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Timing Deficit Calories vs Maintenance Calories
Posted on 5/19/24 at 1:21 pm
Posted on 5/19/24 at 1:21 pm
This may seem like a dumb question, but I'm looking at long term success.
I'm using the muscle hacking > leansgains calculator and currently my deficit calories almost perfectly align with my goal weight maintenance calories. I'm losing weight at a decent pace (right about 2# per week).
I know if I increase the deficit to keep pace with my weight loss, I'll hit my goal quicker. At that point I'd need to increase my calories a decent amount (~22%) to get back to maintance.
I'm wondering if there would be more long term success in NOT adjusting my calories as my weight decreases and just letting the weight-loss curve flatten out naturally. Thoughts from others who may have gone thru the same changes or have seen success failures from either strategy.
I'm using the muscle hacking > leansgains calculator and currently my deficit calories almost perfectly align with my goal weight maintenance calories. I'm losing weight at a decent pace (right about 2# per week).
I know if I increase the deficit to keep pace with my weight loss, I'll hit my goal quicker. At that point I'd need to increase my calories a decent amount (~22%) to get back to maintance.
I'm wondering if there would be more long term success in NOT adjusting my calories as my weight decreases and just letting the weight-loss curve flatten out naturally. Thoughts from others who may have gone thru the same changes or have seen success failures from either strategy.
3
Posted on 5/19/24 at 1:51 pm to Tiger_n_Texas
What's the difference between the "quicker" timeline and the longer one? I would think it comes down to how good you are at adhering to a deficit and how tolerable you find that. If you can stick to it and it's not torture just do it slower.
I suck at cutting fat weight and I hate it, so I'm always tempted to do things fast and "just get it over with" but that leads to a more aggressive deficit and that makes me miserable and what usually happens is I can't stick with it and then I rebound with extreme hunger/cravings and then eat myself into reversal. I just ended a planned 12 week cut today and I'm 5lbs heavier than when I started, and that's after a week and a half of actually losing a few pounds and a lot of water weight with it.
On the other hand, the thought of adhering to a less aggressive cutting deficit for a longer period of time sounds impossible to me, and miserable. But you may not be me. As shitty as I am at fat loss, I'm an A1 Maintenance Man, I can maintain weight very well, and I can gain weight like a BOSS, which is why I'm significantly overfat. I don't know you or how you feel about those 3 different phases of body comp, (gain, maintain, loss), but you sound like you're pretty good at cutting. I don't know if there would be a lot of difference between the two methods for you, other than the time it takes you to get to your goal. I still feel that it's generally wiser to go slower because it gives you more time to build stronger habits to serve you in the future, where I'd assume you would be in maintenance mode for the long term.
I suck at cutting fat weight and I hate it, so I'm always tempted to do things fast and "just get it over with" but that leads to a more aggressive deficit and that makes me miserable and what usually happens is I can't stick with it and then I rebound with extreme hunger/cravings and then eat myself into reversal. I just ended a planned 12 week cut today and I'm 5lbs heavier than when I started, and that's after a week and a half of actually losing a few pounds and a lot of water weight with it.
On the other hand, the thought of adhering to a less aggressive cutting deficit for a longer period of time sounds impossible to me, and miserable. But you may not be me. As shitty as I am at fat loss, I'm an A1 Maintenance Man, I can maintain weight very well, and I can gain weight like a BOSS, which is why I'm significantly overfat. I don't know you or how you feel about those 3 different phases of body comp, (gain, maintain, loss), but you sound like you're pretty good at cutting. I don't know if there would be a lot of difference between the two methods for you, other than the time it takes you to get to your goal. I still feel that it's generally wiser to go slower because it gives you more time to build stronger habits to serve you in the future, where I'd assume you would be in maintenance mode for the long term.
Posted on 5/19/24 at 4:09 pm to DrDenim
quote:
What's the difference between the "quicker" timeline and the longer one?
Not sure the difference between short andblong plans. If I keep the same pace, short would be 4ish months.
quote:
you sound like you're pretty good at cutting
I won't sugar coat it. I've tried counting calories in the past (I think twice) and eventually failed. This time is going much better. I have better discipline, habits, and using a GLP1 to stave off the urges. I've actually had to force myself to eat to keep from being in too steep of a deficit. I've had a couple high and low days (calorie wise) over the last 2 months, but my average has been pretty damn flat overall.
quote:
I still feel that it's generally wiser to go slower because it gives you more time to build stronger habits to serve you in the future, where I'd assume you would be in maintenance mode for the long term.
This is what I was thinking also. I know this is an extreme example.... I didn't want to hit my goal weight and then the next day say "OK, now I need to eat a cheeseburger to get those extra 500 calories in for maintance."
Posted on 5/19/24 at 8:09 pm to Tiger_n_Texas
I’m in kind of the same situation. Through a combo of diet and exercise I’ve been losing weight pretty consistently. The thing is, it’s not that bad and I’m not feeling that restricted. I’m pretty strict during the day but eat what I want (within reason) for dinner. Also cut way back on the drinking.
My plan is to ride what I’m doing through the summer until the weight loss stops or I start losing lean mass….or I start feeling like shite. Then I’ll reevaluate.
Just roll with it and see how low you can get your BF%. You’re losing weight now and if you cut too much you risk screwing up your metabolism or just burning out.
My plan is to ride what I’m doing through the summer until the weight loss stops or I start losing lean mass….or I start feeling like shite. Then I’ll reevaluate.
Just roll with it and see how low you can get your BF%. You’re losing weight now and if you cut too much you risk screwing up your metabolism or just burning out.
This post was edited on 5/19/24 at 8:34 pm
Posted on 5/20/24 at 1:22 am to Tiger_n_Texas
quote:
I'm wondering if there would be more long term success in NOT adjusting my calories as my weight decreases and just letting the weight-loss curve flatten out naturally. Thoughts from others who may have gone thru the same changes or have seen success failures from either strategy.
Yes, youll just get very lean. It will get harder to maintain calorie deficits, the leaner you get. You are right that your body will adjust. It may lead to some tiredness etc that you arent used to. This is why many throw in a maintenance week on a long calorie deficit(*If you are already lean)
Posted on 5/20/24 at 11:14 am to Tiger_n_Texas
quote:
I know this is an extreme example.... I didn't want to hit my goal weight and then the next day say "OK, now I need to eat a cheeseburger to get those extra 500 calories in for maintance."
It's called a reverse diet. Once cutting is complete you slowly increase your calories back up to maintenance while hopefully maintaining or only gaining minimal weight. The Carbon app Layne Norton created can walk you through this
This post was edited on 5/20/24 at 11:15 am
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