What is the lowest weekly deficit you have cut on?

[StrungOut]

Looking at readjusting mine a bit to about -3900kcal and was just interested in what was the lowest anyone has gone without serious impact on strength

 

[spartacus]

In 2011, at age near 50, my bench improved from 130kg to 137.5kg after several months of reducing weight from 99kg to 95kg on about 2500-3000 calories per day.

The higher the better though as this aids nitrogen retention.

I must qualify above on basis that I had benched much more years earlier (147.5kg clean), but point stands in that I was able to make a small improvement while in a negative calorie state.

 

[Goosey]

In 2011, at age near 50, my bench improved from 130kg to 137.5kg after several months of reducing weight from 99kg to 95kg on about 2500-3000 calories per day.

The higher the better though as this aids nitrogen retention.

I must qualify above on basis that I had benched much more years earlier (147.5kg clean), but point stands in that I was able to make a small improvement while in a negative calorie state.

awesome

 

[0ni]

My TDEE is allegedly 2800kcal a day (I personally think these calculators are bullshit) and I find dropping below 2,500kcal causes me to be very lethargic indeed.

I think out-exercising lots of calories is the key really. Spartacus has it right for sure. Lowering calories really doesn't help me at all. Maybe I lack the mental fortitude

 

[Bazza20]

My TDEE is allegedly 2800kcal a day (I personally think these calculators are bullshit) and I find dropping below 2,500kcal causes me to be very lethargic indeed.

I think out-exercising lots of calories is the key really. Spartacus has it right for sure. Lowering calories really doesn't help me at all. Maybe I lack the mental fortitude

Of course the calculators are bullshit. The are just a best estimate based on a certain sample population. Is an estimate for a population. Doesn't make it exact for an individual.

That's why you work out how many calories you need for yourself.

 

[Goosey]

use them as a bench mark

 

[Snoochies]

At 100kg I was taking 2500 and gained weight and strength and is supposedly under maintenance. Frankly, I have a desk job and sit on my arse all day and I retain fat very easy so I found I sropped back to 2000 cals before anything changed at all. 2250 seemed to help me maintain weight and decent strength.

 

[StrungOut]

6'3" around 93kgs and most calculators put me around 2500kcal for maintenance (always set it to sedentary due to a desk job). Working loosely on this and -500kcal per day aka -3500kcal a week. I decided to get as close to "maintenance" as I can on training days, and drop them on rest days.
At the moment it looks something like 2300kcal/1700kcal which for the week sits me around -3200kcal

 

[Big Mick]

Is that working for you??

Personally on those calories I would be starving hungry 24/7, especially at 1700.

 

[Kranky]

My TDEE is allegedly 2800kcal a day (I personally think these calculators are bullshit) and I find dropping below 2,500kcal causes me to be very lethargic indeed.

I think out-exercising lots of calories is the key really. Spartacus has it right for sure. Lowering calories really doesn't help me at all. Maybe I lack the mental fortitude

I worked my maintenance out at 2500 and then dropped 500 to be in deficit and I often feel lethargic,think I might bump it back to 2500 and see how I go

good point about out exercising the cals,I think Fadi used this point and was an advocate of it for numerous different reasons

 

[0ni]

Yeah I'm thinking after this meet, I'm just going to go nuts on calories and my training, doing lots of ultra heavy shit and partials and really have some fun. Obviously I'll still keep it paleo and ketogenic, as I am not a fan of diabetes and honestly the concept of eating 5,000kcal a day in anything but saturated fat scares the hell out of me

 

[StrungOut]

Is that working for you??

Personally on those calories I would be starving hungry 24/7, especially at 1700.

Honestly, I don't find myself overly hungry on rest days. I've been running LG, so that 1700 is essentially spread over 2 meals which isn't as bad as spreading it over 3

 

[Kranky]

Yeah I'm thinking after this meet, I'm just going to go nuts on calories and my training, doing lots of ultra heavy shit and partials and really have some fun. Obviously I'll still keep it paleo and ketogenic, as I am not a fan of diabetes and honestly the concept of eating 5,000kcal a day in anything but saturated fat scares the hell out of me

this may be opening a can of worms (if so I hope they are saturated fat ones)

but why do you prefer saturated fat for cals ?

 

[0ni]

Saturated fat intake is pretty much directly linked to strength, muscle mass and testosterone.
Indian strongmen (pehlwani) drink a shitload of milk and eat 5 litres of ghee a day and they are fucking jacked. Interestingly, they pick milk and ghee simply because training makes them hot and bothered- so they eat foods that balance this out which is as absurd as it it hilarious but it seems to work.

Yes, 5 LITRES of ghee a day. I don't know how much a litre of ghee weighs, but it's almost entirely saturated fat. If we are going by 5kg, that's pretty much 45,000kcal a day from a single food source. This is on top of milk, almonds with a little bit of meat

 

[Kranky]

Saturated fat intake is pretty much directly linked to strength, muscle mass and testosterone.
Indian strongmen (pehlwani) drink a shitload of milk and eat 5 litres of ghee a day and they are fucking jacked. Interestingly, they pick milk and ghee simply because training makes them hot and bothered- so they eat foods that balance this out which is as absurd as it it hilarious but it seems to work.

Yes, 5 LITRES of ghee a day. I don't know how much a litre of ghee weighs, but it's almost entirely saturated fat. If we are going by 5kg, that's pretty much 45,000kcal a day from a single food source. This is on top of milk, almonds with a little bit of meat

perhaps it's time to increase my saturated fat content in my daily intake

I imagine there are better options of saturated fats than say eating more McDonalds though

 

[0ni]

perhaps it's time to increase my saturated fat content in my daily intake

I imagine there are better options of saturated fats than say eating more McDonalds though

Not to mention expensive. Start adding butter / lard to things you cook and get most of your protein from animals and you're going to be about spot on most likely. I think the pehlwani diet is plain fucked up to be honest, especially in the presence of the huge amount of carbs they eat from milk and chickpeas but if you paleo diet I don't see an issue at all

 

[Bazza20]

Saturated fat intake is pretty much directly linked to strength, muscle mass and testosterone.
Indian strongmen (pehlwani) drink a shitload of milk and eat 5 litres of ghee a day and they are fucking jacked. Interestingly, they pick milk and ghee simply because training makes them hot and bothered- so they eat foods that balance this out which is as absurd as it it hilarious but it seems to work.

Yes, 5 LITRES of ghee a day. I don't know how much a litre of ghee weighs, but it's almost entirely saturated fat. If we are going by 5kg, that's pretty much 45,000kcal a day from a single food source. This is on top of milk, almonds with a little bit of meat

Well that's some definitive evidence right there.

I'm glad the rest of scientific world runs on using some 2nd hand obscure anecdote as proof for stuff.

 

[0ni]

Shut up and eat your corn flakes Bazza

 

[Bazza20]

I've said this before people counting calories for the first time especially tend to drop their calories way too low.

They use a shitty calorie maintenance equations and then drop too much below that. Then when they don't loose 5kg and have abs in the first week they drop even further until they are eating virtually nothing

The trick to cutting is you want to cut on as high calories as possible. Start higher than you think so you have room to move. If you start cutting on 1000 calories a day you have no room to move if you stop losing weight.

For example start at 3500 calories and give it some time. Not just a week. If no weight loss occurs after a few weeks drop it to 3200-3300 and repeat. People are just too keen to start calories way too low and drop even lower. Who cares if you don't lose the weight in the 1st week. Take the time to do it properly.

Trying to rush weight loss kills progress in the gym, you feel lethargic, you lose muscle and look no better than what you started at.

 

[0ni]

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