And it didn't hinder your ability to exercise?
I've tried reducing my caloric intake in the fall, and I was always ravenous. I didn't feel I had enough energy during my runs. 500 cals less a day seems like a lot, but if both you and Billy did it, it must work.
I think the key is starting with accurate numbers. When people try to lose weight, a lot of us fall victim to the idea that if a little of something is good, more is better. So I think people cut more than they really intended to or don’t accurately eat back calories.
Also, different bodies respond better to different styles of eating. I don’t get too in the weeds on macros but I noticed anecdotally that my body likes protein. I feel full longer when I am eating more protein Vs a higher carb diet. I actually have to put real effort to add carbs in as my mileage increases because I know I need those carbs but they just don’t satisfy in the same way. Don’t get me wrong, I love carbs but calorie for calorie, they just don’t work for me as well as protein. The carbs I eat regularly are complex, like oats, quinoa, some rice. I save stuff like pasta for saturday (when I don’t prep/plan) because I know I will want a huge bowl and then be hungry a couple of hours later.
I also need bulk. A small calorie dense meal doesn’t work for me. Even if I’m not hungry after, I just don’t feel satisfied. My meals have a lot of veggies and fruits. I know people who struggle to eat volumes of food when they are exercising a lot and they rely on more calorie dense foods to fill the gap, like peanut butter, extra olive oil for cooking/dressings, cheese, etc. I go the other way. I cut down cooking oil a little so I can add in like an entire additional bell pepper or drop a couple ounces of cheese in a recipe so I can make it 4 huge servings instead of 5 Smaller ones.
Last, I need snacks and dessert. I plan for a 2-300 calories afternoon snack and a little dessert every night. I love ice cream, so I use popsicles like Yasso and enlightened for my dessert. 100ish calories and tons of flavor options. And a decent amount of protein.
You mentioned feeling low energy during runs. I would consider when you are taking in your calories and how your body responds to that. YMMV but this is my strategy. I eat something small before basically every run, even short ones. Anything less than 6 miles, I have these bars that have a little caffeine (I run in the morning and it keeps the headaches at bay until I can get coffee) and are just 90 cals of energy. Then I eat breakfast within an hour of my run. If I run in the afternoon I time my snack to be before my run then it’s usually just about dinner time when I am finished.
Last but not least, I would avoid trying to lose weight during a training cycle if you can. It’s one thing to be at a slight deficit for a long period of time when losing large amounts of weight like dopeybadger and I did. It’s another thing to make a short-term diet adjustment to drop 10-20 lbs. Long-term goals require long-term adjustments and your body has plenty of fuel to burn to make up for the deficit. The less weight you have to lose, the less extra fuel you are carrying around and the calorie deficit is harder on your body. You will feel the hunger more. Adding that into a training plan where your mileage is likely increasing regularly and you have hard workouts adds to the body stress. For a smaller weight loss I would target a time where you are in maintenance running and your mileage is pretty steady. Less of a moving target so to speak.
Sorry this is so long. Probably way more info than you were wanting but it’s a complex topic.
