Which calorie deficit do I use??

[SupremeG56]

ok heres my situation I did a lot of reading and such on this forum and its freaking great I love it cant wait to start losing weight even though i can tell I'm building muscle during my workout sessions


I have a question Im relatively new to weight training and working out (yes i know its sad) Im 5'10 289 I want to lose weight obviously and gain muscle I used the tool given (total metabolism forecaster) but after using the regimen forecast it says I have to be at a 2426 calorie diet to lose weight Im afraid thats to low for my lifting and cardio sessions that i do at the gym 4-5 times a week without using the regimen tool it says to stay at a 3400-3600 calorie diet any idea on which one I should follow?

thanks in advance

Ok i downloaded the newer version and it seems to be a little more accurate now its saying a 2800 calorie deficit but still let me know if this seems ok

[Foadon]

you can do 2 things
1) normal 10-20% deficit based off good calculations (the stickies in nutrition are a good read to determine), and adjust numbers after seeing results of 1-2 lbs fat loss/week (might be hard to determine with fluctuations/muscle gains).

2) use a bigger deficit (still use the numbers) and you CAN lose more than 2lbs/week. Since you have alot to lose it's easy to lose more and not get in trouble, but doing it longterm (especially if its major deficits) can cause you to stall out and then be at a guess what you should do next. Some people are against doing this, but if you do it properly and have minibreaks - eating maintenance once a week or smt, can help more because you'll be more motivated if the first months it just melts off

Key is making sure you know how much you need to eat to maintain, and then substract a good % off. 2400kcal seems too low for your weight. Especially if you are active. 2400 sounds more like if you are sedentary (BMR * 1.2). But a calculator is not 100% accurate, so let your body tell you what numbers are good

[SupremeG56]

yea i was thinking the same thing about 2400kcal being to low i'm going to shoot for the 28-2900kcal and see how that works for me for two weeks thanks for your help

[kevsworld]

ok heres my situation I did a lot of reading and such on this forum and its freaking great I love it cant wait to start losing weight even though i can tell I'm building muscle during my workout sessions


I have a question Im relatively new to weight training and working out (yes i know its sad) Im 5'10 289 I want to lose weight obviously and gain muscle I used the tool given (total metabolism forecaster) but after using the regimen forecast it says I have to be at a 2426 calorie diet to lose weight Im afraid thats to low for my lifting and cardio sessions that i do at the gym 4-5 times a week without using the regimen tool it says to stay at a 3400-3600 calorie diet any idea on which one I should follow?

thanks in advance

Ok i downloaded the newer version and it seems to be a little more accurate now its saying a 2800 calorie deficit but still let me know if this seems ok

Most of the time 12 calories per lb of body weight would be considered weight loss. But at your weight I'd say 10 calories per lb would be better. I think 2,500-2,800 will be fine. Don't be obsessed with the fear of losing muscle--it won't happen as long as you are lifting weights. You'd have to have much lower body fat, extremely low calories and a very high level of activity before you'd start losing muscle.