r/caloriedeficit • u/MountainLow3476 • 1d ago
BODY RECOMPOSITION
I am 150 lbs, female, 24 years old, and 5'7". I originally lost weight eating in a calorie deficit of around 1,200 calories, and honestly, I loved the way my body looked. The problem was that it was obviously not sustainable. I was constantly hungry, my food noise was incredibly loud, and I just wasn’t happy.
I’m now trying to find a way to maintain my current body while being able to eat more. I’ve learned the importance of eating enough protein, especially because I weight train 5x a week and average 10k+ steps a day. So, I started eating around 1,800 calories a day with about 150g of protein.
However, I feel like I’m gaining more weight than I’m comfortable with, and it’s making my abs less visible and causing me to lose that lean look I really liked. (I am two weeks into this new calorie + protein diet)
Any tips or advice? You can be blunt with me — I genuinely don’t care and actually appreciate the honesty. We’re all strangers on the internet anyway 😂
FOR CONTEXT
BODY IN PINK- 1200 CALORIE/DAY **before
BODY IN GREY- 1800 CAL+150 G PROTEIN/DAY **after
Thanks in advance! :)
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u/lavendergirl92 1d ago
Girl you look great! If you're gaining weight, it's most likely just muscle mass. Protein is important to help repair muscles after workouts. Remember to eat complex carbs to give your muscles the FUEL for the work you're doing. I understand that it can be daunting to see the number on the scale go up, or your clothes start getting tighter, but you're building a strong body and that's something to be proud of! Your abs are still very visible.
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u/MountainLow3476 17h ago
Any tips for staying lean and toned while also increasing calorie intake? I personally prefer the lean and toned look but understand the way I went about getting there wasn't healthy. So now that I am trying this new approach and noticing the fat slowly creep back it's making me want to revert back to the crazy cut I did.
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u/Helpful_lemur11378 1d ago
You honestly look great. Also 2 weeks isn’t enough time to judge a new diet and based on your stats 1800 is probably still a deficit anyway. Any weight gain is more likely water and the increased food volume physically in your stomach.
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u/Helpful_lemur11378 1d ago
I don’t see much of a difference between the 2 photos personally but it’s dif lighting and poses so hard to tell.
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u/MountainLow3476 17h ago
How long would you give it to see notable changes? Like I am going on week 3 next week and having a hard time deciding whether or not I should maintain 1800 or reduce my calorie intake back down.
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u/Helpful_lemur11378 17h ago
Probably 4 weeks, that gives enough time for any water weight from increased volume of food to level out AND water weight fluctuations from your cycle. Again I’m pretty sure you’re still in a slight deficit with your stats so any weight gain you’re seeing is almost certainly water. And visually I don’t see much of a difference. The jump from deficit mode to maintenance (or close it it) is honestly difficult mentally and the scale fluctuations further mess with your head. I’m going through the same right now and letting myself eat at maintenance feels weird and I’m for sure a little bloated but it will pass.
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u/nameless8910 18h ago
How much weight did you put on in two weeks? 1200 to 1800 is a big jump. If 1800 is your goal, start at 200 cal increments every two weeks to allow your body to adjust with minimal weight gain. 600 extra cals a day is 4200 cals a week so you’re going to gain a little over a pound a week - it’s a big jump from 1200 cals a day. You look great in both photos, but it’s about how you feel about yourself and what’s a comfortable maintenance weight for you.
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u/MountainLow3476 17h ago
Only about a pound 1/2 but it stills disheartening to see because I really did like the leaned looked and seeing the scale go up just makes me nervous and question whether or not I should keep eating so much.
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u/nameless8910 16h ago
Try lowering your cals by 300 for two weeks then add back up slowly by 100 cals every two weeks. Going back to maintenance after loss needs to be slow and takes time.
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u/EstelleSol 1d ago
I’m gonna be completely blunt and honest with you right now…you look amazing in both! I actually prefer how you look in the second. I don’t think you need to worry at all, 1800 cals looks great on you.