IMHO trying to run a caloric deficit during main training blocks is idiocy.

Keep it to the offseason and early season.

In which case 'how early to stop' isn't really a question.

How much bad weight did you gain in the offseason?

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Dropping weight with a slight calorie deficit is not idiocy. Personally I will lose a couple lbs to hit race weight when I ramp up my IM training volume to 15-20hrs/wk. Calories are still greater than 3000 per day and my BF is <10%.

This is something pro tour riders do all the time. Froome dropped 1-2kg in the last month going into the tour last year.

The important thing is making sure not to skimp on intra and post workout nutrition. I would run a slight deficit going into your taper for your A race. Assuming you start your taper 2-3 weeks out as you decrease your training volume slightly you will be eucaloric heading into the race.

I am curious as well. I have been dropping about 1.7 lbs./week since early January on a goal to reduce about 25 lbs and 12% body fat. I was on track to hit my target weight about four weeks ahead of my A- race. However, I had a few bad weeks, so now my projection is about 2.5 weeks ahead of the race. I am pondering whether I stop the drop before I reach target weight, and then resume after the race.

My other complementary concern is how to stabilize my weight after having been in losing mode for so long. I am accustomed to eating around 2K calories/day, so I will probably need to ramp up another 500-1,000 calories to stabilize. That is a lot of beer.

I am following the thread to see what the general consensus is.

I stand by that it is.

Have you seen how ill pro cyclists look? And they have professional help.

An amateur should not be worrying about counting calories and running a purposeful deficit during big training blocks.

If you eat healthily and train hard your weight will balance naturally.

I guess I need to provide more information.

86 days ago I was offered as spot in a 50K, 7,000' trail race that I was almost certain I would not get into due to the history of the waiting list.

86 days ago I started dropping weight (caloric deficit).

The race is in 39 days.

This is why I asked the question. Is 3 weeks generally a safe amount of time to stop the caloric deficit, or should I stop much sooner (now)?

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

We must be twins because this is exactly my situation and I have these same questions. Similar numbers too.

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

Could you provide some basis for your opinion? My personal reference point: I have been at this for about 9 weeks and 15 lbs. I have been training intensely for 8-12 hours/week. If it has affected my performance or wellness in any way, I have not seen it in objective data. My bike power is up about 30W from when I started. My long distance running pace is 30-45 seconds faster from where I was late 2017. My swimming is the fastest it has ever been.

My general consensus research is that minor weekly drop (under 2 lbs.) is perfectly fine and does not materially impact athletic performance.

If you ask the question, it is probably because you count :
calories you use every day
calories you absorb every day

Then, if you are capable of separating calories from "fat" use, and calories from "CH" use (% of fat vs CH calories use depending on intensity of your workouts), you can keep some deficit going until the end, making sure you always compensate the CH use, also with appropriate protein, ... and not (completely) compensate the fat use.

If too difficult to track (as Tuckandgo say, it is more easily made if you have pro help), or not precise enough, then take some margin, and stop deficit during taper.

But if reasonably accurate, and working well, you can follow on during taper, if needed.

Again, managing efficiently the deficit is highly connected to your capacity to evaluate the portion of "fat use" in your training / life. Overestimating these (underestimating CH use / protein needs) will not help.

This is what I have experienced myself as well - although everyone is different to a point of course.

My 2-month daily average is:

29 minutes per day bike
74 minutes per day run
1,046 calories per day out from the above

2,458 calories per day consumed (42% carb, 38% fat, 20% protein)

For sure there are times I feel weak during an activity, but choosing when to eat makes all the difference.

My main concern, like you, is when to stop and let my body balance back out.

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

In my experience it is more dependent on the type of training you are doing. In particular, the amount of intensity. I can maintain 500-750 cal/day deficit while doing base/z1/z2 type training. However, the more I mix in z3/z4 the harder it gets...and the sustainable deficit begins to shrink. Really, with any significant z4 volume I can't keep the deficit...the batteries run down fast and stay there. If that's only one day a week, then I can get away with managing pre/post nutrition for the 36 hours following that workout. But, once that ramps up to 2-3 intense days a week, though....then you just need food because you are pretty much always recovering from something.

In my opinion the final 4-6 weeks, though is a really hard time to try and drop weight. Mostly for the reasons listed above. So with 39 days to go, I would stop within the next week....and focus on being ready to race. Its better to be the best "you that you are" rather than a "slightly lighter, but more tired" version of you.

Eat well, sleep well, train hard. Rest. Repeat.

FWIW, I'm 50....I could get away with a more aggressive approach when I was younger. That doesn't mean it was ideal, but the edge at 50 is much sharper than it was at 30.

A consensus is general ;-)

How do you know what your base metabolic rate is? How do you know how many calories you are using during training.

If the 'gap' is small (2-300 calories a day) how can you know that you are getting that correct? (other than 'after the fact' by losing weight).

If you are losing weight it is equally as easy to dig yourself into a hole instead. I would never advocate for someone to do that during heavy training because of the potential for getting it wrong - not because it can't be done right.

Thanks, that is really helpful info that I did not know.

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"If it costs you 30 minutes at Maryland so what" -dwreal

Are you a dietician, sports nutritionist, or just making up objections? Your questions are nonsense. Unless anyone does lab testing, no one will know BMR, and calories used during training are a guess at best. But, that is irrelevant if you carefully count and monitor the impacts on weight. After-the-fact works great, when coupled with available data. I am dropping less than 2 lbs./week, and I am getting there by managing the data I have. And, it is working for me. And, that target works for many. My performance is way up. Dropping 5 lbs./week or 10 lbs./week could be dangerous without oversight, but 2 is low, and I am under that.

Why would you not advocate for someone to lose weight during heavy training? Do you have a basis for your opinion? It looks like you are speaking out against something that many, many people have been doing successfully for many, many years.

Physiologist, and I work (indirectly, so as to not be disingenuous) with sports nutritionists. FWIW. We'll go round in circles about this, but I can promise you that your caloric deficit will start to limit performance. (loads of data out there about that if you use your google fu)

My questions weren't nonsense, but they were almost unanswerable - that was the point. The amateur can't know the answers.

I am advocating for someone to not purposefully lose weight during heavy training. If you eat healthily it is very difficult to eat enough calories during a heavy training load, so the bias should always be towards trying to eat more not less.

Nice job on losing the weight keeping your training going with good results. I am curious how sustainable your weight loss is as you get into the lower bf %. I'm also curious how much you had to lose when you started, and how much you realistically have left? Just thinking out loud here with no science: I imagine the first few pounds are the easiest to lose while keeping your energy and performance high, but as you get into the lower bf%, things will change and you'll need to be a bit less aggressive in order to feel good while doing it.

I have also lost a good 14 pounds since the 3rd week of January, but I have noticed it getting a lot more difficult at my current bf%.

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Personally, it works much better if I try to count calories in/out and % fat vs CH consumption (of course I know it is not fully accurate) than going totally blind.
Of course try to eat reasonably, healthy, and listen to perceptions. Not play math vs perceptions.

I'm 100% with tuckandgo on this.

Louis :-)

I do not know yet... I have not been there in 30 years.

In college I was racing bikes and lifting weights at 165 lbs. and probably around 5%-7% BF (based on a caliper test and general appearance). I started at at the beginning of January around 190 lbs. and 22% BF according to my Fitbit scale. Based on the math, that aligned reasonably well with my college max fit weight and BF%. So, I am targeting 164 lbs. and 10% BF on the Fitbit scale. I have a crapton of fat on me now, so I have deep caloric reserves for any activity. But, as I get leaner, I have no idea how calorie deficit will affect me. If I detect any issues, I will stop losing weight until the race. As it is now, I can do ~2 hours a day of high intensity activity on around 2K calories of total intake.

As someone over the age of 50...I don't agree with the bolded statement. Yes, it was true in my 20s and 30s. Back then, I couldn't eat enough. It got the the point that I was tired of eating. My coach at the time used to say, "I don't care what you eat. Eat friggin ice cream. Just stop losing weight!"

But today? I can easily overeat and gain weight even while training heavily, now. I know, because I have.

If anyone wants to go super hard on this you can find out your resting metabolic rate and your BF% for decently cheap at a BodPod or Dexascan lab with a groupon.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

Same for me (52)
Probably one of the reason I feel better evaluating in/out. It does help. Even if not fully accurate, it give me some guidelines.

I would suggest 3 or 4 MONTHS before race day. If you are trying to cut weight during your actual build phases you are asking for trouble. Keep your weight loss confined to the off-season or base phases. Once you start building volume, speed and strength (basically 3-4 months out from race day), you need to fuel your body for proper recovery. Weight loss is stressful on the body and is anathema to proper recovery from training stress.

Could have started with that instead of calling the OP an idiot. But.. ST.

Personal experience, I lost 10 lbs during season last year and got faster the whole season. I wasn't trying to lose weight, it just happened as I was doing a ton of activity both for fun and because I had to. I ate if I felt hungry. I think it means my body had fat to get rid of, and I did.

I agree with your general premise that intentional weight loss should occur offseason and during a base period. Then you go with what you've go.