im 18, i dont understand calories. Help?

XCriticalBenchX · 07-26-2006, 07:28 PM

Alright guys, im 18 and an amateur bodybuilder, but i tend to retain fat easy. I have been bulking, and have gotten up to 200lbs, im 5`1, yes very short i no. Im around 17% bodyfat. I usually eat 4000 cals.

My question is, im struggling to understand how many calories is considered matienance for me. How many do i have to eat to say, get down to 12-13% bf, and stay there for a bit, before i start bulking again.

I attached a pic of me now. I pretty much hold a lot of fat around my stomach, i no some could be water as well. I dont really have that much fat around my arms, legs etc. My calves are really toned, and my quads are pretty much toned as well, most fat is on my stomach, and lower chest. What do you assume my b.f is by the pics? Can you help??

Thanks a lot!

Mike

WindSurf3r · 07-26-2006, 07:38 PM

around 17%, to drop down to 12% you would have to drop to 189 pounds.

such a loser yo · 07-26-2006, 07:40 PM

you're a beast at 18, but i don't think you're below 20%

dbx · 07-26-2006, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XCriticalBenchX

Alright guys, im 18 and an amateur bodybuilder, but i tend to retain fat easy. I have been bulking, and have gotten up to 200lbs, im 5`1, yes very short i no. Im around 17% bodyfat. I usually eat 4000 cals.

My question is, im struggling to understand how many calories is considered matienance for me. How many do i have to eat to say, get down to 12-13% bf, and stay there for a bit, before i start bulking again.

I attached a pic of me now. I pretty much hold a lot of fat around my stomach, i no some could be water as well. I dont really have that much fat around my arms, legs etc. My calves are really toned, and my quads are pretty much toned as well, most fat is on my stomach, and lower chest. What do you assume my b.f is by the pics? Can you help??

Thanks a lot!

Mike

Mike, don't worry about bf%, if you like what you see, that's what counts. You look great dude, good work. Okay, it's hard to say exactly what will work for you. Maintenance cals for you should be approx 2700-2800. To cut your bf you'll need to cut, as you know. This will mean cutting your daily cal intake to approx 2200-2300 per day. However, one of the best things you can do to decrease bf is to do cardio of some type (preferably not running, or at least not running distance). A combination of cutting your cals and doing cardio will be the ticket to where you want to get. Keep your protein and fat relatively high (keep your fat intake to approx 80g), and cut your carbs down to approx 150.

In other words, try this:

Protein-220g
Carbs-150g
Fat-80g

Total approx cals = 2200

Make sure you track your macros. You may lose as much as 1.5-2 lbs per week in the process here, but I suppose you know this is how it works. Keep up the good work and good luck!

DomzyCuttin · 07-26-2006, 08:14 PM

4000 seems pretty high for a 200 lb person, especially if your metabolism isnt very fast. Im also worried about the fact that u eat 4000 "daily" meaning that on your off days from training you dont accnt for the lack of expanditure. For ex maybe take out 400 on non training days.

edit- 4000 is especially high, because your about 170 lean, meaning that you should aim for about 3100-3400

xer0xed · 07-26-2006, 08:27 PM

Gradually cut off calories until you start losing fat... once the fat is lost, add a few calories and try to see how many calories you can add without gaining any fat. Take frequent measurements. Once you figure out how many calories you can take in without gaining any fat while maintaining the muscle, you've found your maintenance.