posted Sun, 03/26/2017 - 12:50
2043
How many calories to burn?
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So Im off cycle focusing on dropping BF% and as I lose fat it becomes harder to get close to single digits. Im getting better at tracking my calories in/out macros ect.
Question is how many calories should I focus on burning at the gym?
I am focused on maintaining a calorie deficit and Im doing mostly cardio lifting maybe 2x a week.
Any ideas on the number of calories i should be burning off at the gym?
Thx
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I would look at the diet again, and timing of foods
what's a good day currently look like?
BandoleroIve been eating around 2300-2400 a day and burning 5-6 hundred a day on the stairmaster. Doing that 4-5 days a week. Im getting some results but seems like i need to push this alot more. I dont mind if I eat into muscle tissue at all I have enough and suprised what I kept from my last cycle. Besides I know ill add a tiny bit of bloat when I run my NPP cycle in a few months.
Thanks all for the replys any more feedback or ideas:
You have hit a plateau, so only a small change to something (food timing, or consumption amount, or exercise (type/duration or maybe timing) should get you over the plateau
Can you share your diet? As a tweak there might well be easier to manage than increasing or changing your cardio...
Bandolero4 scrambled eggs in the morning with a little gouda on top...a bananski. Protien shake 75grams. Cafe yum bowl which is brown rice, beans, tofu and a lil veggies for lunch thats 700 calories. A bowl of soup with a small piece of bread and this is done by 4pm then water.
What time is gym at?
What are the timings on these foods?
At a glance, I think possibly, and this is only a guess... possibly you might be causing something like a starvation mode, or energy saving - by cutting everything off at 4. Or, perhaps carb timing is the issue, or perhaps hidden sugar
Protein+Fats in the morning is great, good stuff
whats in that protein shake? ingredients etc? (perhaps drop it for Leucine/BCAA's or raw egg whites)
Depending on what time you start out at, to keep metabolism high, you might consider a couple of things;
perhaps spacing these meals out more
perhaps timing the carb intake to only immediately before (within 1 hr before wo), during and/or right after (within 2 hours) of your workouts
I think that even if you kept the meals the same, but made a couple of changes to the timing of meals and perhaps removing any hidden sugars, you will get past your current adaptation. You could also try small changes such as cutting the carb calories in half (for example, take half rice and the bread and increase protein instead which should get glucagon working for you to free up some more stored energy)
BandoleroI start cardio sessions right around 5pm and my protien is zero/low carb whey isolates with just water.
Whats the leucine/bcaa for?
Yeah im gunna tweak my diet more and go lower and cleaner. Right before my cardio sessions im gunna eat 2 dates to prevent me from going hypoglycemic. I know I can push harder too
Leucine, helps keep you anabolic. Its for protein sysnthesis and muscle retention, important also when dieting to help ,minimise muscle loss. I know you said muscle retention isnt a concern, but leucine will help keep muscle which will help with fat loss, will help keep you in protein metabolism which encourages fat loss, and it also works well with insulin (which spikes around carb time)
i personally, take it first thing am in water to hydrate and get out of a catabolic state, then to keep protein sysnthesis going through the day and to help with muscle breakdown during gym workout. This is all beneficial for someone on a fat loss quest too.
Just another thought:
Not fully sure what your cardio protocol is, but perhaps some hardcore HIIT (spin bike - sprint at close to 100% for say 45 secs - 1 minute, then turn the friction WAY up and go to failure (maybe 10-15 seconds, then slow for 15 seconds, then repeat.
do 2-4 reps of that twice only per week (i dunno, say 10 mins max of work) and you will increase your body's fat burning
Something that came into my mind,,,, is it possible water retention is tricking you at all? Are you going by the scales or regular BF% checks?
Water retention can be a sneaky mo'fo' and not necessarily obvious
BandoleroGoing by just the scale.... I havent been drinking enough water... Thats gotta be a factor
Id say so.
Not drinking enough water will limit the body's ability to burn fat, regardless of diet, but it also causes water retention.
A pint of water before bed and immediately when you wake up should make all the difference for you - good for the heart too
small tweaks will get you there. I wouldnt do anything drastic, just the water, add some HIIT instead of some of the steady state cardio, or mix them, time the carbs for workouts only, and if that doesnt kick start it, maybe up the protein a little and down the carbs
good luck fella!
BandoleroMuch thanks
Number of cals you're burning at the gym doesn't matter, it's your deficit that matters. You can burn 0 calories at the gym( obviously 0 is impossible) and lose weight as long as you're still in a caloric deficit. As you lose weight, need to adjust your calorie intake
3,500 calories per week to lose one pound of fat. Anything more than 2 pounds a week and you run the risk of eating away at muscle tissue. I think it boils down to exercise and diet.
Edit: TrenAllDay is right, of course. You can burn 3,500-7,000 calories in the gym for the next 2 months and not lose weight (if you are not in a caloric deficit). I should have been more specific in my initial response. Shoot for a daily caloric deficit of 500 (1 pound of fat loss per week). After a few weeks, you should increase the daily deficit to 800, IMO. Remember the closer you get to the 7,000 calorie deficit each week, the closer you are to running the chance of burning up valued muscle.
Make sure you are still getting in the necessary protein to maintain muscle mass during your cut.