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I spent a year powerlifting and lost absolutely no weight, then spent 2 years powerlifting while restricting myself to 1800 cals/day and lost weight. If we're d

I spent a year powerlifting and lost absolutely no weight, then spent 2 years powerlifting while restricting myself to 1800 cals/day and lost weight. If we're doing personal anecdotes. If we're doing hard data, I think you're overestimating the impact of taking 500 calories a day off of the average American's diet, which comes in at around 3800 calories/day (https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-detail?chartId=58376 https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/chart-gallery/chart-d...). Assuming 3300 net calories per day after exercise, one would have to be in the neighborhood of 400 pounds for that to be below maintenance level assuming 40 y/o moderately active based on the mayo clinic calorie counter (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calorie-calculator/itt-20402304 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-...). Hell, I ride a bike 6 miles and lift weights every day, have done for two years, and my maintenance calories are still only in the 2200-2300 range, which means if my diet was average I'd be exercising every day and still putting on pounds rather quickly. Tldr - I think your results are an outlier because you've underestimated how much better your existing diet is than the average.

SirMaster 1y ago
It shouldn't matter what the diet is. 500 cal a day is 500 cal a day and that adds up for most people on average to 1 pound a week. Whether it's 1 pound a week that you are now not gaining or 1 pound a week that you are now losing, or something in between, it's still ~1 pound of body comp worth of calories which IMO is not "minimal". I never said exercising 500 calories a day means you will lose weight, I just disagree that: "the amount of calories burned by exercise is minimal" I still don't think it's minimal. If you burn an extra 500 cal a day on average that will be about 50 pounds a year of "difference", whether that's you gaining less weight or losing weight that's all up to your total calorie intake of course.
zero_shift 1y ago
How are people consuming 3800 calories per day? I don't doubt your numbers but the scale of that seems inconceivable.
- reverendsteveii 1y ago
  https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/gfnd/gfhnrc/docs/news-articles/2012/the-question-of-sugar/ https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/gfnd/gfhnrc/docs/news-a... For the average american, 500 calories a day come just from sugar. As a culture we more or less have an eating disorder by default.

SirMaster 1y ago

It shouldn't matter what the diet is. 500 cal a day is 500 cal a day and that adds up for most people on average to 1 pound a week. Whether it's 1 pound a week that you are now not gaining or 1 pound a week that you are now losing, or something in between, it's still ~1 pound of body comp worth of calories which IMO is not "minimal". I never said exercising 500 calories a day means you will lose weight, I just disagree that: "the amount of calories burned by exercise is minimal" I still don't think it's minimal. If you burn an extra 500 cal a day on average that will be about 50 pounds a year of "difference", whether that's you gaining less weight or losing weight that's all up to your total calorie intake of course.

zero_shift 1y ago

How are people consuming 3800 calories per day? I don't doubt your numbers but the scale of that seems inconceivable.

reverendsteveii 1y ago
https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/gfnd/gfhnrc/docs/news-articles/2012/the-question-of-sugar/ https://www.ars.usda.gov/plains-area/gfnd/gfhnrc/docs/news-a... For the average american, 500 calories a day come just from sugar. As a culture we more or less have an eating disorder by default.