How much caloric deficit is too much?

[coleiandoli]

Hello. Just need a quick opinion or two, as I am very new to dieting/cutting. I calculated my maintenance calories to be around 3100 or so. I am currently eating around 2400 calories a day. Is this too much of a deficit? I feel like I have lost a lot of weight for just 3.5 weeks of dieting (11 lbs, down from 211 to 200). Please help a brother out!

[Tommy W.]

I’m guessing you carry a lot of fat in order to lose that much. If it’s working stay the course. As you lean out, that calories amount won’t be such a big deficit and the losses will slow. Best to be on a good weight lifting program while in a calorie deficit.

[coleiandoli]

I’m guessing you carry a lot of fat in order to lose that much. If it’s working stay the course. As you lean out, that calories amount won’t be such a big deficit and the losses will slow. Best to be on a good weight lifting program while in a calorie deficit.

I'd like to think I'm not carrying that much fat ;( I have been regularly strength training for 3 years, and at 200 right now I can bench 325 and deadlift 515. Can preform like 30 something dips and 4 muscle ups. I guess I am just going to stay the course and see what happens. Thank you for the response though

[Ghawk21]

I'd like to think I'm not carrying that much fat ;( I have been regularly strength training for 3 years, and at 200 right now I can bench 325 and deadlift 515. Can preform like 30 something dips and 4 muscle ups. I guess I am just going to stay the course and see what happens. Thank you for the response though

Keep in mind some of the initial loss would be water and glycogen. Things will likely slow down now.

[PTzFree]

This is tough to gauge without knowing what your bf% is.

For morbidly obese people it's very normal to see double digit drops per week.

This would be very concerning for someone who was slightly overweight and out of shape - say a 30% bmi. That would tell us they probably are in too high of a deficit and may even be doing damage to internal organs. This hypothetical person should only be losing 1-3 lbs a week and needs to increase their calorie intake.

If you have concerns, increase your intake to until you're only losing 2 lbs a week instead of 3-4.

[newbutserious]

I think you're ok. Typically mediumish or modest body fat people the advice is 2lbs/week or less. So 1000 calorie deficit. The more overweight you are the faster you can usually safely go. I'm not sure the upper limit, but 2 lbs / week is a good rule of thumb for almost everyone.

3.5 weeks is only just starting to be long enough to really get a good sense of trend line also. Still, I like the advice above. If you continue to see weight loss exceeding 2lbs / week perhaps increase calories somewhat.

[Tommy W.]

Just don’t forget the loss will slow at that same calorie amount as you lean out.

If you’re at a true 2,400 that isn’t that low

[misterblick]

1lb a week is usually pretty safe but if you just started cutting, you'll probably see a bigger drop the first month or two. It should balance out after a few more weeks. If you keep banging out -3lbs a week after that, you might want to up intake to avoid muscle loss. If you're taking bi-weekly or monthly pics or measuring arms, chest, etc., you should be able to notice any large changes.

[bforrester78]

Keep in mind some of the initial loss would be water and glycogen. Things will likely slow down now.

This. It's almost completely normal to lose 10+lbs in the first few weeks of a diet due to water and glycogen loss. After 3 or 4 weeks, you should normalize to a 1-2lb per week.