1000 cal deficit 3 days a week?

So after months of trying to lose weight on CC I have determined that I simply am unable to rack up a deficit on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. My husband I love to eat out and cook in, food is a big part of our lives. We also love wine.

I am able to rack up a 1000 calorie deficit Monday - Wednesday and 500 on Thursday (no gym.) My assumption is that this will allow me to get my 3500 weekly deficit and lose a pound a week.

I'm 39, 5'9" and 145 pounds. I want to get to 136, what I weighed last summer. I work out hard 6 days a week with an hour of cardio plus weights, then I walk to work (50 minutes.)

Is this a good plan? Or is a 1000 cal deficit too much, even though they are mostly exercise cals? My burn meter is about 1700/day, I can up that to 2700 with exercise and walking. I eat 1500 - 1800 weekdays, 2700 or more on weekends.

Thanks! 

What do you do at the gym because I can't get that much of a deficit even if I try really really hard?  

In theory I think it sounds like a grand plan.  I too have trouble at weekends for the same reasons as you.  

Good luck with the plan.

Original Post by mujirushi:

So after months of trying to lose weight on CC I have determined that I simply am unable to rack up a deficit on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. My husband I love to eat out and cook in, food is a big part of our lives. We also love wine.

I am able to rack up a 1000 calorie deficit Monday - Wednesday and 500 on Thursday (no gym.) My assumption is that this will allow me to get my 3500 weekly deficit and lose a pound a week.

I'm 39, 5'9" and 145 pounds. I want to get to 136, what I weighed last summer. I work out hard 6 days a week with an hour of cardio plus weights, then I walk to work (50 minutes.)

Is this a good plan? Or is a 1000 cal deficit too much, even though they are mostly exercise cals? My burn meter is about 1700/day, I can up that to 2700 with exercise and walking. I eat 1500 - 1800 weekdays, 2700 or more on weekends.

Thanks! 

I think we may be CC twins!!!  Everything you have said matches me perfectly, except for I am 28 5'9" and since last week I am 153...I gained a few.  My goal is 143lbs which I have been trying to get too for the last 2 years and have had NO success!  I have a deficit Monday-Thursday of about 500-1000 calories and then on the weekends, I don't go over 3000....but I run HARD!  I am STUCK!  Maybe it will work for you, but I have had no luck with that strategy!  In theory though, it really SHOULD work!  Maybe I'm just weird....or maybe my deficit is higher than I think it is, I'm still trying to figure that one out!   

Thank you for your replies!

Little Jaymo: I do either 60 minutes hard cardio (elliptical set to 12 or steep incline treadmill walking) plus 30 - 45 weight training. Some days I do just cardio for 60 - 90 minutes, depending on whether or not I will walk to work.

K-Loo: Hey, we are twins! I have a very small frame so at 145 I am a size 10 pant and am just uncomfortable. So... even though you create a weekday deficit you still are not losing? Do you think it's because of your weekend maintenance/going over a little?

Does anybody know if this deficit only on weekdays can work, or if 1000 cal deficit/day is just too steep and too inconsistent?

I started last week and have lost *almost* a pound. I won't log it as a loss until I weigh in at 144 for three days. I am too familiar with random fluctuations to know if it's fat loss or not.

You could be working out too hard. Do you monitor your heart rate cause if you go over your target heart rate, then exercise backfires( I believe its called anaerobic exercise). I found that I lose more when I do small workouts, maybe 10-20 mins on elliptical, 10-15 on stationary bike and 10 mins weight lifting. I don't even do this every day now that it is nice outside I am doing more walking and playing with the kids. I also found that for me the 1000 deficit was too much. I dropped it down to 700 a day or sometimes even less and I am losing a pound a week. I have lost 23 pounds so far so I feel this is working well for me. Try changing things until you find what works for you. No one diet plan works for everyone the same.

As long as you are above BMR you shouldn't negatively impact metabolism; even if you are being under BMR a day doesn't do it, it takes 2 or three.  Anyway, I've found zig zagging has helped me avoid plateauing so I think it would be worth trying. 

A weight loss program is only going to work if it's something you can live with and if you recognize this is a pattern you are unlikely to change, best to go with it!

Thank you so much for your replies!

jensin4: My heart rate is 140 - 157, sustained for 60 - 90 minutes. Usually it's around 146 - 151, and that's only read from the flimsy HR monitors on the cardio machines at the gym. I have been exercising in this range for many years. I would like to go with 500 - 700 deficits like you but my weekends prevent me from being able to lose weight at that deficit level, sigh.

cckeepsakes: My BMR is around 1400 and I rarely eat below that. I may eat around 1300 on my day off from the gym (Thursday). I was hoping that the zig zagging would help me, too.

I am still concerned that 1000 cal deficits three days a week will push me into starvation mode -- even if nearly all of that deficit is from exercise, and even if I eat at maintenance (or more!) two days a week.

I would love more advice, if anybody has some to share, thanks!