New coach has me on high calories

[kripnal]

Hi all

For context I’m a chronic dieter and have on/ff worked out for around 7 years.

5ft 2 currently weigh 130lbs lowest I’ve ever weighed is around 95lbs. I’m done with looking skinny fat as no matter what low weight I get to I’m still not happy. I want to focus on recomp but I can’t get away from the sad step and worrying about my weight! My new coach has me on 1750 calories training days and 1650 rest days. I’m doing 10k steps X4 training days (mostly home with dumbbells plus a gym day).

It’s alien to me eating that amount and I’ve struggled getting the food in as my protein is also around 170g. Anyone lost on this amount of cals? I know it’s a long game but I have a holiday in 6 weeks and really don’t want to feel worse at that point.

Thanks

 

[rodneys]

@kripnal I lost around 10% body fat eating at 1700 cal. It took about eight months, but it was definitely worth it!

 

[kripnal]

@rodneys That’s great to hear! Did you find you gained initially?

 

[rodneys]

@kripnal I actually gained 8 pounds overall despite losing body fat! I felt puffy and bigger overall for awhile but my goals are not aesthetic based so I just ignored it and kept going. Eventually the puffiness went away and I had a lot of muscle definition

 

[kripnal]

@rodneys This is good to know thank you

 

[pat4jesus]

@kripnal I’m 5’2” and weigh about 122. My maintenance calories are about 1800 (give or take some). That’s with 4-5 days/week strength training and 1 maybe 2 days a week of CrossFit, plus walking.

 

[baptistbiblebeliever]

@kripnal It’s not high calories. If you’re skinny fat then you need to build more muscle. Being on a deficit won’t help with that. So you need to eat at a minimum maintenance to build muscle which seems to be about the amount you were given.

 

[angelonline]

@kripnal Give it a try for a menstrual cycle or two and if it doesn’t work for you, no big deal you can just adjust accordingly! It does seem like a very high protein goal but with that much strength training you are pretty much guaranteed to build muscle which is fantastic for metabolic health and healthy aging.

 

[aprile]

@kripnal Those are not high calories. I’m 5’3, 122lbs, and walk 5 miles min daily. I do a stength training/pilates fusion 4x a week and do daily light mobility/flexibility. I maintain around 2k-2.2k.

 

[genny83]

@kripnal You need to be in a calorie surplus in order to build muscle, unless you already have enough body fat to stay alive each day, fuel non-exercise activity (NEAT), AND build muscle.

You may gain some weight in the beginning, but that’s not a bad thing. Keep in mind that muscle weighs more than fat. As you build muscle, you’re also going to bloat. It’s temporary, and it’s natural. You’ll likely see your scale numbers go up for a couple days each time you progressively overload your muscles. It sounds like you’re fairly new to weight training, which means you’ll gain muscle quicker, and recomp faster, than most people. Recomping is a LONG process, but it’s worth it.

You’ll need to balance the numbers on the scale with more functional numbers, like body measurements and weight trends. Take progress photos each week, track your measurements, and pay attention to the total weekly AVERAGE of your daily scale weights to see your overall trends over time. That may help in breaking the importance of the scale.

 

[simsodep8388]

@kripnal I'm 5'3.5" and started at 135 lbs. I worked out almost every day (CrossFit/F45) and walked maybe 4-6k steps a day. I got down to 115 lbs by eating 1200-1400 on rest days and 1400-1600 on work out days. That's about a 250 deficit per day. It took me 6 months to lose the first 10lbs and another year to lose the next 10 lbs.

 

[jg_lrd]

@kripnal I'm a half-inch shorter, and I can definitely lose weight on that amount of calories as my maintenance for ~125lb is at least 2k (probably even more). I do more cardio than you as I run around 2 hours a week and normally do a hike. I probably have a high NEAT, though, as I'm a bit hyper/twitchy.

I do eat a ton of fiber and make sure to get enough protein as that seems to help.

 

[icmontreal]

@kripnal It’s hard to think of eating more to lose weight but sometimes that’s how it works. You need the additional calories to fuel your work outs and to build muscle. Body recomposition takes a long time- 1 to 3 years. 6 weeks is not enough time to make huge changes unfortunately.

 

[flyfree]

@kripnal 5’2 and re-comping as well- believe it or not I looked and felt better and fit on 1700 cals when weight training as opposed to when I got scared of gaining weight and dropped cals to 1500. On 1500 cals I dropped weight but lost muscle muscle and it was harder for me to rebuild that again. Now trying to eat more 1700~ on training days 120 g protein , and I’m definitely looking more toned somehow. On 1700 cals I took an in body test and I definitely gained weight but mostly muscle! Don’t be afraid.