Losing 3.5 lbs per week on a 1200 cal. diet. Losing it too quick?

[Wendal]

If so, what should I try bumping the calories up to? I know we all lose muscle when losing weight but I havnt worked out in years anyway so I dont think I have much muscle even though I am now lifting weights.

Should I up the cals to try and slow the weight loss down a notch? If so, how many calories do I bump it up to?

I must admit, I like losing the weight fast, but I dont wanna be skinny fat when all is said and done.


Wendal

[cheeseandrice]

1200 cals is plenty, as long as you are getting enough protein you wont lose LBM

so how much protein are you getting?

also keep in mind, depending on your diet you could be dropping water weight too.

[csb5731]

How many weeks has this 3.5lb/week been going on?

[PBateman2]

When cutting you shouldnt lose any muscle if your diet is on point and you train intensely with weights.

What are your stats? BF%? Diet?

[Wendal]

1200 cals is plenty, as long as you are getting enough protein you wont lose LBM

so how much protein are you getting?

also keep in mind, depending on your diet you could be dropping water weight too.

Honestly i'm not sure about protein, i never measured grams, i just eat three meals per day and include protein in every meal. i dont appear to be getting weaker though. just as strong, if not slightly stronger when lifting.

[Wendal]

How many weeks has this 3.5lb/week been going on?

It's been pretty consistent for the last 8 weeks. I've lost almost 30 lbs in two months.

[Wendal]

When cutting you shouldnt lose any muscle if your diet is on point and you train intensely with weights.

What are your stats? BF%? Diet?

Never really measured grams and all that. Only took calories into account, eat three meals a day and i'm sure to include protein in every meal.

I'm 6'1

Starting weight was 232.

body fat percent was probably around 27%

Now I'm down to around 200 lbs. I've obviously lost a **** load of fat, as my big gut and moobs have flattened out signifcantly. alhtough I still have a ways to go, still quite flabby. I think i'll have to get down to around 165 to get a real good cut, and thats pretty thin for a 6'1 person but i have always been naturally tall and lean until i gained the fat.

[PBateman2]

You have to track what you eat on a daily basis in terms of cals/macros. You should be taking in around 200g of protein daily.

Do you know your current BF%? Get your BF% measured weekly if you can and use your progress in the gym as your gauge. Use the mirror too.

I would keep an eye on that 3.5lbs of weight loss for the next couple weeks as you have less fat to lose now than you did previously. The rate should decrease - IMO- as you could risk losing muscle along the way. Each person is different though so see how you do.

Congrats on what you have been able to accomplish thus far. Really excellent work.

Just try to track your diet a bit better in terms of total cals/macros.

[senor_mortgage]

Great work. You may get a few posts panicking about your metabolism, don't worry about that. I would gradually start looking into macros (mostly making sure you have adequate protein intake). It really doesn't matter as much early on (so your fine), but as you get thinner and have less fat to burn, your body is going to be more and more tempted to burn some muscle rather than fat. As PBateman mentioned, just be aware that your fat loss will slow down and thats natural so don't try to panic and eat less.

The rough guideline for protein is 1gram protein per 1 lb. lbm (lean body mass) - 1 gram per lbs total weight. Honestly, the lower range I feel is fine as while losing weight, you are preserving mass, not gaining it, so extra protein is not necessary if it causes you to alter your diet too much (again, don't mess too much with what works for you personally, its a surefire way to relapse out of your successful program). Odds are adding a protein shake after you lift is all you need to ensure adequate protein intake (since you already include protein in every meal). Many experts even think that 1gram/lbm is more than is necessary, so don't panic if you can't quite get it that high.

[GregTR]

I've lost 3.5lbs per week for a qhile then slowed it down to about 2lbs/week in the later phases. I never ate 1,200 calories though, I was an 1,800 calorie in guy, but I also did 800 calories worth of cardio daily for a net of 1,000 calories. If you do 1,200 in but very little cardio you're doing what I had been doing with a different approach. I think you'll be fine. I have lost 60 lbs in 5 months, all fat, no muscle loss.

[pinoykcin]

When cutting you shouldnt lose any muscle if your diet is on point and you train intensely with weights.

can you please explain this more???? thanksss

I've lost 3.5lbs per week for a qhile then slowed it down to about 2lbs/week in the later phases. I never ate 1,200 calories though, I was an 1,800 calorie in guy, but I also did 800 calories worth of cardio daily for a net of 1,000 calories. If you do 1,200 in but very little cardio you're doing what I had been doing with a different approach. I think you'll be fine. I have lost 60 lbs in 5 months, all fat, no muscle loss.

How do you know you havent lost muscle?? Im not bagging on you, I'm about to go on another cut soon, and I want to hear about it

Thanks!

OP - I think you should reduce the lbs lost/weekly, you might lose some muscle in process and lifts possibly might go down, hopefully they wont

[eLiTe_J_]

I've lost 3.5lbs per week for a qhile then slowed it down to about 2lbs/week in the later phases. I never ate 1,200 calories though, I was an 1,800 calorie in guy, but I also did 800 calories worth of cardio daily for a net of 1,000 calories. If you do 1,200 in but very little cardio you're doing what I had been doing with a different approach. I think you'll be fine. I have lost 60 lbs in 5 months, all fat, no muscle loss.

just read every page of your journey so far on your site, way to go man!

[gooseguy312]

If so, what should I try bumping the calories up to? I know we all lose muscle when losing weight but I havnt worked out in years anyway so I dont think I have much muscle even though I am now lifting weights.

Should I up the cals to try and slow the weight loss down a notch? If so, how many calories do I bump it up to?

I must admit, I like losing the weight fast, but I dont wanna be skinny fat when all is said and done.


Wendal

3.5 pounds is 11,000 calories or so, that seems excessive in only a week, id slow the weight loss down to 2 pounds of fat per week, make it a 1600 calorie diet a day. I say this because the best way to send your body into starvation mode is too do a lot of psyhical activity with little food.

[asianboy101]

3.5 pounds is 11,000 calories or so, that seems excessive in only a week, id slow the weight loss down to 2 pounds of fat per week, make it a 1600 calorie diet a day. I say this because the best way to send your body into starvation mode is too do a lot of psyhical activity with little food.

???

[GregTR]

How do you know you havent lost muscle?? Im not bagging on you, I'm about to go on another cut soon, and I want to hear about it

Well I have measured my BF with a biometric scale at the beginning and it showed I was 237 lbs @ 38% BF. It means I had 145 lbs of LBM. I have tracked my weight and BF for 5 months straight with this scale and for the first month and a half my LBM has not changed one bit, fat percentage lost was a straight 1:1 correlation with weight lost. By Christmas I was down to 208 lbs at 30% BF. That means I had 145 lbs of LBM at that point.

Then the scale started to show a steady loss of LBM, about 10% of every lbs lost seemed to have been muscle mass. But my lifts stayed the same, I felt the same strength and I could no longer trust my scale.

Last week I had a 7 point caliper test done at a local gym and I came in at 179 lbs with 15.4% BF. That means I have 151 lbs of LBM.

So not only I didn't lose muscle mass I have actually gained 5 lbs of it in the last 5 months.

I think the pictures clearly show the same progress and I believe the numbers.

just read every page of your journey so far on your site, way to go man!

Thank you!