I realize summer officially starts on Thursday, June 21st.
But, for me, conceptually it starts around the 1st of June.
School is letting out around that time, the weather will be warming up, and the sun will be gracing us with its presence until after 9 pm by then.
June 1st is 8 weeks away. Plenty of time for a summer “cut”.
I like being lean in the summertime. It gives me the confidence to wear clothes that make me feel comfortable in the summer heat. And, I need a goal!!!
Ever since I decided not to compete this year, I’ve been trying to come up with a “good enough” reason to work on getting lean.
Since my last two posts were based on figuring out your calorie needs and how to “weekend-proof” your diet. I was thinking it might be interesting to actually show you how I’m going make my personal eating and exercise habits work for me to reach my summer body goal.
I’m not looking to get stage lean. My goal is to lose 8 to 12 lbs. and ~4 to 6 % body fat.
Since I have trouble on the weekends I’m going to shoot for daily calorie goals that are light Monday through Friday and heavier on Saturday and Sunday.
That’s what I mean by making your eating habits work for you.
I’m sharing what I do and what works for me because people ask me about it.
The #1 rule for weight/fat loss: You have to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat, period!
So, here’s how I’m going to arrange my diet and exercise so I can lose the weight/fat I want to lose by June 1st. But, I can do it in a manner that fits my personal lifestyle.
1.) I’m going to lose 1 – 2 lbs. per week (1 lb. = ~3500 calories). So I need to be in a deficit of 3500 – 7000 calories per week.
2.) Part of that deficit will come from eating less food and part of it will come from burning calories through exercise. (I’m going to burn at least 3500 calories per week in the gym and I’m subtracting 3500 calories from my weekly RMR)
3.) I know I tend to eat more on the weekends and I’m more active on the weekends. Therefore, I will eat a large majority of my calories on the weekends.
Here’s how the math looks (for me):
My RMR (resting metabolic rate) is 2232 calories per day.
My weekly RMR is (2232 x 7) = 15,624 calories per week.
Since 1 lb. per week will come from “eating” 3500 fewer calories I subtract it from my weekly RMR.
(15,624 – 3500) = 12,124 calories per week
If I wanted to eat the same amount of calories every day I would divide 12,124 by 7 to get my daily calorie goal of 1732. But, I want to eat the bulk of my calories on Saturday and Sunday.
I’m setting my Saturday goal to 2000 calories and my Sunday goal to 3000 calories. The rest of my weekly calories will be divided out equally between the remaining 5 days.
Saturday + Sunday = (2000 + 3000) = 5000 calories
12,124 – 5000 = 7124 calories (these are the calories I will divide between the remaining 5 days)
(7124 / 5) = 1424.8 calories per day (Monday thru Friday)
The other part of the equation is exercise. I’d like to burn 3500 per week from exercise. That’s 500 calories per day. I’m setting my goal for 500 calories per day. This will fluctuate from day to day based on different workouts and the time I have for workouts during the week vs the weekends.
I track the calories I eat with MyFitnessPal.
I track my exercise calories with a MyZone.
I know I can live with this arrangement for at least 8 weeks.
Yesterday (the 1st day of this summer body cut) I weighed in at 144.4 lbs.
I should end up anywhere from 132.4 lbs. to 136.4 lbs. by June 1st.
I’m excited for this challenge and to get lean for summer!
This is what works for me. It could work for you based on your personal numbers.
My macros for this experiment/challenge are set as follows:
Monday – Friday = 143 g P / 89 g C / 55 g F
Saturday = 150 g P / 175 g C / 78 g F
Sunday = 150 g P / 338 g C / 117 g F
My exact adherence to these numbers isn’t as critical to my fat loss as the total calorie amount. But, I’m going to try to stay within them. Especially with the protein.
Disclaimer: These specific calorie goals will not work for you! Our bodies are different. Everybody has a different resting metabolic rate (RMR). Every person has a different level of activity. Read my post on How to Figure Out Your Daily Calorie Needs. If you still need help DM me and I’d love to point you in the right direction.