day.
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How much have you lost in a few weeks? Posting your exact weigh-ins will help us see the trend. [/quote]
I was losing .5 to 1 pound while at about a 500 calorie deficit. The first week at about a 1000 calorie deficit, I still only lost .8, then 2.1, and last week 1.7. It has helped my losses, as least in the last two weeks, but as you point out. I'm not sure if it is sustainable. I must admit, I have not been that hungry, but two night's ago I came closer to binging than I have in the last two months.
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Here's a good guide for your target weekly weight loss:
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Week 2 and 3 were 2.1 and 1.7, so too much according to your chart because my "goal weight" is 160 and I'm 175 as of my last weigh-in.
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How much have you lost in a few weeks? Posting your exact weigh-ins will help us see the trend. [/quote]
I was losing .5 to 1 pound while at about a 500 calorie deficit. The first week at about a 1000 calorie deficit, I still only lost .8, then 2.1, and last week 1.7. It has helped my losses, as least in the last two weeks, but as you point out. I'm not sure if it is sustainable. I must admit, I have not been that hungry, but two night's ago I came closer to binging than I have in the last two months.
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Using those numbers for the last 3 weeks, and knowing you came close to binging, I think it’s smart to increase your calories. You’re averaging about 1.5 lbs a week which is an aggressive loss. I would shoot for the 1 lb if you’re comfortable, but tbh .5 lbs a week is much easier to do consistently, and it teaches you a whole lot about what to expect for maintenance. You have under 50 lbs to lose, consider slowing it down to the .5-1 lb and you’ll be much happier and healthier. Good luck!1 -
How much have you lost in a few weeks? Posting your exact weigh-ins will help us see the trend.
I was losing .5 to 1 pound while at about a 500 calorie deficit. The first week at about a 1000 calorie deficit, I still only lost .8, then 2.1, and last week 1.7. It has helped my losses, as least in the last two weeks, but as you point out. I'm not sure if it is sustainable. I must admit, I have not been that hungry, but two night's ago I came closer to binging than I have in the last two months.
Only a multi week average can give you a fair indication of your fat loss. For men or menopausal women, 4-6 weeks. For adult women before menopause, whole menstrual cycle(s) to compare body weight at the same relative point in two or more different cycles. Any shorter time period is distorted by shifts in water retention and digestive contents that will eventually end up as waste. (Occasionally it can even take a longer time period than that to sort out fat loss trend.)
So, having established that: Once you know your multi-week average weight loss rate, that's the very best measure of your deficit. If some so-called calculator or even fitness tracker says you're in a 500 calorie average daily deficit, and you're averaging half a pound a week loss . . . guess what, you're in a 250 calorie average daily deficit. If your average loss rate is two pounds a week, your average deficit is 1000 calories.
The calculators and devices estimate your deficit. Your body measures it, effectively, with the read-out being fat loss rate. (Fat loss rate is a more subtle thing than weight loss rate, because of the water/waste weight. The scale measures weight. The multi-week average of scale results gives us a decent estimate of fat loss.)
If you're close to binging, I agree with others that you might consider eating more. Sometimes a slow loss rate that's sustainable will get us to goal weight in less calendar time (and with more retained muscle!) than a supposedly-fast rate that triggers overeating episodes, breaks in the action, or giving up altogether.
You're not dramatically over-fat at BMI 28.8. I'd advise not trying to lose weight dramatically fast.
BMI 28.8 (by technical definition) an overweight BMI, not obese. It isn't extremely unusual for men to be at a healthy weight somewhere above the so-called normal BMI range. Without knowing more about your build, there's no way to be sure, but it seems likely that your weight isn't an acute health threat in itself. (Fast loss can increase health risks.)
"Starvation mode" won't stop fat loss. Eating too little can slow loss down (vs. expected), mostly through fatigue (moving less, including some subtle things like hair growth, immune system vitality, core body temperature, etc.). If eating too little stopped fat loss, no one would starve to death, or they'd be fat when it happened. Sadly, many people worldwide do starve, and they're not fat at death.
If you want to learn more about what "starvation mode" is or isn't, this is a good read:
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1
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At this time fat loss would be best done with upping protein. Calories and building muscle you may even gain some weight but in muscle. I don't feel like you have much to drop in the way of fat if you pump for iron and build that muscle.2
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@bradygamble0223
The original poster may or may not be interested in gaining muscle. His BMI is clearly in the overweight category, and he's asking whether or not his approach is possibly unhealthy. It is an insightful question, and he got several good replies about how to move forward.
The best advice, and I'll repeat it because it's good, is to keep track of actual loss versus expected and make sure that they are in sync. With about 15 pounds to lose to get to a healthy BMI, between a half pound and a pound a week, on average, is actually a good safe rate of loss for now.
The original poster doesn't say what he's doing in the gym. It might be strength training, and for sure that's a great thing to add to a routine. It can help with maintaining muscle during fat loss, especially if there's adequate protein. That said, we don't know how much protein he is already eating, so increasing it may or may not be useful.
I think @rtlenton is asking good questions and is open to incorporating the responses into a healthy approach to losing the last bit of weight. I think @rtlenton is going to succeed, and I hope we get to read about it!
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@bradygamble0223
The original poster may or may not be interested in gaining muscle. His BMI is clearly in the overweight category, and he's asking whether or not his approach is possibly unhealthy. It is an insightful question, and he got several good replies about how to move forward.
The best advice, and I'll repeat it because it's good, is to keep track of actual loss versus expected and make sure that they are in sync. With about 15 pounds to lose to get to a healthy BMI, between a half pound and a pound a week, on average, is actually a good safe rate of loss for now.
The original poster doesn't say what he's doing in the gym. It might be strength training, and for sure that's a great thing to add to a routine. It can help with maintaining muscle during fat loss, especially if there's adequate protein. That said, we don't know how much protein he is already eating, so increasing it may or may not be useful.
I think @rtlenton is asking good questions and is open to incorporating the responses into a healthy approach to losing the last bit of weight. I think @rtlenton is going to succeed, and I hope we get to read about it!
Actually gaining muscle is a good idea for virtually everyone.3 -
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Only a multi week average can give you a fair indication of your fat loss. [/quote]
That makes a lot of sense. I do track my weight loss weekly and will continue to do so. Given what you and others have said, I'll try to be a little more patient and see what the next 4 weeks brings. Given my temptation to binge last week, I have upped my caloric intake from about 1,600 to between 1,800 and 1,900. I also seem to be walking more and according to MyFitnessPal and Fitbit, I'm still in an approximate 750 calorie deficit; however, the urge to binge has subsided over the last couple of days.
As for my workout, it is generally a full body workout with push ups, chin ups, and pull ups, followed by machines and free weights, and finishing with a few sets for the core. However, I have missed several workouts over the last week as my shoulder has been very sore, so I'm trying to let it heal.
A little more on my body type. 57 years-old, male, 5'6". Currently, my stomach is fairly flat compared to most guys I see, but I have substantial love handles and lower back fat. Getting rid of this fat is my motivation. I don't think I look too bad, but I don't see getting rid of the love handles and back fat without getting down into the 160s.
Again, thanks for the feedback. It is certainly refocusing me.
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@bradygamble0223
The original poster may or may not be interested in gaining muscle.
You are correct. I have a fairly large chest and arms for my height and I'm not that concerned with gaining muscle or size, although I'd like to try and keep the definition I currently have. As mentioned above, my stomach is as flat or flatter than many guys I see, but I have substantial love handles and lower back fat, so fat loss is still my focus. In many ways, I am fine with my current weight and body, so the 160lbs goal is all about that damn fat on my sides and lower back.
Thanks for your feedback. I really appreciate it.
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Most fitness apps of any type exaggerate the amount of calories you burn, so you may not be at the deficit you think. That being said, if you don't want to lose muscle, losing 1 and 1/2 to 2 lb a week may cause more muscle loss than losing half a pound a week. So adding some more calories by eating some more protein - you could eat light yogurt, which is low calorie and full of protein, cottage cheese, or a protein shake, for example - could help you keep your muscle while keeping you from losing too fast.2
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zebasschick wrote: »Most fitness apps of any type exaggerate the amount of calories you burn, so you may not be at the deficit you think. That being said, if you don't want to lose muscle, losing 1 and 1/2 to 2 lb a week may cause more muscle loss than losing half a pound a week. So adding some more calories by eating some more protein - you could eat light yogurt, which is low calorie and full of protein, cottage cheese, or a protein shake, for example - could help you keep your muscle while keeping you from losing too fast.
Cheers!0 -
If you aren't far from lean, you should be wary of a large deficit resulting in muscle loss along wirh the fat. Especially at 57 years old.
A shoulder injury may not prevent leg day.1 -
Retroguy2000 wrote: »
A shoulder injury may not prevent leg day.
I'm certainly not lean, but that is the goal. I've always wanted more of a Brad Pitt in Snatch type physic as opposed to a bodybuilder type.
Funny you should mention legs; I've just added them into my routine.
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Yeah 1600 is perfectly fine imo especially considering it's pretty much a given people overestimate the amount of energy the body uses over the course of a day. The worry comes when body fat is fairly low or single digit and with a diet that might be sub optimal, more specifically, not enough highly bioavailable protein and with little to no exercise, more precisely, a lack of anything weight bearing. Basically if your getting enough quality protein and weight training you should be good to go. I would personally allow for periodic maintenance to allow the body to take a break from the stress and every 8 to 12 weeks seems to be a number most people in the know seem to like.
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Retroguy2000 wrote: »
A shoulder injury may not prevent leg day.
I'm certainly not lean, but that is the goal. I've always wanted more of a Brad Pitt in Snatch type physic as opposed to a bodybuilder type.
Funny you should mention legs; I've just added them into my routine.
Good! Female viewpoint here, but years ago I was convinced I was pear shaped and destined to be that way (just like every other female in my family that is overweight), however, after adding consistent lifting to my workouts I quickly discovered that was not the case. A good, full body weight routine may balance out your shape, too.1 -
neanderthin wrote: »
Cheers, I appreciate the feedback. I'll come back here in a few more weeks and provide an update. Again, I really appreciate all the advice from you and others.
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Retroguy2000 wrote: »
A shoulder injury may not prevent leg day.
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Good point. I hadn't been doing legs that much as they are already pretty well defined because of all my walking. I've been over 10,000 a day for about 3 months and I've been over 12,000 per day for the last few weeks.
I've also heard doing legs is a great way to prevent lower back injury, so lots of positives.
Cheers!
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