Calories too low for fast loss to occur?

[alexwilliams]

Hey everyone. I know a lot of people ask for help on their diets on here, so I'm sorry to add on to that.

Currently I'm taking Lean Xtreme, and cutting. At the beginning of the cut (just over a month ago) I was eating 1300-1500 calories a day, 40-40-20 (carb/pro/fat) and training 6 days/week, either cardio or weights, cardio more often than weights.

An example of intensity/length of my workouts would be an outdoor 5k run in the morning with hills, 25-30 minutes, or around 40 minutes in the gym on cardio machines.

I shouldve known that those cals were too low, so a few weeks later I upped them a bit, and started following this cycle:
Mon: 1600cal, 35% carbs
Tue: 1350 cal, 20-25% carbs
Wed: 1900 cal, 45% carbs
Thur: 1600 cal, 30% carb
Fri: 1450 cal, 20-25% carb
Sat: 1800 cal, 50% carb (carb-up)
Sun: 1600 cal, 45% carb

My fat intake ranges from 20-40%, depending on the day.
I weigh about 153lbs, 5'11, female, and about 21-22% BF (so says my Omron, so who knows really, I just use it to track progress rather than absolute number).

Honestly, on the days with 1800-1900 cals, I feel like I'm eating all the time, and feel quite full most of the time. Almost difficult to get those cals.
But because I do cardio 6X a week and weights (30 min-1hr) 3-4 times a week, do you think that my diet could be impeding on my fat loss? In the past month I've lost 1-1.5% BF, but that's with LX too.

Thanks so much for all of your help!

[Shinjan]

If you've been losing weight, then what lead you to believe that going so low in calories impedes fat loss? I think you're going to continue losing weight with that diet, albeit a lot of which will be muscle and it probably isn't very healthy to continue to eat so little

[Guai]

Considering she's 153 pounds it's probably quite alright for her.

[alexwilliams]

If you've been losing weight, then what lead you to believe that going so low in calories impedes fat loss? I think you're going to continue losing weight with that diet, albeit a lot of which will be muscle and it probably isn't very healthy to continue eating so very little.

My weight this entire month has actually stayed at ~153 (somedays higher) so it's been more of a recomp effect. I think thats with the help of Lean Xtreme especially. I feel like I've been training so much that I should maybe see a bit more fat loss, but then again I might be expecting too much.

[Guai]

Slow wins the race when it comes to fat loss. You don't want to lose it too fast because that means you'll be losing muscle too. Stay focused, your caloric intake looks good and if anything you might be working out a little bit much IMO. I've been cutting for about 4 weeks now and I haven't noticed a very big difference but I know it's happening. Good luck.

[alexwilliams]

Slow wins the race when it comes to fat loss. You don't want to lose it too fast because that means you'll be losing muscle too. Stay focused, your caloric intake looks good and if anything you might be working out a little bit much IMO. I've been cutting for about 4 weeks now and I haven't noticed a very big difference but I know it's happening. Good luck.

yeah the training is high because I have a triathlon in 3 weeks. I've had a few people tell me I should eat no less than around 1800, even for the cut, which is why I was wondering.

thanks for the input

[alexwilliams]

(bump for any extra input )

[qdiddy69]

My weight this entire month has actually stayed at ~153 (somedays higher) so it's been more of a recomp effect. I think thats with the help of Lean Xtreme especially. I feel like I've been training so much that I should maybe see a bit more fat loss, but then again I might be expecting too much.

lean x-treme will be a waste unless you are actually losing weight, i would go 500 under mateinence if i were you, i went higher when i took it(but my matieneince was higher) the main purpose of lean xtreme is to blunt cortisol while you cut, so that you can lose the wieght and not worry about the harmful side effects as much(losing muscle or stress)

oo and your weight fluctating is normal, i go up and down 3-4 pounds depending which part of the day i weigh(water and glycogen weight does this) how long have you stayed at 153?

yeah the training is high because I have a triathlon in 3 weeks. I've had a few people tell me I should eat no less than around 1800, even for the cut, which is why I was wondering.

thanks for the input

it would be a good idea not to go too low on ur calorie restriction if your training for a marathon, cutting wieght can wear your body down, but lean xtreme will slow the process of overtraining, if your really lookin to lose weight cutting more cals would be ok as long as you bring it back up around marathon time. But be care full deiting while your training that often can have bad effects on your body

[alexwilliams]

lean x-treme will be a waste unless you are actually losing weight, i would go 500 under mateinence if i were you, i went higher when i took it(but my matieneince was higher) the main purpose of lean xtreme is to blunt cortisol while you cut, so that you can lose the wieght and not worry about the harmful side effects as much(losing muscle or stress)

oo and your weight fluctating is normal, i go up and down 3-4 pounds depending which part of the day i weigh(water and glycogen weight does this) how long have you stayed at 153?

My BMR is around 1550, and with my level of exercise (I used tom venuto's burn the fat book to calculate this out), my maintenance is around 2500 apparently. So I should technically cut to around 2000, but I think I'm only at 1600 average, which is why I'm wondering.

I've been around 153 for the past 3 weeks. Today I was at 156, but I'm sure that's just a fluctuation because it's usually ~153-154.

I'll definetly be upping my calories a bit before the tri, probably the week of.

I've never heard of glycogen weight, but that makes a lot of sense. Would that be higher after a higher carb day?

[MarkVI]

(bump for any extra input )

You're in a delicate situation.....on one hand you need to run a defecit to obtain your goals, but on the other, you need to make sure you're getting all your nutrients as well.....which can be tough in a bid defecit.

With your activity level I think your intake is a little low, but if you feel it's working for you, do what you need.

It also might be time to look into the quality of the food and what kinds of food you're eating...believe it or not that matters as well.

You look great though as it is so don't rush!!!

[qdiddy69]

My BMR is around 1550, and with my level of exercise (I used tom venuto's burn the fat book to calculate this out), my maintenance is around 2500 apparently. So I should technically cut to around 2000, but I think I'm only at 1600 average, which is why I'm wondering.

I've been around 153 for the past 3 weeks. Today I was at 156, but I'm sure that's just a fluctuation because it's usually ~153-154.

I'll definetly be upping my calories a bit before the tri, probably the week of.

I've never heard of glycogen weight, but that makes a lot of sense. Would that be higher after a higher carb day?

glycogen wieght would def be higher after a high carb weight, its why so many poeple who dont know anything about nutrition have good things to say about the low carb diet. I would also like to add that no calculator can tell you what your bmr is, it can only give you an idea. Dont worry though you will get a feel of what your bmr is naturally. You might even get to the point where you stop counting cals becuase you can pick up your body's natural signs that tell you wheter you are above your matenience or not 8)

my advise would be to wait after your marathon to lose wieght, you look slim enough in your pics. Unless your really good at taking pics with "myspace angles" then i dont think you have anything to worry about for now

[alexwilliams]

It also might be time to look into the quality of the food and what kinds of food you're eating...believe it or not that matters as well.

You look great though as it is so don't rush!!!

Thanks for the compliments haha, I've gained since the photos I have on my profile, I have 1 month old photos on my log... bleh haha

I've been trying my best to make sure my food is high quality. I eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies (more veggies though), lots of lean meats, egg whites, peanut butter, nuts etc. The only sugary thing I eat is Kashi Crunch, but not much of it (maybe 10-30g a day), otherwise lots of oats etc. So hopefully thats good enough hehe