How to lose weight through low calorie intake, without screwing up metabolism?

[Firefly]

So I decided I needed to lose some weight, and signed up for a weight loss program where they deliver all your meals to you. They suggested that I should go for the 1800 calories/day option but I went for the 1500 calorie plan, as that gave me the option to have a protein shake each day as well as a couple of instant soups which I found filled me up more then the 300 calories worth of snacks the program gave you.

The program has been working great for me so far, and I have lost 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) in four weeks. However, my concern is that if I stay on this program long-term, my metabolism will adjust to the lowered calorie intake, making it harder to both continue to lose weight as well as to maintain my weightloss when I go off the weight loss program. I was wondering if people have any tips on how I can avoid this?

Two extra factors which may be relevant:

a. I have "cheated" on this diet three times (so about once every week and a half) and still experienced significant weight loss. The first time, I had a huge hunger burst and had about four different instant soups at night (so about 450 calories extra that day). The second time, I had to work late and was so hungry that I couldn't wait to get home to eat, and ended up having a giant bowl of Ramen noodles. The third time was for my cousin's engagement party, where I basically said "f*** it, there's free lobster and spitroast lamb!" and stuffed my face with massive amounts of food (although I was then so full, I did not east for the rest of the day).

b. I go to the gym about 4-5 times a week, but only do weights at the moment (about 45-60 minutes of lifting) and no cardio. Should I incorporate cardio into my routine now, or wait until I stop noticing weight loss?

 

[NorwegianDJ]

First off: Find your calorie maintencance.

Also give us more info. What's your height and weight? Whats your bodyfat %?

Reduce your calorie maintencance by 500, and you will lose 1 lb / week (estimated) and maintain metabolism. I know it's possible to reduce by 800 also, but it depends on your BF%.

Clean vs dirty foods are irrelevant on body composition. All that matters is calories (And carbs I'd say, you generally wanna limit them while keeping protein and fat high.)

Try keeping a 0.4 of your lean body mass (Weight - Fat weight) in fat (grams) per day.

You dont have to train so often. Try finding a good routine and stick to it. Maybe max 4 days (But thats just my uneducated opinion).

Cardio only burns calories, so you're just as well off with eating less.

 

[Voice]

First off: Find your calorie maintencance.

Also give us more info. What's your height and weight? Whats your bodyfat %?

Reduce your calorie maintencance by 500, and you will lose 1 lb / week (estimated) and maintain metabolism. I know it's possible to reduce by 800 also, but it depends on your BF%.

Clean vs dirty foods are irrelevant on body composition. All that matters is calories (And carbs I'd say, you generally wanna limit them while keeping protein and fat high.)

Try keeping a 0.4 of your lean body mass (Weight - Fat weight) in fat (grams) per day.

You dont have to train so often. Try finding a good routine and stick to it. Maybe max 4 days (But thats just my uneducated opinion).

Cardio only burns calories, so you're just as well off with eating less.

NO, don't lower carb intake! The whole atkins diet is bs and is unhealthy. If you are trying to burn fat, then do cardio! Aerobic exercise burns fat and carbohydrates. If you do not have enough glycogen stores, beta oxidation (process that breaks down fat for energy) won't work as efficiently. In other words, you need carbs to burn fat. Carbs will build up your glycogen stores, making exercise more efficient.

Aerobic exercise before 50% VO2 max burns exclusively fat, no carbs. Anything over 50% starts to burn more and more carbohydrates. However, the more intense you exercise aerobically, the more fat you burn. For example at 80% VO2 max you may be burning 40% fat and 60% carbohydrate, however that 40% of fat is still a greater then if you were burning fat exclusively at a much lower VO2 level. In other words, do aerobics at a moderate to high level of intensity for a long time to burn as much fat as possible.

Yes, reduce your calorie intake by around 500-800 cal. You should be getting 55-60%% from carbs, 20-30% from fats and 25-35% from proteins. Low fat diets below 20% of your total diet will blunt testosterone spikes after exercise. DO NOT GO WITH A LOW FAT DIET, especially if you are male! Just eat less in general.

Don't listen to bogus diets, or exercise plans go with the science.

(I major in exercise science btw, so this isn't bogus)

Peace and good luck.

Also, your metabolism doesn't "adjust" to your diet, but rather your body composition. So the more fat you lose, the faster your metabolism will be. Those with leaner body mass have a faster metabolism. It also slows down as you age, but not much between 20 and 40.

 

[NorwegianDJ]

NO, don't lower carb intake! The whole atkins diet is bs and is unhealthy. If you are trying to burn fat, then do cardio! Aerobic exercise burns fat and carbohydrates. If you do not have enough glycogen stores, beta oxidation (process that breaks down fat for energy) won't work as efficiently. In other words, you need carbs to burn fat. Carbs will build up your glycogen stores, making exercise more efficient.
Disagree.

Aerobic exercise before 50% VO2 max burns exclusively fat, no carbs. Anything over 50% starts to burn more and more carbohydrates. However, the more intense you exercise aerobically, the more fat you burn. For example at 80% VO2 max you may be burning 40% fat and 60% carbohydrate, however that 40% of fat is still a greater then if you were burning fat exclusively at a much lower VO2 level. In other words, do aerobics at a moderate to high level of intensity for a long time to burn as much fat as possible.
At the end of the day, calories and fat is just the same, hence why I dont get your point.

Yes, reduce your calorie intake by around 500-800 cal. You should be getting 55-60%% from carbs, 20-30% from fats and 25-35% from proteins. Why do you need excessive carbs to have the energy to do cardio? Lets assume that he's gonna be burning mostly carbs, which he wont need excessive carbs for. Due to calories and fat being the same thing, he will lose more fat.

Bold.

 

[Voice]

NorwegianDJ, you are misinformed. This info comes straight from an exercise physiology textbook. I study this stuff and this is all scientifically proven. My professor is an exercise physiologist and has worked with Olympic athletes. You can disagree I guess, but then you would be going against an exercise science major, an expert exercise physiologist and a textbook that has to be passed by numerous experts in the field before it can be published.

Calories and fat are not the same thing, I don't know where you got that from. Calories (really Kcal) are units of energy. Fat is an organic substance. Yes, our body does use fat as energy. Our body also uses carbohydrates and sometimes proteins and even alcohol. All of these provide energy (calories). Fat is not as efficient as carbohydrates. This is why your body utilized fats exclusively at low intensities. Fat is not an effective fuel for high intensity exercise.

The percents I gave of recommended intakes of carbs, protein and fats are actually the RDAs (recommended daily allowances) came up by the CDC, which is a government organization. I didn't change any of the values at all. 55-60% is not an excessive amount of carbs. I only said to take in less calories in general, but still stay within the RDAs. Which means eat less of all three.

"Lets assume that he's gonna be burning mostly carbs, which he wont need excessive carbs for. Due to calories and fat being the same thing, he will lose more fat."

I don't follow what you are trying to say here???

If you are trying to say that he shouldn't take as much carbs in so that he can burn exclusively fat when he exercises then you are misinformed again. This is a common misconception however. If he had no glycogen stores and he attempted to exercise using only fat as his energy source, he wouldn't be able to work nowhere near the level of intensity as if his glycogen stores are full. Athletes experience this all the time, they call it "hitting the wall" after all their glycogen is depleted. Also you burn more fat when you exercise at high intensities when you are utilizing both fat and carbs as fuel then when only using fat alone. Like I said before, carbs also assist your body in beta oxidation (process that breaks down fat into ATP).

Carbs are needed if you want to burn a large amount of fat. Carbs are good! Don't cut down on carbs.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Bold.

The atkins diet causes ketosis. That's what diabetics have when their blood sugar level is so low that their breath smells sweet. It's a fairly dangerous state to be in physically since you're a few steps away from passing out unconscious into a diabetic coma.

There's also other problems with a ketogenic diet (fats and proteins, no carbohydrates):

The ketogenic diet is not a benign, holistic or natural treatment for epilepsy; as with any serious medical therapy, there may be complications. These are generally less severe and less frequent than with anticonvulsant medication or surgery.[27] Common but easily treatable short-term side effects include constipation, low-grade acidosis, and hypoglycaemia if there is an initial fast. Cholesterol may increase by around 30%.[27] Long-term use of the ketogenic diet in children increases the risk of retarded growth, bone fractures, and kidney stones.[4] Supplements are necessary to counter the dietary deficiency of many micronutrients.[4]

About 1 in 20 children on the ketogenic diet will develop kidney stones (compared with one in several thousand for the general population). A class of anticonvulsants known as carbonic anhydrase inhibitors (topiramate, zonisamide) are known to increase the risk of kidney stones, but the combination of these anticonvulsants and the ketogenic diet does not appear to elevate the risk above that of the diet alone.[35] The stones are treatable and do not justify discontinuation of the diet.[35] Johns Hopkins Hospital now gives oral potassium citrate supplements to all ketogenic diet patients, resulting in a sevenfold decrease in the incidence of kidney stones.[36] However, this empiric usage has not been tested in a prospective controlled trial.[7] Kidney stone formation (nephrolithiasis) is associated with the diet for four reasons:[35]

Excess calcium in the urine (hypercalciuria) occurs due to increased bone demineralisation with acidosis. Bones are mainly composed of calcium phosphate. The phosphate reacts with the acid, and the calcium is excreted by the kidneys.[35]
Hypocitraturia: the urine has an abnormally low concentration of citrate, which normally helps to dissolve free calcium.[35]
The urine has a low pH, which stops uric acid from dissolving, leading to crystals that act as a nidus for calcium stone formation.[35]
Many institutions traditionally restricted the water intake of patients on the diet to 80% of normal daily needs;[35] this practice is no longer encouraged.[4]

In adults, common side effects include weight loss, constipation, raised cholesterol levels and, in women, menstrual irregularities including amenorrhoea.[37]

So in conclusion, going to the extreme... any extreme is always bad.

FYI, calories and fat are not the same thing.

Here's a chart:

Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories
Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories
Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories
Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories

 

[LindsayMason]

So I decided I needed to lose some weight, and signed up for a weight loss program where they deliver all your meals to you. They suggested that I should go for the 1800 calories/day option but I went for the 1500 calorie plan, as that gave me the option to have a protein shake each day as well as a couple of instant soups which I found filled me up more then the 300 calories worth of snacks the program gave you.

To be specific, a tight diet schedule is not going to help you out to burn out your extra fat. Frankly, I got fed up with my extra fat, and i know, one can not loose much of their weight in a short period of time. It’s not an easy job to lose much of weight in a short period of time. Between January 10, 2008 and April 15, 2008 I lost about fifty pounds. There are few tips which I worked on. These tips work well because almost every tip is focused around completing a small goal. In my opinion, to stay motivated and lose a significant amount of weight, you should complete many goals in a short period of time. The reason I call these tips unconventional is that I had not seen a majority of them before starting my diet. This seems easy enough. I recommend that before starting a diet, buy a scale that is accurate to .2 (two-hundredths of a pound). I will explain why below. I also recommend either buying a scale that can record your daily weight, or manually logging your weight everyday. I bought a scale that was accurate to .2 and logged my weight at Sam’s Club for $22. It has been a great investment. And be asured this scale really works.

To burn fat you can try out another step, which is obvious and broadly recommended, however, the reason I recommend it is slightly different. Drinking eight glasses of water per day helps you “feel less hungry.” I can’t prove this scientifically; however, when I am at work, I drink 4 cups in the morning and 4 cups in the evening. On the days that I don’t drink the water, I feel hungrier, earlier. Also, on the days I don’t drink water I feel sleepier, sooner. Don’t feel intimidated by trying to drink 8 glasses of water. Try doing what I do: I have a pint glass I keep at work, it holds sixteen ounces (as all pint glasses do). All I do is drink two pints of water in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Hope that works for you as well, in getting weight loss.

 

[Konada]

Definitely do cardio. Also, eat 6 times a day if you haven't already done so. Your metabolism will increase due to having to break down food all day whilst keeping in mind your desired calorie intake. Hope that helps.

 

[Alle_Gory]

Definitely do cardio. Also, eat 6 times a day if you haven't already done so. Your metabolism will increase due to having to break down food all day whilst keeping in mind your desired calorie intake. Hope that helps.

Doesn't work for everyone. I am one of those people that simply cannot eat 6 times per day. I can eat 2-5 times per day (3 preferred). Any more and I get indigestion.

 

[Quiksilver]

Doesn't work for everyone. I am one of those people that simply cannot eat 6 times per day. I can eat 2-5 times per day (3 preferred). Any more and I get indigestion.

You can reduce portion size and eat six.

I don't think it's really all that important though.

--

I've also done 12 weeks of a ketogenic diet and had no problems other than a lack of energy for HIIT.

After two weeks of zero carb, my body starts to use fats for energy and I'm not as lethargic as week one.

Then I reduce calories and my body begins to use adipose tissue (bodyfat) for calories and I burn bodyfat quite rapidly (1-2lbs per week).

Strength suffers, as does anaerobic capacity, however if I had to pick the fastest method for losing bodyfat without losing much muscle through diet it would be a ketogenic diet for 14 weeks combined with high volume muscle training and 6 hours of low intensity cardio per week.

A good ketogenic diet allows for 1 day per 14 days as a carb-up day of 80% cals from carbs and the rest from protein and fats.

--

If performance is important I would not recommend a ketogenic diet combined with high intensity training. For me it's strictly a bodyfat reduction fast-track, with an acknowledgement that strength will suffer and the first week or two I will be feeling flat.

 

[Jariel]

Lowering carbs is good for fat loss, but never cut them completely. Ketogenic diets will crush your soul! Trust me.

Just try to avoid all simple carbs and sugar and gradually lower your complex carb intake to a healthy level. Even low carb diets will be hard on you, low energy and drive, but you'll get good fat loss results very quickly if you do it right. Just ease into it, gradually cutting more and more carbs from your diet from week to week until you're just eating oatmeal for breakfast and leafy greens in the day. This will make sure you're getting fibre and don't clog up your intestines (a BIG health risk with Atkins and low carb diets). Maintain this for a few weeks and then up your complex carbs again slightly to give your body a break.

Never jump into any diet. Make sure you do it slowly.

Alternatively up your cardio as others are suggesting here. However, make sure you're keeping your protein intake very high otherwise the cardio will burn away your muscle.