Calorie Deficit

I feel silly asking this because I knew this a year ago before I started travelling the world and not going to the gym the past 8 months has made me forget this.

I'm preparing my life/diet/exercise plan for when I'm back home in a couple of weeks and am just wondering, what % of calories do I need to reduce to create a healthy calorie deficit ?

I've gained approx 10lbs of fat much to my dismay and it's disappointing but expected since I'm usually quite healthy and active back home. I was a 31/32" waist and 10% bodyfat which was great and I'm now probably 34" and guessing here, around 16% bf so am desperate to get home and get sorted. Maybe I've gained more than 1 stone ? I look like a soft off season ex bodybuilder who doesn't know what nutrition is. No belly or anything but just soft and not ripped. Susan Boyle looks better than me at the moment. :rolleyes:

I don't mind telling people here even if they can use it as ammo against me as I'll lose it in no time when I'm home and get back into good shape.

Khannie

15-25% deficit ftw. I try not to go beyond 1000 calories (edit: Just for clarity, 1000 calorie deficit). I find that even with exercise if you go beyond that you'll be quite hungry quite a bit and eventually get the horrible cold hands and all that.

Thanks for that, surprisingly I was able to run a mile in just over 8 minutes which is not good at all, but with the weight gain and 8 months out of the gym, didn't think that would be possible first run back, unfortunately I can only run for 30 minutes at around 10kph before I gas out completely.

Can't wait to get back to the gym (it's one of the main things I miss when travelling as well as my sports etc) and get my fitness and conditioning back.

corkcomp

Deleted User wrote: »

Thanks for that, surprisingly I was able to run a mile in just over 8 minutes which is not good at all, but with the weight gain and 8 months out of the gym, didn't think that would be possible first run back, unfortunately I can only run for 30 minutes at around 10kph before I gas out completely.

Can't wait to get back to the gym (it's one of the main things I miss when travelling as well as my sports etc) and get my fitness and conditioning back.

you cant expect to be running a marathon straight off! 30 minutes isnt bad at all, no matter what the pace, its 30 minutes more than a lot of the nation can manage .. regarding the cal deficit, I wouldnt normally worry about %, I would just drop back to around 2200cal so if you taking in 3000 your dropping 800 or if you were really taking in excess like 5000 your dropping a lot more .. I figure there is no harm in wanting to make fast progress and you wont be starving yourself once you keep about 2000cals of good proteins and lots of fruit + veg

Yeah, I'm just trying to get fit for football season and my hobbies really and hence the self-critical mindstate. I really really really hate not being 10% bf, feel slower etc so am desperate to get back there and be "fit" for what I need to be doing.

Good tips though, thanks.