Gaining Muscle on a Caloric Deficit

[Plugging Along]

I want to lose weight until I feel like enough is enough (which will be soon), and then I will eat and weight train in order to gain muscle.

With regards to eating - I will still be healthy, but not as healthy. Example, I will start eating chips, chocolate milk, pizza, etc again, just keep my portions in check.

My 3 foot, 3 year old daughter is supposed to consume at least 1000 calories a day, and that's just so she doesn't lose weight. I cant imagine you are getting enough fuel for your body. The fact that you are hungry and literally starving during the day, also indicates you are not getting enough. I work with specialists including dr's, nutritionists, etc for both myself, and my kids, and much of what you are saying just doesn't match with they are saying. You are just guessing at your health, you haven't measure your % body fat nor, your metobolism. I just don't understand why not eat healthy amounts (which is a lot more than you have now), and then put in your diet in moderation the less healthy foods that you mentioned. I don't think it needs to be one or the other. You seem to take things to extremes. I would think that this is not sustainable, and that since you are not learning how to eat properly, that as soon as you stop, you will slowly, or maybe quickly regain the weight.

I know lost 80+ lbs before, and even though I did it a healthy way by cutting out all the crap, and just eating clean foods. I didn't learn to ensure this would be a part of my lifestyle forever and didn't figure out how to incorporate the things I loved. Once I got to my goal weight, I thought I could just go back to eating the foods I missed, just in a smaller portions and here and there. Well, I gained much of the weight back.

Now, I am losing again (lost 40+ lbs) so far, and it's not as quick as the last time, but I am making sure that I eating well, but still making it a lifestyle I can keep forever. I had chips this weekend, jelly beans this morning, a prime rib, and cupcake this weekend. All were small portions, and just enough that I didn't feel that I missed it. Still lost a pound this week.

[Helianthus]

PA, I do not think there is anything wrong with the methodology that KaeJS is following, however, I think his execution is poor. Extreme calorie deficits on a cyclical basis are not harmful, and can be very beneficial in shedding weight quickly. I do agree with those who say that this is not a good long-term plan. If he follows a modified cyclical PSMF, such as the RFL diet by Lyle McDonald, he should accomplish the weight loss goals he is trying to achieve with relative ease. The draw back is that such a diet should only be followed for short time periods (4-8 weeks), and does very little to benefit the dieter after the diet, in terms of ingraining sustainable eating habits.

[KaeJS]

Well, I just came back from a one week vacation. Calorie intake was limitless.

I gained 9 pounds (though, I believe 3lbs of this would be restored glycogen and water weight, as I would have burned up all of my glycogen after eating only 800 calories each day for 6 days previously). I brush it up to say I gained almost 1 pound per day of fat.

My diet was insane, though. I consumed 50 beers, chocolate, pancakes, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, sausages, chips, redbull, etc. As I said, there were no limits - and it felt fantastic.

Now that I've broken the cycle, it's time to jump back on the caloric restriction and start working out again.

Dopple, your expenditure/metabolism must be a lot better than mine. If I ate what you ate, I would get fat.

Helianthus, as I've said multiple times, I don't think I'm an expert. What I said is that I found information on this subject to be useless as there is no solid evidence. Different studies/experts all say different things. That's why my consensus is that the body can lose substantial amounts of fat without losing muscle with the possibility of even gaining muscle.

I don't expect anyone to believe in me, as what I am doing is quite extreme. As I said, though, I will post pictures in the months to come.

[Sampson]

How can this be healthy?

You are essentially binging. Both in the restriction and over eating phases. Why not just have a balanced lifestyle you can maintain everyday?

[KaeJS]

How can this be healthy?

You are essentially binging. Both in the restriction and over eating phases. Why not just have a balanced lifestyle you can maintain everyday?

Because that takes way too long. I don't want to wait forever to achieve my goals.

What's not healthy about it? Our ancestors lived like that for years.

Where is the evidence that says it is unhealthy?

[steve41]

Because that takes way too long. I don't want to wait forever to achieve my goals.

What's not healthy about it? Our ancestors lived like that for years.

Where is the evidence that says it is unhealthy?

...and their life expectancy was what?.... 1/4 of our current lifespan.

[Sampson]

I don't think our ancestors binged on
"50 beers, chocolate, pancakes, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, sausages, chips, redbull"

It's been very clear that you believe your own body and have little patience for what others do. To each their own, hopefully it works out positively for you.

Keeping the diet and health out of it, it can't be psychologically healthy to live so extremely, but I'm not psychiatrist either.

[mrPPincer]

I don't think our ancestors consumed anything close to the amount of refined sugars and starches that are so prevalent in our diets today.
One can cut way back on those and still have a healthy yet satisfying day to day diet imo.

For example, if you like choclate milk you can add cocoa powder without the sugar, and if you feel you need more sweetness you can add stevia, a natural plant extract.
Redbull and pop and even fruit juice (not whole fruit quite so much) is pretty much just pure sugar, pancakes and white bread buns, pizza crust pretty much pure starch, chips high in starch too.

I've been increasingly trying to avoid those types of foods, along with beer, preferring some dry homemade wine mixed with water, whey protein isolate, some dry ginger powder and chilled. Also've been coming up with some great high protein low carb snack foods.
Have not seen any weight loss yet, but my belt size went back down a notch so far.

[KaeJS]

Their life expectancy was lower because they were less knowledgeable and didn't have access to the medication and healthcare we have today, not because they would binge.

As I said, I'll post pictures in a few months when I'm still alive, in good health and am (hopefully) ripped.