Is my deficit too large?

Hello all,

I've just recently started using CC and am loving it, what a great tool.

As I'm learning about the different methods and means for dieting I seem to be on a pretty good path in terms of nutrition and exercise, but I am concerned about one specific area, my calorie deficit.  

A little about me, I am a 6'1" male, currently 194 lbs, 37 years old w/ a BMI of 25.6.  My goal is 185 which I would like to hit sometime this summer.  I do an hour of cardio a day 5 times per week which typically burns ~ 850 calories total (according to the machines) and lift every other day for about a 1/2 hour prior to the cardio.  According to CC my daily burn ranges from 2900-3100.

For a couple of days I found myself, thanks to CC, consuming less than 1000 calories!  Obviously starvation mode, no wonder I almost fell off the treadmill...  I have since bumped up my intake to about 1800-2000 calories, but don't really feel like going much higher than that, mostly because I feel full, or end up eating later in the evening to build up the calorie count.  Alas, I am floating in the 900-1000 deficit range.

I have read several posts about a 500-700 deficit and am concerned that even though I am trying to stay out of the starvation zone I am still doing myself more harm than good w/ respect to getting my weight down quickly and safely.

Any advice?

I usually have a daily deficit of 500-700 calories and I'm averaging a loss of about 1.4 pounds per week.  I'm hungry enough as it is- I can't imagine having 1000+ calorie deficit!

I believe the 500-700 deficit is a ballpark recommendation based on what a person of average size and activity should do.  It would only make sense for a reasonable deficit to increase with the amount burned.

To lose 9 lbs in 6 weeks I'd be pushing a 1000 deficit, all created by exercise and not by limiting eating below 2000 calories per day.  At your BMR it's hard to get the body to give up the weight.

I would aim for 1 pound per week.  So about a 500 calorie per day deficit.  

Reasons:  You don't have much to lose and what you *want* I'm pretty sure is to lose fat.  You have to do that slowly and work hard to maintain your muscle mass.  If you lose too quickly you will rob yourself of the muscle. 

If you are having trouble getting enough calories, ditch some of the low-fat or reduced calorie foods and eat some real food.  Get some protein in with cheese and milk (especially after a workout), or have peanut butter or drizzle a little healthy olive oil over your veggies. 

And remember the time of day that you eat is unimportant.  Calories consumed at night are no different than those consumed any other time of day.  The only caveat being if they disturb your sleep, or if you can't eat then without losing control.  So have a snack before bed.  It's okay! 

Not sure if it helps, but I was in a similar situation to you, except I started off heavier.  41 years old, 6' tall, about 207 pounds.  Don't remember what that was as a BMI, but my Mii on the Wii was chubby. :)  When I started, I set short term goals, but I didn't have a long term goal in mind (i.e. I want to get under 200 pounds before we go to California in 1 month), because I didn't know what kind of body I had under that padding.

I kind of crashed my diet as well... Went from eating whatever I like to eating close to 1200 calories per day.  That was back in March.  I did that for a couple of months, and since then, I've been bumping it up.  I think I'm around 1800 calories per day now.  I think in the first 2 months, I lost around 10 pounds per month.  With the more recent changes, I'm at around 5 pounds per month, which is ok with me.

At the same time in March (actually, a week before I changed my eating patterns), I started swimming 3 times per week, working up to 50 minutes.  Since the weather got nicer, I've been adding cycling and walking/jogging into the mix, and doing strength training as well.  Overall, I've seriously bumped up my calorie burn rate, as well as dropping my calorie intake.

However, I'm nearing my goal weight of 175 pounds (BMI of around 24), and I'm not sure how I'm going to stop.  It feels strange, but I'm going to have to work to get an extra 500 calories per day, I think.  Similar to you, I feel comfortably un-hungry most of the time; I eat my 5 meals a day usually, and that's enough for me.  I could fit in one more snack in the evening, but I try not to eat after 8pm, and I'm usually not too hungry.  I could just bump up my protein intake at each meal (go from a 5oz portion to 6), which would help.  Or make sure I take my afternoon snack, and make it more substantial than it has been.  I have been adding some of my treats back into my diet, like a square of good chocolate (10g) a day, and an occasional beer (the only thing I was drinking was water and milk for almost 3 months).

Anyway, I guess my point was that a 1000 calorie per day works out to 7000 calories per week = 2 pounds, which is the limit of "safe" losing that I've seen.  So you may not want to go much below that.  I think I've done a little more than that (like 2.25 pounds per week), and personally, I haven't felt many side effects (no dizziness, etc).  The worst I would blame on the low calorie count is a general tiredness, but that could also be from getting up at 5am to go to the gym/pool every day of the week. :)  I've also managed to avoid most of the colds/flus going through the household (2 school age kids), which is a new experience for me.

So good luck with your loss, and post back!  BTW, to me, my final weight goal has been determined by my waist size, not my weight or BMI.  I'm back to my 32" jeans size that I wore when I first met my wife, 19 years ago.  I've still got a bit of "love handleage" along my waist, but not much anywhere else.  I can see ribs!  To be honest, I'd be thrilled to actually start putting on some more weight, as long as it's muscle instead of fat and I can still fit in my new jeans. :)  I've gone through 4 pants sizes (38, 36, 34, and now 32), and 2 belts in the last 4 months, and it's getting expensive!

Clint

Jonathan,

I am older than you (48), A little bit shorter than you (5'10"), Do pretty much the same exercises as you do 5 times a week but only for 45 minutes, am eating between 1800 and 2000 calories per day, and losing just under 2 pounds per week on average (I have gone from 216 to 200 since late April).

Since you are younger and burning more calories daily than me you may want to bump up your intake just a tad to the 700 to 800 deficit range. I think in that range you could still lose close to 2 pounds a week.

Hey. I saw someone post this site and it's helped me to make sense of all the info. I take info from it and CC to help with my calories...http://www.phord.com/cc/