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Caloric deficit question

Having no luck with my diet, despite decent caloric deficit.

bielcv
bielcv g Gabriel Veras
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Hi. First, here's my stats:

  1. Age: 27.
  2. Height: 1,83 m ( 6 feet ).
  3. Weight: 87.5 kg ( 193 lb).
  4. Bodyfat %: I believe is around 17%.
  5. Goal: Lose fat. I'd like to reach 10% bodyfat.
  6. Been exercising for: Roughly 8 years on and off. 
  7. Daily calories: roughly 1500 ~ 1700.
  8. Daily macros(garms): roughly 130 carbs, 45 fats, 160 protein.
  9. Injuries or restrictions: extreme overpronated feet (flat feet), but doesn't affect me too much.

Ok, so I started the year at 92 kg ( 204 lb ), and have been doing strength training + cardio ( 300 ~ 500 kcal ) five days a week. I work from home, so the only activity aside from trips downstairs to grab coffe or have lunch is the gym. I did an online search for a few calculators to help me figure out what my BMR is, and they vary a bit, but I averaged 1900 kcal. I was planning on losing fat at about 0.5 to 1 kg (1 ~ 2 lb) a week, so I set my caloric deficit at 20% of my BMR, which is 380 kcal. So I'd have to eat about 1520 kcal a day. Plus I get to eat the 300 kcal I burn in cardio. 

On weekends (saturday and sunday) I don't do any exercise, and allow myself to eat up to 1900 kcal. And this was working up till the third week.

From week 3 to 4, I lost no weight, and I'm now in the middle of week 5, and still haven't seen the scale drop.

I haven't lost any strength so far. In fact, I think a few of my lifts have gotten a bit stronger.

What am I doing wrong? By my calculations I'm still in a pretty decent caloric deficit, so how come my weight won't budge?

I'm confused, cause I see people eating way more carbs and protein, and doing less cardio than me, and their weight drops consistently week by week.

Am I overdoing the deficit? Do I need to cut even more calories? Help please!

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: bielcv

Hi. First, here's my stats:

  1. Age: 27.
  2. Height: 1,83 m ( 6 feet ).
  3. Weight: 87.5 kg ( 193 lb).
  4. Bodyfat %: I believe is around 17%.
  5. Goal: Lose fat. I'd like to reach 10% bodyfat.
  6. Been exercising for: Roughly 8 years on and off. 
  7. Daily calories: roughly 1500 ~ 1700.
  8. Daily macros(garms): roughly 130 carbs, 45 fats, 160 protein.
  9. Injuries or restrictions: extreme overpronated feet (flat feet), but doesn't affect me too much.

Ok, so I started the year at 92 kg ( 204 lb ), and have been doing strength training + cardio ( 300 ~ 500 kcal ) five days a week. I work from home, so the only activity aside from trips downstairs to grab coffe or have lunch is the gym. I did an online search for a few calculators to help me figure out what my BMR is, and they vary a bit, but I averaged 1900 kcal. I was planning on losing fat at about 0.5 to 1 kg (1 ~ 2 lb) a week, so I set my caloric deficit at 20% of my BMR, which is 380 kcal. So I'd have to eat about 1520 kcal a day. Plus I get to eat the 300 kcal I burn in cardio. 

On weekends (saturday and sunday) I don't do any exercise, and allow myself to eat up to 1900 kcal. And this was working up till the third week.

From week 3 to 4, I lost no weight, and I'm now in the middle of week 5, and still haven't seen the scale drop.

I haven't lost any strength so far. In fact, I think a few of my lifts have gotten a bit stronger.

What am I doing wrong? By my calculations I'm still in a pretty decent caloric deficit, so how come my weight won't budge?

I'm confused, cause I see people eating way more carbs and protein, and doing less cardio than me, and their weight drops consistently week by week.

Am I overdoing the deficit? Do I need to cut even more calories? Help please!

@bielcv I think you started you cut with too low of a deficit. You could be losing weight by eating more than 1500 calories per day. The more weight you have, the more calories your body burns generally. You should have started at well over 2000 calories per day.. possibly around 2500 a day or more.

 

I suggest to people to eat as much as you can while losing weight. That way you can always go lower without going so low that you get yourself into a negative state for losing weight.

 

I'm also not sure why you were eating more calories on the days you did nothing?

 

How many days do you do cardio? All 5 days that you train? Or just some of them?

 

I think you might need to start eating a bit more food to actually see the scale move. It might go up a little bit at first, but in the long run I think it will help you get rid of some more weight and fat.

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bielcv
bielcv g Gabriel Veras
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Thanks for replying! So quick, too!

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear on the amount of calories I'm consuming. Actually, I'm eating close to 1800 calories a day. Some days I have less, some I have more, but never over 1800 for the 5 days of the week that I train. I presume that this is still far too low, considering your 2000 ~ 2500 recommendation.

 

I'm a bit confused, do you think I may have slowed my metabolism by under-eating?

 

I thought that I had to calculate the calories I burn through BMR + what I burn through exercise, and eat a bit less than the sum of those two. If I burn 1900 by BMR + 300 in exercise, my total is 2200 kcal, so how can I lose weight by consuming 2500 (300 kcal more)?

 

  • Why I eat more calories on the days that I don't exercise:

 

Saturday and sunday are the only two days that I have to spend with my girlfriend and my family, so I don't really have time to make it to the gym. If this is an issue, though, I could try going saturday morning, at least.

 

Also, I end up eating more because I go out for dinner with the gf, and she likes pizza and hamburgers (not Mcdonalds or anything that caloric). If need be, I can cut this off.

 

  • How many days of cardio:

All 5 days that I work out.

 

 

My weight isn't dropping anyways, so I'll give it a shot. I'll bump up the calories to 2500 a day and report back with results.

 

One thing that just occured to me (phone app has a tab that I hadn't noticed) is the macro ratio.

Currently I am splitting up macros like so: 40% protein / 35% carb / 25% fat.

 

Some quick searching and I find that I probably have an "endomorph" bodytype. According to an article on bodybuilding.com, my ratios should be something around: 45% protein / 20% carb / 35% fat.

 

Should I try this setup?

 

Once again, thank you so much for your help!!

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: bielcv

Thanks for replying! So quick, too!

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear on the amount of calories I'm consuming. Actually, I'm eating close to 1800 calories a day. Some days I have less, some I have more, but never over 1800 for the 5 days of the week that I train. I presume that this is still far too low, considering your 2000 ~ 2500 recommendation.

 

I'm a bit confused, do you think I may have slowed my metabolism by under-eating?

 

I thought that I had to calculate the calories I burn through BMR + what I burn through exercise, and eat a bit less than the sum of those two. If I burn 1900 by BMR + 300 in exercise, my total is 2200 kcal, so how can I lose weight by consuming 2500 (300 kcal more)?

 

  • Why I eat more calories on the days that I don't exercise:

 

Saturday and sunday are the only two days that I have to spend with my girlfriend and my family, so I don't really have time to make it to the gym. If this is an issue, though, I could try going saturday morning, at least.

 

Also, I end up eating more because I go out for dinner with the gf, and she likes pizza and hamburgers (not Mcdonalds or anything that caloric). If need be, I can cut this off.

 

  • How many days of cardio:

All 5 days that I work out.

 

 

My weight isn't dropping anyways, so I'll give it a shot. I'll bump up the calories to 2500 a day and report back with results.

 

One thing that just occured to me (phone app has a tab that I hadn't noticed) is the macro ratio.

Currently I am splitting up macros like so: 40% protein / 35% carb / 25% fat.

 

Some quick searching and I find that I probably have an "endomorph" bodytype. According to an article on bodybuilding.com, my ratios should be something around: 45% protein / 20% carb / 35% fat.

 

Should I try this setup?

 

Once again, thank you so much for your help!!

I punched your details into the calculator on the @mealplanner page, and you're burning about 2400 calories in motion (on the days you workout). So I guess your goal should be more like 2000-2200 calories. However, that calculator is just an estimate remember. So aiming for 2200 calories as a starting point would have been OK. Now, it might not be, but it's worth a try to see what happens.

 

 

Eating more on the days you don't workout isn't really a great idea though. In a sense, you are in a deficit on the days you train, then you were almost going into a surplus by eating extra calories on your off days - while some would go to helping your muscles recover, a lot would just be stored. So if you are having 2200 calories on your workout days from now on, you could have 2000 on your rest days.

 

It's OK to go out and eat with your girlfriend and family and have a good time, but if you're serious about losing weight, then you still need to be tracking things and making som sacrifices to stay within your macros and calories.

 

You could try that percentage split for your macros. What would your macros be if you used those percentages?

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
bielcv
bielcv g Gabriel Veras
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Lose Fat Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Hello! I`m back to follow up on how thing are going. From the day I last posted till today, it's been 12 days.

 

I kept my calories at about 2100 ~ 2200 every day, and adjusted my macros to increase fat and reduce carbs as discussed.

 

I'm watching my calories on weekends to keep them at max 2100, and I'm doing a bit of swimming.

 

Wow!! I gotta tell ya, I never expected things to go so smoothly.

 

The first thing that I immediatly noticed was how much better my digestive system started working. I was eating a good amount of fiber (around 25 ~ 35 grams a day), and plenty of water, but I wasn't going to the bathroom as regularly as I used to before starting my diet. About three days after I upped my fats, I noticed a huge improvement.

 

Secondly, I feel that I have more energy, and my strength seems to be improving at the gym.

 

Thirdly, my weight is gradually dropping! I've come down from 87.5 kg to 86 kg (today the scale actually showed me 85.7, but the week isn't over for me to take the weekly average).

 

I won't mess with the calories untill I reach a plateau again. Thanks man. Who knew, I had to eat more!

 

My macros: 200 prot / 150 carbs / 90 fats. This is a rough outline, since I like to vary my meals, but this is generally what it'll look like.

muscular strength
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