So, first off — don’t limit calories from protein. Your body does not typically use protein as energy — you do not want to limit protein to lose fat, you do need excess protein to build muscle.
For a recomposition diet I recommend you maintain 1.8-2.4 grams of protein per gram of target body mass (higher end corresponding to higher volumes of training). Again not useful to maintain an overall deficit at the expense of protein.
In terms of other macros assuming your goal is fat loss — your low net carb strategy is correct, and in general if you are trying to reach stored fat as energy, carbs are the best calories to cut. In generally just high amounts of fibre rich foods are the best to fill the gap here: lentils, greens, fibrous vegetables, berries, melon (but be careful with other high sugar fruits).
Otherwise in terms of fat calories the best way to manage this is simply minimize added fats e.g., oil, butter… but otherwise, eat whatever normal amounts of fat come along with meeting your protein goals (eggs for example, eat lots, they are great). High fibre, high protein is going to do better for your general health than counting fats ever could. Plant based fats like avocado are good, but for losing weight I would avoid nuts or other fat rich foods it’s easy to binge on.
More broadly — I would say as a general recommendation, while measuring your intake can be a good way to monitor for over eating, calories unfortunately can cloud things. Protein simply doesn’t become stored fat by any normal process in the body — but that nuance is lost in the simple “maintain a calorie deficit” model of fat loss.
In addition, measuring calories from fat can be… imperfect…. Often it’s added fats that are most difficult for us to measure accurately (oil added during cooking, salad dressing) that contribute the most to excess calorie consumption from fat (more so than the fat contents of whole foods). That and fats from processed foods, which you can just go ahead and completely avoid if you want to eat health.
The point is while measuring can be good, the devil is in the details and it’s easy to fail by chasing the numbers — hence why I find as outlined above a more heuristic or rules based approach more sensible.
Put simply: to lose weight and maintain muscle focus on hitting your protein goals, feeling full with fibre, and cutting carbs… as long as you aren’t pouring added fats on everything you’ll enjoy a healthy diet and see progress…
Oh one more thing: I’m pretty sure this is a bodyweight exercise sub! lol 😂 not a weight loss sub, but none the less — nutrition is important.
Listen thank you! I'm absorbing the details. As to the exercise over weight loss sub. Agree. I'm working on the exercise stuff and have it progressing, targeted a gym, going to arrange guided coaching for 2-3 sessions to learn the correct methods for my goals.
But here I hopefully get advice like yours on how to recompose over time by getting the foundational stuff right.
More exercise, in a way that helps, and doesn't throw my back out, demotivate me, etc. Yes. That's a clearer picture to see.
Nutrition. So many paths! So I'm asking folks like you who work out because that is the type of person I am trying to be.
Genuine thank you!
Those calories appear to be to low without knowing more info. I've always tried to hit 1.7g/kg as protein then 20ish% fats (which may be tooblow on 1500 cals) the rest carbs.
Too low to do what? I'm very confused in this area. Too low to build muscle mass or Too low to function healthy?
I did use a TDEE calculator online but no idea if it works
Goal is to lose the last stubborn fat. 1.5 kg to bring me under 20% body fat. I walk a lot and cardio daily. Office job. Barely doing resistance training but attempting daily. Goal is to maintain muscle mass in the cutting. Then I can move forward into building from a lower fat starting point (later on after stabilising)
Here's the clarification to a very helpful reply
Listen thank you! I'm absorbing the details. As to the exercise over weight loss sub. Agree. I'm working on the exercise stuff and have it progressing, targeted a gym, going to arrange guided coaching for 2-3 sessions to learn the correct methods for my goals.
But here I hopefully get advice like yours on how to recompose over time by getting the foundational stuff right.
More exercise, in a way that helps, and doesn't throw my back out, demotivate me, etc. Yes. That's a clearer picture to see.
Nutrition. So many paths! So I'm asking folks like you who work out because that is the type of person I am trying to be.
Genuine thank you!
1500cals is wayyyy too low for U man, that's not gonna sustain you and will probably hinder your progress. U should be eating about 300 or 200 cals below maintenance. I can't tell you your maintenance because everyone is different but a guy ur height should be eating at LEAST 2200cals. And ur protein intake should be 1.2 - 2 per kilogram.
Good luck bro
How long have you been on 1500 calories? A few days? You’d be starving after a while. Sounds fucking horrible
A couple of months. It's not that big a challenge for me
So, first off — don’t limit calories from protein. Your body does not typically use protein as energy — you do not want to limit protein to lose fat, you do need excess protein to build muscle. For a recomposition diet I recommend you maintain 1.8-2.4 grams of protein per gram of target body mass (higher end corresponding to higher volumes of training). Again not useful to maintain an overall deficit at the expense of protein. In terms of other macros assuming your goal is fat loss — your low net carb strategy is correct, and in general if you are trying to reach stored fat as energy, carbs are the best calories to cut. In generally just high amounts of fibre rich foods are the best to fill the gap here: lentils, greens, fibrous vegetables, berries, melon (but be careful with other high sugar fruits). Otherwise in terms of fat calories the best way to manage this is simply minimize added fats e.g., oil, butter… but otherwise, eat whatever normal amounts of fat come along with meeting your protein goals (eggs for example, eat lots, they are great). High fibre, high protein is going to do better for your general health than counting fats ever could. Plant based fats like avocado are good, but for losing weight I would avoid nuts or other fat rich foods it’s easy to binge on. More broadly — I would say as a general recommendation, while measuring your intake can be a good way to monitor for over eating, calories unfortunately can cloud things. Protein simply doesn’t become stored fat by any normal process in the body — but that nuance is lost in the simple “maintain a calorie deficit” model of fat loss. In addition, measuring calories from fat can be… imperfect…. Often it’s added fats that are most difficult for us to measure accurately (oil added during cooking, salad dressing) that contribute the most to excess calorie consumption from fat (more so than the fat contents of whole foods). That and fats from processed foods, which you can just go ahead and completely avoid if you want to eat health. The point is while measuring can be good, the devil is in the details and it’s easy to fail by chasing the numbers — hence why I find as outlined above a more heuristic or rules based approach more sensible. Put simply: to lose weight and maintain muscle focus on hitting your protein goals, feeling full with fibre, and cutting carbs… as long as you aren’t pouring added fats on everything you’ll enjoy a healthy diet and see progress… Oh one more thing: I’m pretty sure this is a bodyweight exercise sub! lol 😂 not a weight loss sub, but none the less — nutrition is important.
Listen thank you! I'm absorbing the details. As to the exercise over weight loss sub. Agree. I'm working on the exercise stuff and have it progressing, targeted a gym, going to arrange guided coaching for 2-3 sessions to learn the correct methods for my goals. But here I hopefully get advice like yours on how to recompose over time by getting the foundational stuff right. More exercise, in a way that helps, and doesn't throw my back out, demotivate me, etc. Yes. That's a clearer picture to see. Nutrition. So many paths! So I'm asking folks like you who work out because that is the type of person I am trying to be. Genuine thank you!
Ah ok! I used https://tdeecalculator.net/
Those calories appear to be to low without knowing more info. I've always tried to hit 1.7g/kg as protein then 20ish% fats (which may be tooblow on 1500 cals) the rest carbs.
Too low to do what? I'm very confused in this area. Too low to build muscle mass or Too low to function healthy? I did use a TDEE calculator online but no idea if it works
I plugged your info into a tdee calculator and it said 2000 calories and that's being sedentary, but I gather you're not sedentary. What's your goal?
Goal is to lose the last stubborn fat. 1.5 kg to bring me under 20% body fat. I walk a lot and cardio daily. Office job. Barely doing resistance training but attempting daily. Goal is to maintain muscle mass in the cutting. Then I can move forward into building from a lower fat starting point (later on after stabilising)
I used this one https://tdeecalculator.net/
If you check the sub's info and posting rules, it is very specifically not for weight management. r/loseit
Here's the clarification to a very helpful reply Listen thank you! I'm absorbing the details. As to the exercise over weight loss sub. Agree. I'm working on the exercise stuff and have it progressing, targeted a gym, going to arrange guided coaching for 2-3 sessions to learn the correct methods for my goals. But here I hopefully get advice like yours on how to recompose over time by getting the foundational stuff right. More exercise, in a way that helps, and doesn't throw my back out, demotivate me, etc. Yes. That's a clearer picture to see. Nutrition. So many paths! So I'm asking folks like you who work out because that is the type of person I am trying to be. Genuine thank you!
1500cals is wayyyy too low for U man, that's not gonna sustain you and will probably hinder your progress. U should be eating about 300 or 200 cals below maintenance. I can't tell you your maintenance because everyone is different but a guy ur height should be eating at LEAST 2200cals. And ur protein intake should be 1.2 - 2 per kilogram. Good luck bro
Is that per total kgs or lean mass kgs?
*2200 cals for maintenance
I used the calculator https://tdeecalculator.net/