HOW TO INTRODUCE A MILD, SOLID, OR HARD CALORIC DEFICIT.

Original Question from Lee, on Quora:My primary goal is to cut fat, but I am also training compound lifts 4 times a week with some steady cardio. I appreciate that with a calorie deficit, I won't progress the lifts quickly or at all, but what is the biggest calorie deficit I can get away with? It's a hard slog for squats, but I don't mind that if I can drop fat.

Wassup, Lee, MY BRUDDAH!

Usually, I would say, dude, just stay as active as you can, focus on eating mainly healthy stuff, and your body composition will follow along if you keep this consistently over time.

But since you're in a hurry— let's complicate this shit.

Although I still think the aforementioned approach is THE BEST POSSIBLE, stay patient, one step at a time; that’s the absolute BEST— although it's a slow burner.

But since you’re in a hurry… let’s play.

Shoot for a deficit that allows you to lose 1-2 lbs a week— trying to go beyond that is a shot in the foot to be completely honest— 'cause the faster you try to push, the faster your body will get desensitized and say enough is enough— leading to binging, burnout, and completely derailing your efforts of shedding that fat off for good— so the question is, how big is that deficit!?

In theory, that's anywhere from 500Kcal to 1000Kcal of net caloric deficit a day— energetically, to consume a pound of fat takes ~3500 Kcal, but there's a BIG CAVEAT to all this— we love to attach abstract numbers to our BMR, our TDEE— we love apps and gadgets that say "Hey, you've burned 900Kcal in this run"— we LOVE the illusion of control.

But let me tell you what, I've seen people that should be losing a pound a week with a theoretical 500kcal deficit stay at exact weight, while others were losing weight while trying to implement a 500kcal surplus— their mistake was putting too much credit on abstract calculations and completely disregarding the cues their bodies were giving them.

If you really wanna shed fat for good— you've gotta find out where your metabolism stands based ON YOUR REALITY— abstract calculations will only serve you after you've made that assessment.

So the first step— STANDARDIZE YOUR DIET & ACTIVITY LEVELS.

For the first 4-6 weeks of this process, keep whatever exercise regimen you might be doing pretty steady, and eat only the same items, with the same quantities, when planning what you're going to eat, shoot for ~2000Kcal— it can be any number really, but the idea is to see where your metabolism really is, 'cause although the online calculators can provide a good guess, you need to understand that you genetics, activity levels, stress levels, sleep patterns, your overall health in general, will impact this number and create an individual scenario that can only be addressed BY YOU.

During the first 3-4 weeks, you'll experience rapid weight loss in the form of water weight and glycogen being depleted if 2000Kcal is enough to put you in a deficit— but don't be too enthusiastic about it, 'cause FAT BURNING barely even started and the reality check will come.

From weeks 4-6, and beyond, the rate by which you still keep losing body weight, is a fair assessment of where your TDEE really is, and you can adjust to how big of a deficit you're willing to implement.

If you want a mild deficit— let's say about 250kcal—that'll provide you with half a pound of fat loss each week— a deficit like this is usually highly sustainable, you'll feel your stomach is a TIGHT, and you don't necessarily feel HUNGRY, it feels like you're in control of your midsection, food starts to taste a bit better, and cravings and compulsions might happen, but it's really pretty easily avoided if you're strategic about how you spread your meals throughout the day.

We usually have better willpower at the beginning of the day, so it's interesting to program your heavier meals to be in the afternoon and evening— eating big meals at night might disrupt your sleep and hence disrupt your metabolic health in the process, so usually not a good idea.

If you find out that you're at this mild deficit— you can keep the deficit going for anywhere between 12-16 weeks without reversing back to maintenance, or a surplus for a week or two to keep your metabolism roaring.

If you want a SOLID deficit— ~500Kcal a day— you'll be losing a pound of fat a week— there's NO GUESSING GAME HERE if you truly standardized everything— a true 500 Kcal a day deficit starts to become challenging, you WILL FEEL HUNGER, nothing unbearable, it's more like emptiness in a sense, but throughout the day you'll need to monitor yourself for that biofeedback if your body isn't saying "yo, my dude, I need to eat", odds are you're not introducing a solid deficit.

Of course, this is assuming you're not using appetite suppressors, which CAN BE A TOOL, but I would advise you to learn how to introduce a deficit without any support before introducing supplementation.

It's the same deal as any other supplement, pre-workouts, creatine, whatever, they're useful tools if you don't DEPEND on them to achieve your results.

The same tactics as before still apply, but more importantly, surrounding your training bout, try to take advantage of your anabolic window, and the fact that glycogen reuptake peaks right after training by scheduling your biggest meals to be right after your workouts.

If you find out that you're at this SOLID deficit— you can keep the deficit going for anywhere between 8-12 weeks without reversing back to maintenance, or a surplus without much worry of buttfucking your metabolism, but make sure you stay 2-4 weeks outside of deficit afterward for the same reasons as before.

Now, if you go for that HARD deficit— ~1000kcal a day— you'll be losing two pounds a week, you'll feel hungry most of the time, and your energy levels will take a toll, it's interesting to program a nap throughout the day, especially if you have cognitive work to do.

I highly recommend that you introduce some form of deliberate cold exposure to ramp up your catecholamines— adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine— so you can have a good bump in your energy levels, drive, and motivation to keep everything you're trying to do in place.

Coffee will also be one of your best friends— 'cause caffeine modulates the way the dopamine receptor works, allowing you to strategically create bouts where you'll ramp up your energy levels at specific portions of the day when you'll need to do stuff— especially workouts— 'cause caffeine is HIGHLY ergogenic, and will allow you to perform at somewhat of a decent level at the gym, of course, at the price of a BIG crash later in the day, which in a sense, might be adaptative, 'cause when pushing this hard, your best bet is to go to sleep to forget the hunger HAHAHA.

If you choose this option, stay at this rate of fat loss for 4-8 weeks TOPS— this is a fairly aggressive approach— and although it's possible to push it further, you're risking compromising your ability to lose weight in the future.

I know so many people, me included, that lost weight with an ultra-aggressive approach at one point of their lives, and later, after they inevitably burned out and got fat again, tried it again, and it never worked again, 'cause the toll on their metabolism from that utter stupidity from the past was still there.

So don't fall for that, be conscious, and understand that you can't undo a lifetime of excesses with a year of deprivation.

That's it, Lee, MY BRUDDAH!

I hope I was able to shed some light upon this darkness, my G, now choose wisely how you wanna thread forward!

IT'S TIME TO CHISEL THAT FUCKING FAT OFF, MY BRUDDAH!

STAY ON THE IRON PATH!

Big KISS

THE POTATO MAN