It’s true that the way to fat loss is through eating in a caloric deficit.  But when is too long, too low, too extreme when it comes to a caloric deficit?

Putting your body into a constant state of deprivation for more than 3-4 months might negatively affect your metabolism. Making it difficult to keep off weight at any calorie intake higher than what you were eating. This why it is good to be changing your diet periodically.

Here at PowHer.fit, we suggest only being in a caloric deficit for 12 weeks (3 months).  Each of our training programs are 12 weeks or less to switch up the training for your body, so we suggest the same nutritionally.  After being in a deficit, we suggest working your way up to eating your maintenance calories.  Yes, it may take a gradual increase, but feeding your body at maintenance level will allow you to build more lean muscle mass.  The more lean muscle mass you have, the higher your maintenance calories are and the higher your basal metabolic rate is.  What does this mean?  Your body will burn more calories at a resting state and your maintenance caloric intake number will increase – meaning your next “deficit” won’t have you eating as low.

Here’s the official definition of Basal metabolic rate (BMR): This refers to the number of calories needed to cover your basic functions, including the proper functioning of your brain, kidneys, heart, lungs and nervous system.

The issue is so many members don’t trust us when we say they won’t “gain weight” (increase their body fat percentage) when eating at maintenance.  Maintenance is eating at an even level where nutritionally you won’t be losing or gaining fat, but you’ll have enough calories to help you actually MAINTAIN (and possibly even build) muscle with our full body resistance training workouts.  Remember to focus on both your daily caloric goal and your macro split (the amount of proteins, carbs and fats consumed) based on your own nutritional overview set up in the members section at www.PowHer.fit.  And let’s not forget, lean muscle mass is our friend as mentioned above.  The best way to actually BUILD muscle is with a caloric surplus through reverse dieting and this is most commonly done during the winter months of the year.

Since many members do not trust the surplus or maintenance calorie level, let’s break down some downfalls to staying in a caloric deficit that is too extreme or staying in a deficit for too long:

  1. It can lower your metabolism.  Regularly eating fewer calories than your body needs can cause your metabolism to slow down.  Several studies show that low-calorie diets can decrease the number of calories the body burns.  What’s more, this lower metabolism can persist long after the calorie-restricted diet is stopped.  Researchers believe that this lower metabolism may partly explain why more than 80% of people regain weight once they go off their calorie-restricted diets.  One of the ways that calorie-restricted diets slow your metabolism is by causing muscle loss because it is impossible to MAINTAIN muscle if you’re always eating in a deficit and never eating at maintenance.  Keeping your protein consumption in line with your personalized macros calculated at www.powher.fit is another key ingredient to maintaining or building muscle.  All in all: Severely restricting your calories can decrease your metabolism and cause you to lose muscle mass. This makes it more difficult to maintain your weight loss in the long term.
  2. It can cause fatigue and nutrient deficiencies.  Regularly eating fewer calories than your body requires can cause fatigue and make it more challenging for you to meet your daily nutrient needs.  For instance, calorie-restricted diets may not provide sufficient amounts of iron, folate or vitamin B12. This can lead to anemia and extreme fatigue.  In addition, the number of carbs you eat may play a role in fatigue.  Some studies suggest that calorie-restricted diets with low amounts of carbs may cause feelings of fatigue in some individuals.  Carbs are used for energy and aid in muscle building, thus we believe in eating a balanced amount of carbs every single day at PowHer.fit.  Restricting calories too severely can lead to fatigue. Maintaining this calorie restriction for too long can also lead to nutrient deficiencies.

So how will you know the right number of calories to eat?  In our nutrition overview (for paid members only) at www.PowHer.fit, you’ll calculate to find out your maintenance calories.  You can then choose to eat at maintenance, fat loss or extreme fat loss.  We do not suggest eating in a fat loss deficit for more than 12 weeks or extreme fat loss deficit for more than 4-6 weeks.  

If you’re struggling to eat all of your calories or macros, start by increasing your intake 100 calories each week until you work your way up to maintenance.  This is also a more gradual way to not completely shock your body with a complete difference.  

When it comes to long-term weight loss, consistency and patience is key. It’s best to steer clear of diets that require you to severely restrict your calories.  Instead, opt for diets that are focused on diet quality and encourage you to make sustainable lifestyle changes.  Remember to increase your lean muscle mass you will need to not deprive yourself too much or too long nutritionally, you will need to do resistance strength training and gradually increase your weights as your workouts become easier, and focus on hitting your macro splits as suggested based on your own customized nutrition guidance and overview for paid members at www.PowHer.fit.  If you want to lose more “weight” (fat), then stay patient, consistent, and cycle a new PowHer.fit program as well as eating in a caloric deficit vs. maintenance every 12 weeks.