Has my coach put me on too high of a calorie deficit?

P

petr0s

New member
Hello,
I’d like to start out by saying that I have a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology with a focus in nutritional sciences and am a certified PT and sports nutritionist. I’m a 21yr old Female, 5’10, 175lbs, an am 40-43% lean muscle. I’m training for a women’s figure competition in late November (16wks out) and have obtained a coach to help me with my workout plans and nutrition. For the past month I’ve slowly gotten accustomed to the workout and nutrition for prep by eating in a 20% calorie deficit, doing a 35/35/30 macro split and strength training+30min cardio for 6 days/wk. I’ve so far lost around 10lbs and have gained a lb of muscle. The ultimate weight goal for the show will be around 145-150lb. My coach has now instructed me to eat 1500 kcals per day with a 40/40/20 macro split. In my professional opinion, I believe this is way too low for the amount of calories I’m burning and I’m afraid I’ll lose a ton of the muscle mass I need for figure. I also worry that my metabolism will slow too quickly, so I’ll be stuck before I can fully lean out. His response was that bodybuilding isn’t a healthy sport and that the extremes are what you have to do to win. I agree to a certain extent, but eating 1500 kcal 16 wks out seems like it’s not feasible to upkeep without deflating. Is he right, or am I justified to question his method? I know the science of losing weight and gaining muscle in a healthy manner, but crash dieting for a bodybuilding competition doesn’t seem like it’ll have successful results. I don’t know the industry well enough to make that call.
 
@petr0s You’re trying to drop 25-30 lbs in 16 weeks? Yea, that does not seem like that aggressive a deficit for your goals. If anything, I’d question whether doing a show in 16 weeks is wise.
 
@dawn16 8lb per month=32lbs; it’s completely possible to lose that weight in 16 weeks, and with the amount of exercise I’m doing it may be a bit higher even with the 20% deficit. Normally from the beginning of prep to the end, losing 20-40lbs is the norm.
 
@petr0s I’m both capable of doing simple math and aware of how much weight people typically lose for a show. You want to lose 30 lbs in 16 weeks from a 175 lbs starting point? Then that deficit is not inappropriate. If it turns out to be overly aggressive to start, that just means you won’t have to further drop calories as quickly/aggressively as you otherwise might. Metabolism “slowing” is an absolutely expected and normal process when you lose weight. It just means that fewer calories are required to maintain your new (lower) weight.
 
@dawn16 Sorry, i couldn’t tell who you were agreeing with. So you think that either way will work, it’ll just be different processes?
 
@petr0s Exactly. If your coach is worth their salt (and some trust is necessary here), they’ll adjust your calories up a bit or keep your deficit more consistent than they otherwise would if the initial deficit was too aggressive.

Like yes, I see your concern, but given your current weight and target, I see no red flags from that calorie amount. If you’re a super active person then it may be slightly too aggressive a deficit, but most people (not saying you) tend to overestimate their activity, so I can see where your coach is coming from.

It’s certainly better to not be in a panic a couple weeks out that you’re carrying too much fat.

Give it some time, and if you’re losing too aggressively/feeling like garbage and your coach isn’t working with you to manage that, then you will have cause for concern. But it’s just one of those things you have to do and see how it goes unfortunately.
 
@petr0s I’m not sure what your maintenance is but i assuming a linear weight loss of 30lbs in 16 weeks that’s a daily gross deficit of ~940cals, some of that is your cardio of course. Granted you’ll adapt during 16 weeks and the loss will plateau a little bit but 1500 sounds reasonable to me. It does f*cking suck though so I sympathize. Best of luck with your cut and the comp!
 
@cjwolf My maintenance at 185 was around 2,800-3,000 (I’m tall and have a lot of muscle) kcal per day, so -940kcal would be between 2,000-2,200. I usually use a TDEE calculator for my job and it’s always been accurate. That’s why the 1,500 doesn’t make any sense to me. Thank you for the encouragement!
 
@petr0s I mean I just don't see this being accurate. For you to have a 2800-3000 TDEE, you have to be in the "heavy exercise" category, which is like 20k steps daily + over 2 hours lifting, AND be at 25% body fat as a female. To be stage weight at 145, 40lbs of weight loss, and considering you dropped a good chunk of your water weight in the last week anyways, you would be at single digit bodyfats which isn't happening as a female naturally (hell, not all female competitors can even achieve it with gear).

Something is off, your bodyfat estimate, your metabolic rate estimate and exercise level estimate/calorie intake estimate.. hell, probably all the above.
 
@dawn16 Eh, I’m a woman who maintained at 2200-2300 calories at 5’5 130 lbs with moderate to heavy exercise (didn’t even have enough muscle for bikini), so I could easily buy 2800 calories for someone who works out for figure level muscle and has over 50 lbs and 5 inches of height on me.

But that puts the deficit they likely need at that point at around 1800 calories, which will also decrease quickly as they lose weight, so 1500 calories isn’t really that crazy.
 
@buzzard3 I mean the goal is moreso 30lb than 40lbs, what would you say a normal weight loss is for prep? I’m currently at 175lb from eating pretty well this past month, so I’m starting a bit lighter than I was last month
 
@petr0s Possible? Yea. Smart? No. You’re setting yourself up for chronically low energy, muscle loss, and inevitable weight regain. 2 lbs per week for 16 weeks straight is much more agressive than I would advise.

Im also a bit confused by the calorie deficit. The plan is to do 1500 cals for the entire 16 weeks? Thats not really how dieting works. As you lose weight, especially so aggressively, you will need to adjust calories down over time. You can’t just eat the same amount and expect the weight loss to be continuous over a long period
 
@saved1994 That’s what I was thinking. To be honest, 2lbs a week was taught to me to be feasible and that’s what I’ve been losing with 2,200kcal each day. That’s why 1,500kcal was concerning to me. For prep (as I’m sure you know) you have to lower your calories the closer you get, so I was like, “where tf am I supposed to go from there?” I’m hoping someone who’s done figure before or coached comments. I know it’s not a healthy sport and that eventually I will need to cut more calories, but that much for 16wks out doesn’t make sense to me if I can lose the weight at a higher kcal intake. Thank you for your input!
 
@petr0s You need to talk more with your coach and see the game plan.

Sometimes it isn't a linear process like you stated.

I've prepped for shows with high days/low days.

I like to reduce the cals heavily, to be "show ready" 3-4 weeks out, then start increasing cals into the show.

You are far enough out that you can stick with him/talk and try his process, if you don't like it or see flaws. No harm in finding someone else or prepping yourself.
 
@petr0s If you think your in too low of a deficit , you will surely know when you are either ahead or behind in the closer weeks to the show. If the deficit was aggressive it can be balanced with refeeds etc to hold your composition. Also you shouldn’t lose muscle with your protein intake and aslong as sleep and training are nailed.
 
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