You CAN eat too little and I'm proof!

So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.

I totally agree, last time I cut on a high deficit, I lost 15 pounds and looked the same (Composition wise) just smaller.

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506496731]So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.[/QUOTE]

This is great. Kind of what I've been looking for. I want to gain muscle without too much fat. Seems like very incremental clean food increases might be one way to do it.

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506496731]So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.[/QUOTE]

Structured refeeed + aggressive cut = best of both worlds

For some people like me we have to eat that little though, I sit down all day and even hitting the gym for 2 hours a day 5 days a week my maintenance is only about 2100.

[QUOTE=defury;506498921]Structured refeeed + aggressive cut = best of both worlds

For some people like me we have to eat that little though, I sit down all day and even hitting the gym for 2 hours a day 5 days a week my maintenance is only about 2100.[/QUOTE]

It's definitely different for everyone depending on their natural metabolism and such. At the end of the day, it's figuring out what works for you.

[QUOTE=yadrutas;506498841]This is great. Kind of what I've been looking for. I want to gain muscle without too much fat. Seems like very incremental clean food increases might be one way to do it.[/QUOTE]

Intense weight lifting has been shown to be better for fat loss than standard cardio. You have to fuel your muscles and you can and will still lose fat.

What's important is to track everything, and I mean EVERYTHING so you figure out what works best.

I would agree but for me, I was cutting on 2300 until I stalled, went to 2200 until I stalled, then 200 and I'm actually down to 1600 now!!

Only trying this for a week though. Got weigh in in 3 days and I'll see if I need to up my calories.

everybody works differently. for me the bigger the deficit, the more weight comes off. if the deficit is too small, my metabolism is able to (and will) adjust to offset it.

Excellent thread!

Shows you need to eat to lose, not starve yourself!

Two Thumbs up

[QUOTE=justanothagirl;506556181]everybody works differently. for me the bigger the deficit, the more weight comes off. if the deficit is too small, my metabolism is able to (and will) adjust to offset it.[/QUOTE]

It's weird to me how different people are. I think agree, but only to an extent. I don't know why one body would treat food and nutrients completely differently than another body, unless its a rarity. I am just speaking anecdotally, but I think people who react differently to the same way of eating, are actually not eating exactly the same, or there's some other variable that's not being considered, like how they are exercising or some other unknown.

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506496731]So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.[/QUOTE]

Its OK to eat? That is great news because I just had some Pizza and will be going to DQ to get some ice cream in a few minutes. Oreo blizzard for me. Tomorrow is a cardio day :)

I think i had the same exact problem as you. I was stuck at 162 for about 2 weeks cutting at ~1600. I went up to ~1800 for a week and i went down ~2 lbs. Its so weird b/c i had my head wrapped around the thought of Cals in vs. Cals out; never thought that upping cals would help any.

I do agree, that is why I have a cheat day every week

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506496731]So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.[/QUOTE]

Unfortunately there is no scientific basis for what your suggesting, that increasing calories helps you lose more fat. One has to understand what exactly is happening, it is not that simple and this oversimplification is what leads to so much of the bro science out there. Everyone loves hearing that eating more will help them lose more weight hence people are quick to agree and disregard everything surrounding it.

While I don't feel like delving and finding all the scientific studies for you I can if you really want me too, but here are some possible explanations for what you experienced.

First off, when one experiences a large deficit in their calories, cortisol levels in the body go up, which in turn can cause your body to retain water. While it may not seem you are losing weight on the scale, you are still losing fat. The reason you suddenly dropped weight everytime you upped your calories? Your bodies stress level goes down, cortisol decreases and you release the water weight, hence the illusion that upping your calories helped you lose weight.

Another thing to understand is that ones ideal deficit is very dependant on their body compisition and how much fat they have stored in their body. I believe a study shows that each pound of fat in your body can produce up to something like 31-32 calories for energy a day, therefore if you know your body fat percentage and calculate how many pounds of fat you have in your body and multiply it by 31 you can get a rough estimate as to who how much weight you can lose without comprising your lean mass too much.

So for example if you are 180 lbs at 20% bf, that give you about 36 lbs of fat, 36x31=1116 cal from fat a day, (compared to for example, someone with 100 lbs of fat which would allow them to lose near a pound of fat a day) which is a little less than a third of a pound this would lead you to believe you can lose about 2 lbs of fat a week, but you have to account for the fact that every day as your fat mass decreases, so does the amount of calories you can derive from your fat a day, and therefore your ideal deficit decreases every day, along with the speed of the weightloss.

Obviously it will give you a pretty rough estimate. But at the least you can begin quantifying what type of deficit will achieve what you want to achieve.

bump, I want as many people to read that as possible.

[QUOTE=MrRR;506669101]Unfortunately there is no scientific basis for what your suggesting, that increasing calories helps you lose more fat. One has to understand what exactly is happening, it is not that simple and this oversimplification is what leads to so much of the bro science out there. Everyone loves hearing that eating more will help them lose more weight hence people are quick to agree and disregard everything surrounding it.

While I don't feel like delving and finding all the scientific studies for you I can if you really want me too, but here are some possible explanations for what you experienced.

First off, when one experiences a large deficit in their calories, cortisol levels in the body go up, which in turn can cause your body to retain water. While it may not seem you are losing weight on the scale, you are still losing fat. The reason you suddenly dropped weight everytime you upped your calories? Your bodies stress level goes down, cortisol decreases and you release the water weight, hence the illusion that upping your calories helped you lose weight.

Another thing to understand is that ones ideal deficit is very dependant on their body compisition and how much fat they have stored in their body. I believe a study shows that each pound of fat in your body can produce up to something like 31-32 calories for energy a day, therefore if you know your body fat percentage and calculate how many pounds of fat you have in your body and multiply it by 31 you can get a rough estimate as to who how much weight you can lose without comprising your lean mass too much.

So for example if you are 180 lbs at 20% bf, that give you about 36 lbs of fat, 36x31=1116 cal from fat a day, (compared to for example, someone with 100 lbs of fat which would allow them to lose near a pound of fat a day) which is a little less than a third of a pound this would lead you to believe you can lose about 2 lbs of fat a week, but you have to account for the fact that every day as your fat mass decreases, so does the amount of calories you can derive from your fat a day, and therefore your ideal deficit decreases every day, along with the speed of the weightloss.

Obviously it will give you a pretty rough estimate. But at the least you can begin quantifying what type of deficit will achieve what you want to achieve.[/QUOTE]


Great insight - repped!

My whole point is that different things work for different people.

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506731541]Great insight - repped!

My whole point is that different things work for different people.[/QUOTE]

That I absolutely agree with.

[QUOTE=MrRR;506731091]bump, I want as many people to read that as possible.[/QUOTE]

Hey good info man, i totally didn't think that way about it before.

That's kind of what I'm doing. I'm body recomping at 2200-2300 a day, and my abs are definitely getting thicker, yet I am getting noticeably leaner (mainly only after my workouts... maybe because the pump).

I do plan to do a PSMF for 2 weeks right before college.

this thread, and everyone in it, is retarded

burning more fat by eating more calories is a physical impossibility

[QUOTE=cheeseandrice;506745131]this thread, and everyone in it, is retarded

burning more fat by eating more calories is a physical impossibility[/QUOTE]

Eating more increase your metabolism and increase your strength. Doing more exercise you can burn more fat. Makes sense to me.

[QUOTE=cheeseandrice;506745131]this thread, and everyone in it, is retarded

burning more fat by eating more calories is a physical impossibility[/QUOTE]

This coming from you. lol. 6'1, 147 and vegan. geeze

[QUOTE=cheeseandrice;506745131]this thread, and everyone in it, is retarded

burning more fat by eating more calories is a physical impossibility[/QUOTE]

way to read my post.

Great info MrRR, I wanted to know more about cortisol effects, that was very fascinating, thanks

[QUOTE=bsfln;506782581]Eating more increase your metabolism and increase your strength. Doing more exercise you can burn more fat. [b]Makes sense to me.[/b][/QUOTE]

Same. I'm bulking right now, but even still I have trouble some days getting enough in and if I don't, my performance suffers tremendously along with my recovery. And to reiterate what MrRR stated, lean mass impacts one's metabolism and caloric needs to boot. There are so many variables at play with different people that it's wise not to rule anything out if you start stalling inexplicably. At the end of the day, if you're taking in less calories than maintenance...

Good topic OP, I'll remember this if I start stalling when I do my cut. :)

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506496731]So I have been cutting for a while now. I got lazy and was out of the gym for some time. In my avatar I was at 192 around 12% BF. I got up to 218 at around 26% BF after a few years of not working out or caring.

I started cutting down by eating 1600 cals and lifting regularly. The first 8lbs were easy. But once I hit 210, it started dragging out and stalling. I wasn't losing as much weight as I was. So I upped it to 1800cals. BAM, instant weight loss. I got down to 205 and that started dragging out and stalling. I bumped it to 2100. BAM! Instant weight loss. I got down to 201. I started stalling again. I upped it to 2500. BAM! Perfect caloric intake. I have been losing 2lbs a week for two weeks now. I'm down to just under 15% BF right now.

The point is that I have been reading about guys eating soooo little calories and end up stalling and then eating less and running more. All you are doing is losing muscle as well as fat. It's OK to eat!!!!! The longer you have been working out, the more your metabolism increases, and the more your body is starved for calories.

I'll start to slowly increase my calories to reduce my weight loss as I near 192-194lbs. Then I will slowly increase them to maintenance, then to a bulking state where I will try and gain .5-1lb a week - tops.

Figured I would just share my experience in hopes that it helps someone else.[/QUOTE]

I think this is the reason why after my first 11 lbs went away, there is no more reduction...

One question sir!

How do you count your calorie intake?

Practical ways I mean... Do you have to measure? Or, do you do estimates? (Just by looking at the food)

Question OP - not saying this is the case just curious. Is it possible you started cutting on calories too low in the first place and you are just after an excuse to eat more?

[QUOTE=JoelPadua;506813131]I think this is the reason why after my first 11 lbs went away, there is no more reduction...

One question sir!

How do you count your calorie intake?

Practical ways I mean... Do you have to measure? Or, do you do estimates? (Just by looking at the food)[/QUOTE]


I weigh EVERYTHING, unless it only give volume measurements, which then I measure out. I keep a spreadsheet and plan out my meals for the week ahead of time.

[QUOTE=AlwaysTryin;506814371]Question OP - not saying this is the case just curious. Is it possible you started cutting on calories too low in the first place and you are just after an excuse to eat more?[/QUOTE]

No excuse. Using a variety of nutrition calculators and such, I was told (at the time based on my activity level) that I should eat 1,600 cals a day to lose 2lbs a week. If I calculate it it out now, it would tell me 2,000. That simply is just too little.

Not an excuse to eat more, it's just what is working for me. A lot, and I mean a lot, of people go on a diet and eat too little and stall out. If combining that with increased activity level, then you are not giving your body the necessary calories it needs.

well i've been on too low calories since march 10th

but the problem started 4 days ago .. i feel hungry now ALL THE TIME

like if i eat my breakfast 10 minutes later i'm very hungry

too low calorie works for me but i feel very tired at end of the day

plus i do cardio 2 times a day total of cardio 2 hours a day

but i don't measure food no need for it

break fast 1 to 4 egg whites + tobasco sauce + bit of pita whole wheat bread

lunch chicken breast + onions

dinner : tuna can


some times i take 2 apples in between or some pine apples


thats my diet


i'm so close to get the damn 6 packs but those lower abs are killing me not showing till now

dono how long have to wait to see them ........................


oh and my stats on bodyspace was around 2 weeks after starting my cut

cuz i bulked up to 210 lbs (dirty)

[QUOTE=heycisco01;506855981]I weigh EVERYTHING, unless it only give volume measurements, which then I measure out. I keep a spreadsheet and plan out my meals for the week ahead of time.[/QUOTE]

I see...

I guess I could not bypass that section... The measuring parts I mean...