Calorie Cutting help? Too little or too much?

[ParkerDL]

According to the many BMR calculators out there, my BMR is 2,157 calories.
I'm 17 years old, 6' tall, and 208 pounds. I'm cutting right now, and I'd like to get down to around 170 or so.

Lately I've been eating around 1,700-1,800 a day in hopes that that is enough. I keep reading "don't go -500 of your BMR" and with a BMR of 2,157 and eating 1,700-1,800 calories a day, I'm not dropping under 500 of my BMR.

I do cardio 6 days a week for 30 minutes, and lift 4-5 days a week.

Should I be eating more or less, or?
Thanks!

[SuffolkPunch]

How rapidly are you losing weight?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat...-the-diet.html

[ParkerDL]

How rapidly are you losing weight?

I've only been at this for about a week, as I'm still learning about bodybuilding, and my nutrition, so I'm not sure what I've lost yet.

I just found out that if you exercise 3-5 times a week, you're supposed to multiply your BMR by 1.55 ? That gets up to about 3,300 calories a day for me! So does that mean I should be eating around 2,800 calories a day?!

How can one POSSIBLY lose weight at 2,800 calories a day!?

Any help?

[phal]

I love hearing people question how many calories they can eat and lose weight on. To get to where you're/they're at now you'd of have to been eating far more than you realized.

True, it's trial and error - and for a lot of people when they eat 'cleaner' the shear volume of the food seems too much, but when it's super calorie dense/packed junk food it's ezpz.

When I was 'heavier' and just starting out, I too didn't believe I could be eating 2,400+ calories and dropping weight, but you know what I've learned now that I've reached my goal? That I probably should have listened back then. I can maintain my weight at 150 at ~2,400 +/- and yet I see people at 300+ cutting at calories that even I wouldn't touch.

/rant

OP, try it for a little while and cut back calories if need be, but if you lift weights, get your protein/EFAs and just give it time, you will make progress. It's easier to start off higher and cut down, than vice versa.

[Vietgoboi]

I love hearing people question how many calories they can eat and lose weight on. To get to where you're/they're at now you'd of have to been eating far more than you realized.

True, it's trial and error - and for a lot of people when they eat 'cleaner' the shear volume of the food seems too much, but when it's super calorie dense/packed junk food it's ezpz.

When I was 'heavier' and just starting out, I too didn't believe I could be eating 2,400+ calories and dropping weight, but you know what I've learned now that I've reached my goal? That I probably should have listened back then. I can maintain my weight at 150 at ~2,400 +/- and yet I see people at 300+ cutting at calories that even I wouldn't touch.

/rant

OP, try it for a little while and cut back calories if need be, but if you lift weights, get your protein/EFAs and just give it time, you will make progress. It's easier to start off higher and cut down, than vice versa.

Vouch this comment ^

OP, did you even read article SuffolkPunch posted?

Here another article written by Lyle Mcdonald, look up his work (he respected dietitian in BB community).
How to Estimate Maintenance Caloric Intake – Q&A

[tblake87]

Keep in mind that those BMR calculators are merely a suggested stated point. Every single body in the world is different. My calculated BMR is around 2400cal/day I can eat anywhere from 2000-2500/day and still cut about 1-1.5lbs a week.

Eat your suggested calories 1700-1800cals/day and then see do a weigh in and see if you lost weight. If you lost too much, up your daily cals a bit then re-weigh in in another two weeks. If you lost too little weight, then drop your daily cals a bit then re-weigh in in another two weeks.

It's all about trial and error. Fat loss isn't an exact formula you have to follow. The formula you use in all probability won't work for someone else.