So I’m trying to figure what a safe calorie deficit is to run if I want to cut some weight. Obviously I don’t want to hurt my performance, but I definitely have some weight that I can and want to shed. Right now I’m 34, 6’3" and 199lbs. I am confident I can get into the low 180’s for race weight and still be healthy and probably stronger than I am today (with proper training of course). I’d like to hit that number for Lake Stevens which is July 21st. Last year at Lake Stevens I was around 189lbs after coming down from 230lbs in Nov '11.
PS: I am definitley not going to stop eating, just want to make sure I am taking in enough calories to make sure I don’t impact performance too much.
When I track calories and I am doing a decent training load (13-16 hours a week) I find somewhere in the range of 500-1,000 calories a day is manageable.
In case you didn’t know, there are 3,500 calories in a pound, 3500/500=7 days to lose 1 pound. So 1,000 is about 2 pounds a week.
I found even on days where I do big training loads, if I have a 2,000 calories deficit, it can come back to haunt me the next day and I will be really hungry and over eat.
I have a friend how can maintain bigger deficits, but I am pretty sure it affects his training. I think in the 500-1,000 range you shouldn’t feel like it’s affecting your training.
So lets say you have 15 weeks to cut weight (assuming you act like I do during taper and don’t lose any or possibly gain…) So, 15X7= about 105 days.
If you want to weight 179, you are 20 lbs overweight approx. 20*3500= 70000 calories you need to lose by then. 70000/105= 666.67 calories per day deficit.
If you want to weight 181, you are 18 lbs overweight approx. 18*3500= 63000calories you need to lose by then. 6300/105= 600 calories per day deficit.
If you want to weight 183, you are 16 lbs overweight approx. 16*3500= 56000 calories you need to lose by then. 70000/105= 533.33 calories per day deficit.
200-300 is generally the recommended amount per day, but fwiw Ive run 1000+ for a few weeks…makes me tired and cranky, but I can still get the workouts in. Speedwork gets tough at those higher levels.
When I track calories and I am doing a decent training load (13-16 hours a week) I find somewhere in the range of 500-1,000 calories a day is manageable.
In case you didn’t know, there are 3,500 calories in a pound, 3500/500=7 days to lose 1 pound. So 1,000 is about 2 pounds a week.
Good Luck!
Studies are increasingly showing that the 3500 = 1 lb is not accurate, and is highly variable according to the individual.
If you are not using a diet tracker program, try this. www.mynetdiary.com There is an iPhone/Android app too so its super easy.
You set a goal wieght and date and it then calculates the daily loss you need to meet your target and adjusts it as you go along. You input exercise every day so your target daily calorie deficit takes training load into account. It really works.
It has a disclaimer that says you should not go over a 1000 calorie per day deficit unless under a doctors care but I’ve been on a diet for teh past 7 weeks and have been averaging about a 1200 per day deficit without any problem and have been training 7 hours a week (its still winter here . . ). I’ve lost 14 pounds in 7 weeks.
It helps to start out fat if you want to post big numbers but it works like magic if you stick with it
I’m using myfitnesspal to track my calories and while I have a feeling it totally overestimates the calories burnt in working out (approx 1000 calories on a 60min/20mph trainer ride) it is pretty good for the food aspect of it. We’ll see how the first week or two go as I have a feeling a bunch of my existing weight is just going to fly off with my increased training anyway…
Depending on how hard you are going it is definitely within reason to burn 1k for an hour ride. I tested at 185lbs and I would burn around 850cal at 20mph which is zone 3 for me.
OP, as thepaul500 pointed out, you could drop the weight at a 600cal/day deficit and have little effect on your training. Big weeks you might be a little cranky, but a lot less cranky than trying to cram and be in a 1000+ deficit.
When I track calories and I am doing a decent training load (13-16 hours a week) I find somewhere in the range of 500-1,000 calories a day is manageable.
In case you didn’t know, there are 3,500 calories in a pound, 3500/500=7 days to lose 1 pound. So 1,000 is about 2 pounds a week.
Good Luck!
Studies are increasingly showing that the 3500 = 1 lb is not accurate, and is highly variable according to the individual.
John3500=1lb is reasonably accurate. What studies have found is that as you lose weight your BMR goes down so you need to account for that in calculating your deficit.
Whatever your deficit (experiment with it) dont do it for too long. Every few days, jump back to a surplus to jumpstart the metabolism. The body adapts to wide range of scenarios, so the metabolism will slowly adapt to a deficit. Also, a jumpstart is helpful mentally. Its tough to do a deficit for too long without pizza, ice cream and all the goodies.
I think most of these programs way over estimate the calorie burn from exercise, especially if you are doing more than walking on a treadmill for 20 minutes.
My net diary tells me the 1 hour “vigorous/racing pace” trainer ride I just did is good for 1507 calories. Trainer Road says 595 kj which they say is roughly the same number of calories. I’m sure neither is accurate but I go with the lower number.
Its tough to do a deficit for too long without pizza, ice cream and all the goodies.
The great thing about counting calories is that if you cut back during the day and do a workout, you can have pizza, ice cream and beer and still make your numbers
An honest 500 per day deficit works for me. Need to watch the estimates on exercise very closely. I iterated over months to get the numbers where I can trust them (I have reliable estimates now for cals burned per mile of run, per hour of swim, per pound lost, and from basically existing). For bike, no estimate needed as I pull it from the PM.
Trick to making this all work is being honest with the numbers. Myfitnesspal works great for me, but only because I change the exercise information. If I let it estimate the burn data, I would never lose any weight at all.
If you don’t have one, get a food scale. I don’t weigh everything but it is very useful, both for dieting and as a kitchen tool. (Its also great for measuring ingredients for cooking, way easier and quicker than measuring cups).
Aside from just being able to get more accurate numbers, it is really interesting to see portion sizes. Its not just the “bad” foods that trip you up. A portion of ice cream is actually bigger than I thought it was. On the other hand, what I thought was a portion of healthy granola had about 250 more calories in it than a real portion.
Agree, for me it is way more about how much I eat than it is about what. I now understand that it is possible to gain weight eating nothing but healthy stuff. I can gain weight eating nothing but bananas if I wanted to.
Remember its not only about calories. A nutritionist helped me lose about 60 pounds a couple of years ago and I’ve been able to keep it off. I’ve actually never figured out how many calories a day I eat on my food plan. Its all about eating the right food, right amount, right time of day. Eat clean and natural foods, smaller meals throughout the day. Cut out the junk food and base your diet on lean protein, veggies, fruit, nuts, and complex carbs (brown rice, potatoes, oatmeal, etc.). Watch the sodium too. That was something I had never thought about. Of course a little splurge on hard training days here and there is good too! You’ll be surprised how fast you’ll lean out once you clean up your food.
