I thought I’m doing it right

[haydenbehm]

Badly need your clarification!!

I (F20) am doing strength training 3-4 times a week while in a deficit of 1,300 to 1,400 calories. My maintenance calories is around 1800.
My goal is to lose fat and grow my glutes so im training mostly my glutes and get rid of the belly fat.

Am i doing it right? Hindi naman po ba masisira metabolism ko? Hindi naman po ako nagugutom bcs i eat mostly protein rich foods.

 

[sppenserion]

@haydenbehm There's no such thing as "masisira ang metabolism". It only adapts depende sa kung ano ang ginagawa natin.

Right now you are on a calorie deficit, minimal if not wala ka maggain na muscle for now (best scenario is maybe retain muscles that you currently have lang) pero you will lose a lot of fat. Habang nag llose ka ng fat, bumababa din metabolism mo. My rough estimate is if mag lose ka ng 6kg, you have to lower your your calorie intake again to 1200.

Tingin ko super unsustainable ang 1200. Calories. Eventually this will lead to burnout and binge eating. Makakaexperience ka rin ng komting loss of energy pag pumayat ka. So it requires a lot of will power and effective habit forming strategies.

Ang recommendation naman ng ibang coaches ay maintenance calories na lang muna within the first year. This way you will lose fat and gain muscle at the same time (body recomp) in a sustainable way. Medyo effective daw kasi ang body recomp sa mga beginners. Saka hindi ka mababaliw sa diet at it will feel effortless.

 

[womanofgreatdestiny1]

@sppenserion Question po. Pwede ba instead na 1200cals per day intake pwede nya mamaintain 1400cals intake parin but additional 200cal burning activity per day sya like jogging/elliptical bike etc?

 

[sppenserion]

@womanofgreatdestiny1 Yes pwede naman. Other people do both. 1300 calories then they will add additional cardio (on top pa sa current cardio nila) like jogging extra 10 to 15 mins.

Isa pang problem pag 1200 calorie intake ay mahirap ma-reach ung macronutrient targets mo for the day. So some use cardio para makapag add pa sila ng food (or whey shake) na pwede kainin na very high in protein.

 

[haydenbehm]

@sppenserion 1300 po intake ko. Mas okay ba na taasan ko like 1500-1600 para naka deficit pa din? I just started the 1300 cals this May tapos nag start ako gym last month lang po.

Yung sa body recomp, I read na konti lang po naka gawa niyan successfully eh.

 

[sppenserion]

@haydenbehm As long as you feel na hindi ka masyado "nasasakal" tingin ko ok naman 1300. Alam mo ung statement na "it takes 3500 calories to lose 1lb of fat"? So if nasa 1500 calories ang intake mo, meron ka 300 deficit. So siguro you will lose 0.5 lbs per week. At wala din naman problem dun. Kung ano sa tingin mo ung magiging sustainable for you, mas ok yun.

Oo sabi nila pag matagal ka na daw nag wweight training ( more than 2 or 3 years) hindi na ok ang body recomp, super liitt ng increase ng muscles at liit din ng fat loss. Pero recommended daw ito for beginners dahil mas ok ang response ng body recomp for beginners, at less taxing ito sa isip at katawan kaya less ang chance na ma-burn out ang mga beginners. Ang mahalaga talaga (for beginners) ay consistency at formation ng habit. Malaki ang maitutulong ng habit para madali mo makukuha anuman ang fitness goal mo.

 

[haydenbehm]

@sppenserion Pero I wouldn’t be able to grow my glutes kahit i hit my protein intake kasi naka deficit ako?

 

[sppenserion]

@haydenbehm Yup. Thats right. You have to choose.
A. Maintenance calories: gain a little bit of muscle and lose a little bit of fat
B. Cutting /Calorie Deficit: Maintain your current muscle and lose more fat.
C. Bulk / Caloroe surplus: Gain muscle and gain a little bit of fat.

 

[pantaziss]

@haydenbehm If you want you could consider a body recomposition.

I recommend you click this link. This dude has scientific basis on protein intake especially for body recomp

 

[tony2468]

@haydenbehm If you're trying to build muscle it has to come from somewhere.. Large deficits and building muscle don't mix well together. Being on maintenance by definition means it's just enough to sustain what you have. Going on a deficit by definition means you're losing. Go on a very low surplus. Atmost 200cals but continue to bias toward protein

 

[haydenbehm]

@tony2468 I'm trying to lose fat din po kasi.

 

[tony2468]

@haydenbehm You need to keep your priorities in mind.
You can do both but your training and nutrition needs to be on point. If you can consistently give 80-100% then it's possible. If not then you have to choose which one is a bigger priority and then maintain either the lost weight or the muscle growth while you pursue the other.

 

[twilafriday]

@haydenbehm Yo join the sub's discord group. Maraming resources sa FAQ section to help you out with any questions.

 

[dgkm]

@haydenbehm How long have you've been training? Recomp (i.e., losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time) is only applicable for newbies or those just returing to the gym after a hiatus. If you've been training regularly and have been doing it for a long time, I and so as the community right now would recommend that you have separate phases for losing fat and gaining muscle.

Being in a perpetual deficit will eventually put you at a weight where your body's maintenance will be at 1300-1400 cal. In that case, you won't see your weight move up or go lower anymore, but you won't see substantial gains physique or strength wise either.

If you'd like to dig deeper into this, I suggest you look into 3D Muscle Journey (3DMJ, its a group composed of top tier natural and evidence-based fitness folks such as E. Helms, Alberto Nunez), Stronger By Science (led by Greg Nuckols, known in evidenced based fitness too), and Jeff Nippard.

 

[haydenbehm]

@dgkm I started going to the gym last month but started the 1300 deficit just this May

 

[dgkm]

@haydenbehm In that case, you can benefit via a recomp. Depending on your starting weight and goals, you'd want to keep that deficit in from 12 - 24 weeks.

I also recommend MacroFactor (a diet counter / diet coach app made by Greg Nuckols, profile mentioned in my comment). It's a tad bit more complicated than MyFitnessPal but it computes your macros week per week for you depending on your goals which the app allows you to set. It's also a bit pricey but worth it IMO.

 

[haydenbehm]

@dgkm So it's alright po that I eat at 1300?

Will check it out po. Thanks!

 

[dgkm]

@haydenbehm It largely depends on your starting point. Generally a 500 cal deficit (1300 from 1800 cal maintenance) is decent. But you have to factor in your rate of weight loss, strength maintained (i.e, the amount of volume and weight you can carry in the gym).

Personally, if you're not coming from obese level fat percentage (with due respect to all who struggle with this), then a rate of 0.5% - 1% per weight loss per week without any drastic decrease in strength is a good indicator if your deficit is sustainable and effective. If changes are drastic then you probably need to dial back (again with the assumption that you're not in the obese category -- they tend to experience drastic fat loss right with minimal deficits). It can be mentally draining to do all the Math hence why I'd rather just have the app that auto-computes it week by week hehe

Edit: added per week in the 0.5% - 1% weight loss recommendation

 

[haydenbehm]

@dgkm I weigh 50kg po and 4’11 short girlie hehe. But to be clear, I wouldn’t be able to grow my glutes bcs im in a deficit kahit i hit my protein intake?

 

[haydenbehm]

@dgkm

Being in a perpetual deficit will eventually put you at a weight where your body's maintenance will be at 1300-1400 cal. In that case, you won't see your weight move up or go lower anymore, but you won't see substantial gains physique or strength wise either.

Can u elaborate more on this please? Should i be taking more calories then? Or after every week i will add 100?