★OFFICIAL DAILY★ Daily Q&A Thread November 12, 2024

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[u/Horrorlover656]

Is fish good source of protein?

[u/Yachiru5490 → u/Horrorlover656]

Yep! Just keep in mind that some fish (those higher up on the food chain) have really high mercury levels so you need to be careful how often you eat some things; things like shrimp have low mercury levels, are lower calorie, and have decent protein to my understanding.

[u/Western_Boat_6823]

TDEE help? I am 93kgs at 173cm. I strength train 4 times a week (30-45mins). Light Cycling 2x a week for (30-50mins)

[u/National_Wing_2902 → u/Western_Boat_6823]

Age and gender?

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/National_Wing_2902]

18 male !😁

[u/National_Wing_2902 → u/Western_Boat_6823]

Calculated with light exercise (because it's better to slightly underestimate the activity level) your TDEE is estimated to be roughly 2700 kcal.

Are you looking to count calories and eat at a deficit, to lose weight? If so, logging calories and weight over several weeks will tell you if your food intake is good, or if it needs to be adjusted! The first few weeks usually show a big drop in weight, so you can disregard the first 4 weeks.

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/National_Wing_2902]

Hii! I’m eating around 1800-2100kcal per day😁 looking to lose weight already lost 4.5kgs the last 50 ish days

[u/National_Wing_2902 → u/Western_Boat_6823]

Hello hello 😁 Nice job with the weightloss! You're doing a pretty big deficit, but it's perfectly fine as long as these things are still okay:

-You find it relatively easy to stay within target calories without massive hunger.

-You have energy and strength to perform your workouts.

-You sleep as well as you did before starting your deficit.

-Your weight isn't dropping too fast (on average more than 1 % of your bodyweight per week).

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/National_Wing_2902]

Ok ok thank u!! Can I ask how sleep is affected?

[u/National_Wing_2902 → u/Western_Boat_6823]

If you eat too little for a longer period of time, your sleep quality suffers. You don't feel as well rested in the morning, you might wake up repeatedly, have trouble falling asleep, get disturbing dreams of nightmares... Anything that would indicate that you're not sleeping as soundly as before.

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/National_Wing_2902]

Oh okay thank u so much! I’ll surely take note of this

[u/eleg0ry]

Is it worth starting weightlifting if I eat a low protein diet? Or would it be a waste of time?

[u/Yachiru5490 → u/eleg0ry]

How low is low protein? I would make sure you're hitting the RDA of protein at least (0.8g per kg of body weight OR 10-35% calories from protein). Yeah, not hitting the higher ends of protein will result in less muscle growth over time, but that doesn't mean your efforts are wasted, they just aren't "optimal"

[u/adsfdgfsa → u/eleg0ry]

For most people, it’s great to start strength training! Even if your protein levels aren’t ideal, it can be helpful in retaining or possibly adding muscle. Once you get into the routine of strength training you can evaluate if you want to add more protein (if appropriate for your diet) if you want to see even faster progress with strength training.

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/eleg0ry]

Go for it man! Been strength training for 2 months now, good progress!

[u/chief_kayak]

Man - Want to go from a 51/52in chest in a sport coat to a 46in chest... possible?

I think I finally found a motivating factor, a clear direction. I want to fit into a Ralph Lauren 46R jacket. I'm currently a 50 or 52R jacket.

Where do I start... Am I looking at 5 years? or am could i do this in 12 months?

Would love just a clear game plan!

[u/Uncleisgettingold85 → u/chief_kayak]

I was close to your size. I did calorie counting and exercising both. I got down to a 44R. It took about a year and a half. My results varied based on how dedicated I was to getting to my goal. My advice is to not rush but find a pace you maintain consistently and reach for your goal.

[u/GFunkYo → u/[deleted]]

The calculator is just a starting point. If 2200 feels good to you and you're losing weight then you're good. Stick to it for a couple of weeks, see how much you're losing and adjust up or down from there.

Tbh I've never been to a crossfit class so I can't comment specifically but activity in these calculators really means sustained elevated heart rate activity like cardio. 4 days a week of traditional strength training would most likely still be light activity. Squatting and deadlifts etc are great and fatiguing and the resulting muscle mass will use more energy but the movements themselves don't really burn that many calories.

[u/muffin80r → u/[deleted]]

I personally always put sedentary activity level and manually log/track additional exercise. This seems far more accurate to me than whatever assumptions the calculators use. You can always fine tune over time based on your results.

[u/jagrehl]

When in mainaintance, how do you determine what an acceptable weight fluctuation is? What's your margin of error for your goal weight, and at what point do you decide to go back into deficit? I find it hard to not obsess over every little weight gain, and I think I need an objective measure of when I'm actually gaining too much, or just in acceptable fluctuation.

[u/Yachiru5490 → u/jagrehl]

Can you go by how your clothes fit? When your jeans start to get a bit tight, that's a good sign to start looking to cut back down a little.

[u/eldergrof → u/jagrehl]

Like every other weight fluctuation, what matters is the weight trend seen over 6-8 weeks.

[u/Latter_Temporary_949]

Hello guys i have a question. So i lost 30kg and i still have some fat left very little on my love handles lower back and lower belly so the problem is lower belly, some part of the day it looks small and at some part looks bigger tham before. Week before this is just looked small, but today in the morning it looked small but when i was working out it looked a little bigger and after that smaller. Is it the body dysmorphia or is it just getting smaller and bigger, people tell me its not bigger idk what to say. I can upload pictures if you want. I dont know is it fat or loose skin on my lower belly

[u/Yachiru5490 → u/Latter_Temporary_949]

Between heat and water and food mass our bodies do swell and contract during the day! It's entirely possible that your lower belly is quite sensitive to fluctuations and different levels of hydration or some light inflammation from working out could change the relative size for a bit (for example - my ankles swell up when I walk a lot! But they aren't putting on fat for a few hours in a day, you know?)

[u/Eunoic]

I'm a 5'3'' female and trying to diet with 1200 cals per day, but my husband says I NEED to eat at least 100g of protein per day. Is this true? He says that I should actually have 1g per lb of body weight and since im 150 lbs he's "going easy on me" but I can't possibly even fit 100g of protein in without protein shakes and those make me nauseous. I feel like I can't eat anything except lean meat to meet this requirement he's suggesting, and I often end up eating more than I want to just to hit this protein goal, which is making it hard to lose weight.

[u/Eunoic → u/Eunoic]

He says that the government websites are wrong, and weightlifters need more protein than what the usda recommends. My primary goal is to lose weight but a secondary goal is to gain muscle

[u/TheAxeC → u/Eunoic]

The websites aren't quite wrong. It's just that they are written for average people, and average people don't have much muscle mass, nor do they want to gain muscle. It's indeed true that a weightlifter needs more protein.

[u/Motonores → u/Eunoic]

Are you practicing some form of resistance training? Since you said that you want to build muscle, a higher protein diet is recommended, and having 40% of your calories coming from proteins (around 400 kcal) while hard to reach is not unmanageable. You can find proteins in meat, fish, dairies, grains and so on. You don't have to just eat lean meat

Now you don't "have" to eat 100g of proteins a day. Everything fitness related is about diminishing returns: going from 20g to 50g of protein a day is going to do a lot more than going from 50 to 80g of protein a day, it's more about finding a balance between having enough proteins, and eating something that is sustainable instead of trying absolutely to fit a certain amount of protein and giving up the diet altogether a few weeks after. If 100 puts too much pressure on you, start with 70-80g a day and as you get more confortable with changing your livestyle, you can try to incorporate more in the future.

[u/Eunoic → u/Motonores]

Thank you!! This is helpful, appreciate it

[u/Prudence_Beresford → u/Eunoic]

You definitely shouldn't feel like you NEED to do anything that you don't think you can sustain long term- and you know your body better than he does! I also believe that any suggested g/lb should be based on your goal weight, not your current weight, if you're trying to burn fat. I'd lower your goal a bit and see how you feel. But as a fellow shortie, I totally get it- it's rough to try to fit all that in. What's your weight loss rate been like on 1200? Depending on your exercise (since I'm assuming you're also doing strength training), you could see how 1300 feels.

Also, I've found nonfat greek yogurt (with a handful of Fiber One and some berries) and egg white omelets (I like to add spinach, tomatoes, and rotisserie chicken breast) to be game changers when it comes to trying to meet my protein/fiber goals. Having those things for breakfast, lunch, or snack and then a more typical dinner with a lean meat has helped me tremendously.

[u/Eunoic → u/Prudence_Beresford]

This is amaaazinggg suggestions. I do love a nice omelet, i will for sure try this out. :) skyr is also amazing so that's gonna be nice. I think I've just been trying to be very restrictive while also not giving myself very many options for what to eat which is part of the issue

[u/AdorableEarth98]

I know nutrition is 80% of the deal when it comes to weight loss, and exercise is 20%.. Calories in vs calories out, but im just confused. I'm just not sure where to start. I'm clearly in a deficit, and I'm trying to get to my goal weight of 180 lbs.

I'm currently eating high protein, low carb. Around 1500 calories a day and seem to still be stuck at 268 lbs. Am I doing something wrong? Why is it that even weighing my food, accounting for oil, and everything it's not coming off? Does anyone else have the same problems?

[u/Revelate_ → u/AdorableEarth98]

You aren’t doing anything wrong but give it a month. Water weight can vary tremendously and if you are female and heading into your menstrual cycle that can mask weight loss completely though water retention.

Stick with it, you are on the right path. Maybe up your water intake if you haven’t already, that teaches our body not to hang onto as much of it.

[u/2Slim-App → u/AdorableEarth98]

It might also make sense to check your hormone levels. If your cortisol is elevated due to stress or for any other reason, it alone can nullify all your weight loss efforts

[u/PM_ME_UR_B00TY_CUTIE]

So, I'm a 5'-7" male currently having trouble determining how much to eat. I'm trying to maximize protein, whilst minimizing calories, I aim for 1g per pound of weight, though I aim for 1600-1700 calories. (-1000, 2lb loss/wk) however, I am concerned I am consuming too little - and I am unsure what calculator to use to find my TDEE, considering I work a sedentary job, but exercise/weight training 6 days weekly. Does anyone have some advice or a better accuracy calculator for TDEE?

[u/Revelate_ → u/PM_ME_UR_B00TY_CUTIE]

Your body will tell you if you are consuming too little, I tried a 1K deficit and about a week in I got F’n HANGRY and took basically 3 days at a surplus. You can’t really damage your body over a short period through calorie restriction, though if you ignore warning signs it can become a real problem.

1g / lb is a LOT of protein for most people, I usually wind up at 120-130g which is like 0.67 / lb for me and am doing really well on that personally.

The TDEE calculators are just estimates, see how much weight you lose over time and that’s a much better method for determining your specific TDEE.

[u/snarkmoo]

I have come to the realization that I have been eating way too much fiber way too fast without increasing my water intake etc. Now I am super constipated but don’t know what to do. Do I just cut out fiber for now and start chugging water?

[u/Revelate_ → u/snarkmoo]

If you are on the right eating plan just fix your water intake.

I meet the medical definition for constipated while on a calorie deficit, but only had one time where I was physically bothered by it… in my case I just ate something that turns me into a poop machine and sorted it but there’s a lot of good reasons to be drinking plenty of water anyway.

[u/Professional_Stay_46]

How long should I recover from diet fatigue after almost three years of crash dieting?

[u/Yachiru5490 → u/Professional_Stay_46]

I would say eat at maintenance until your hunger levels feel leveled back out and like you could get behind a small deficit again. Meaning, it's going to be personal. I would give it at least a month though, and through the end of the year may not be bad.

[u/Professional_Stay_46 → u/Yachiru5490]

I've been on maintenance for almost a year and I think even that might not be enough, by the book maintenance should last as long as diet, and I feel dread by the thought of not being able to go on a diet until three years are over.

How I feel is the most important question, the answer is, much better than the year ago, yet not too enthusiastic about diet but I was less enthusiastic about it the first time I went on it in the first place.

[u/Professional_Stay_46 → u/Yachiru5490]

To add to this, I know I recovered physically, it's a psychological recovery I am talking about.

[u/rookideperdido]

I started doing exercises and trying a healty diet but from Nhoting i want to eat alot and then i eat a lot how do i solve this?

[u/Western_Boat_6823 → u/rookideperdido]

Well personally it’s realizing that hunger is my friend😁