Your cut is my bulk - Low calorie expenditure

[BBR]

Hey guys, long story short, I lost a lot of weight and now I'm into BB. Over time though, I've come to realise that my body seems to use very little calories. Where do I get this idea from? Well:

*I lost all my weight by eating a 1200-1400 calorie a day diet, low carbs. If I ate any more than that, even with low carbs (100g or lower) I didn't lose weight. I was also lifting 5 days a week and doing cardio HIIT 4 days a week.

* When I did a typical bulking diet of 3200 calories a day, even with cardio a few times a week, I was still putting on a lot of fact.

* Right now, I'm eating around 2000 calories a day and that's a bulk for me. I still do cardio a few times a week including two boxing/aerobics classes and eat 150g or carbs or less a day. I have a clean diet and with all this, I still put on fat.

I guess the point of this thread is, what's going on? Why, at only around 2000 calories a day PLUS exercise (lifting and cardio) I still put fat on? This should be my maintanance diet yet even with cardio I still put fat on.

To be honest it really p*sses me off that I work so hard and watch my diet and still put fat on!

Any suggestions you guys could offer me would be great. One thing I thought of was perhaps I'm not eating enough and my body is in starvation mode. I discounted that though given I eat every 2.5-3 hours and have almost 200g or protein a day!

 

[allenzo]

I have the same concern, subscribed!

 

[prld2gr8ns]

God bless nature and individuality.

We all have different body structures, and functions which causes a vast arrayed of diffrent effects from one individual to the next. I myself have been into the fitness scene for ten or so years and have always had the lower side of the cal expenditures for body recomp and mass increases. Meso, endo, ecto.... that's the beauty of weightlifting and body building in general. There is no perfect strategy for everyone.

We each make success through trial and error and finding our on individual way that our bodies react to our enviorment aka food intake. Some make it thru 4 - 5 k of cals a day for a bulk whilst other's must track it more methodically and conservativly(natural metabolism can be a biatch). Judging by your avy, you have it figured out(even though it's not on par with the norm for this board). Just rest assured that if your seeing gains and your improving in areas you want to improve on then your doing something right.

 

[landfill]

Hey guys, long story short, I lost a lot of weight and now I'm into BB. Over time though, I've come to realise that my body seems to use very little calories. Where do I get this idea from? Well:

*I lost all my weight by eating a 1200-1400 calorie a day diet, low carbs. If I ate any more than that, even with low carbs (100g or lower) I didn't lose weight. I was also lifting 5 days a week and doing cardio HIIT 4 days a week.

* When I did a typical bulking diet of 3200 calories a day, even with cardio a few times a week, I was still putting on a lot of fact.

* Right now, I'm eating around 2000 calories a day and that's a bulk for me. I still do cardio a few times a week including two boxing/aerobics classes and eat 150g or carbs or less a day. I have a clean diet and with all this, I still put on fat.

I guess the point of this thread is, what's going on? Why, at only around 2000 calories a day PLUS exercise (lifting and cardio) I still put fat on? This should be my maintanance diet yet even with cardio I still put fat on.

To be honest it really p*sses me off that I work so hard and watch my diet and still put fat on!

Any suggestions you guys could offer me would be great. One thing I thought of was perhaps I'm not eating enough and my body is in starvation mode. I discounted that though given I eat every 2.5-3 hours and have almost 200g or protein a day!

Assuming that you are eating complex carbs and quality healthy fats then i suppose the obvious explanation is that your body is in "starvation mode.If you spent a long time on 1200 cals a day that would have slowed your metabolism right down,and now anything significantly above that is stored as fat.You need to give your body time to adjust to the extra calories,without storing them as fat.
I suggest you calculate your cals for maintenance and add on another 300cals,mainly from protein,and stay at that level for 2-3 weeks,then add on another 300cals,again staying at that level for 2-3 weeks.Continue like that untill you start to gain fat,at which point you make no changes for about 4 weeks.
Doing it this way gives your body time to adjust,speeds up your metabolism,and avoids excessive fat gain.

 

[jasonschaffin]

Assuming that you are eating complex carbs and quality healthy fats then i suppose the obvious explanation is that your body is in "starvation mode.If you spent a long time on 1200 cals a day that would have slowed your metabolism right down,and now anything significantly above that is stored as fat.You need to give your body time to adjust to the extra calories,without storing them as fat.
I suggest you calculate your cals for maintenance and add on another 300cals,mainly from protein,and stay at that level for 2-3 weeks,then add on another 300cals,again staying at that level for 2-3 weeks.Continue like that untill you start to gain fat,at which point you make no changes for about 4 weeks.
Doing it this way gives your body time to adjust,speeds up your metabolism,and avoids excessive fat gain.

Agree with this for the most part.
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_diet_nutrition_bodybuilding/gflux_redux
Read that article.
I feel like some people must just not lift correctly(not saying you necessarily). If you are doing all your major compound exercised I don't see how your body cannot be a fat burning machine. When I cut I can drop easily at like 3,000 calories. Im not extremely lean year round, but I have enough muscle that its easy to get lean quick. Low carb I can average about a pound a day of weight loss at 2,500 calories. And I've never been above 225. And I dont do any cardio.

 

[homer]

yes, the g-flux can be the solution.
In the past years I follow a Very low calorie diet, and I put my body in starvation mode.
now I'm eating a dirty 3000 kcal day diet, and I don't gain weight.
a part from individually (i put fat easy), I think you must beneficiate from:
1. gradually increase kcal and in the same time increase expenditure via tempo run (for example).
2. start to increase kcal but improve food quality (more vegetables, fruit, good grains and fat).
3. check you thyroid and cortisol status (the first to go down in starv mode).
4. think in same supplements, like Omega3, green tea extract, sesamine.

try to do a diet from your manteinance and add:
300-500 kcal the first week and add 3-4 session a week of tempo run (100m x 12 run)
the third try to add 200-400 and do more tempo (3-4 100-200 x 16).
more slowly try to add more kcal, including some supplements like sesamine or green tea extract

 

[BBR]

You all have made good points and I appreciate the replies.
I've gone up and down calories for a while and where I am now seems to be what I need to put on a little weight without heaps of fat. I've tried the adding and subtracting but my body seems quite unpredictable. If I want to cut, which I will before summer (I'm in Australia remember), I'm going to have to low ball the calories big time.
Supplements wise, when I was in the 1200cal/day range I was using Sesamin/CLA/Fish Oil/Carnitine but not thermogenics etc. I may look into them soon. I'll probably lean towards Dialene 4 given it's so hard to get diet pills in Australia and they're $100 a bottle here.
As for blood work, my thyroid is fine but I havent heard Cortisol tested. I'm also on Testogel 50mg/day because my body doesnt produce enough test. I might be going up to 100mg/day soon though depending on how my next round of bloods come out.

 

[mr.universe]

I have been a PT for most of my adult life and worked with every range of client. Whenever someone experiences the type of frustrations you are and is truly eating clean, I have them start from scratch. Remember the definition of insanity is performing the same actions but expecting different results. I would suggest changing the foods you are eating... If you eat a lot of chicken, replace it with fish. White bread, replace with wheat. Some people respond better do certain foods than others and your body may metabolize one type of food better than mine and vice versa. It is very typical that we will eat the same foods over and over and remember the successful bodybuilders are the ones that know their bodies best. A good rule of thumb is also paying attention to how food makes you feel. If you feel lousy after eating certain foods or experience indigestion etc stay away from it and replace it with something else. Good luck, eat for muscle and train for muscle... The more muscle you have the more calories you burn so get your protein and don't slack in the gym. You'll figure it out. Bets of luck man.