Calories, this, calories that?

mandyleeann · 10-15-2007, 07:49 AM

So I am totally confused. I am not trying to loose a ton of weight, but do want to lean up a bit. The last few weeks, I've been eating clean, 5-6 small meals/day with 1 cheat meal. I'm been tracking stuff to make sure I'm getting lots of protein.....but I have no idea how many calories I need or should be getting to stay healthy. I've done those BMR estimates but never really know how much to say for my activity level. I am working out 6 days/week-- 5 days of strength (2 days upper body, 2 days lower body, 1 day functional), 5 days of some sort of cardio (30-60 minutes). I hate being so picky about calorie numbers when I'm living a healthy lifestyle but at the same time want to see results in terms of body fat. Any thoughts?

Lckymii · 10-15-2007, 03:52 PM

To lose fat you do have to pay attention to the numbers in vs out. For a good calculator see www.hotnfit.com use this as a base and try a week or a few days on your recommended calories. If you are hungry, exhausted and feel horrible up the calories. When you feel good on a certain number stay there for at least three weeks and see if you begin to lose. Track your progress by measuring (and the scale if you must). If it's going the direction you want it to stay there. If you don't see any change try carb or calorie cycling before lowering your calories. These methods also work really well for breaking through any stubborn plateaus and I would save them until you know simple calorie restriction is not producing results any more.

The same goes for your cardio. Right now you seem to be doing a bit much. Unless you are training for an event I would suggest lowering it to about 2-3 days of 20-25 minutes of HIIT, keep some cardio in your arsenal for the times when you hit a plateau, then you can up it to. If you can lose doing less then it will be better for you mentally and time wise. Good luck!

Lckymii · 10-15-2007, 03:53 PM

Also some links courtesy of Lauroo about carb cycling:
This article is the single most useful thing regarding carb cycling I've come across, I based my lower carb/re-feed days based on this:

http://www.shreddedmuscle.com/web/Po...Re-Feeding.pdf

It was written by John Bartlett who you can read about here (and it goes into some detail about his re-feed cycle):

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/transm79.htm

It's crazy effective but takes a bit of careful meal planning. Let me tell you though, loading up on starchy carbs every 4th day is brilliant, last re-feed day I had french toast, pancakes, and pasta. Awesome stuff!

mandyleeann · 10-15-2007, 04:32 PM

Thanks for the links, I really appreciate the help! Yeah, I have been worried my cardio is too high as well--the problem is that I teach 2-3 cardio-kickboxing classes a week; Then I usually do intervals on the elliptical or sprints 2 days a week following strength training. A trainer told me that because I teach the kickboxing that it may not "count" as cardio, yet I am still burning tons of calories when I teach the class. So I am not really sure on what to do with that! Any thoughts?

Lauroo · 10-15-2007, 07:42 PM

I would say your Activity level is considered moderate. I asked Tom Venuto this personally (he's the author of a great book called Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle) I work out 6 days a week - 4 days weight training and 6 days 45-60 minutes cardio. And I'm considered moderately active.

You need to first calculate your daily caloric needs, and then if you want to lose body fat but maintain your muscle, start by creating a deficit of about 20% a day.

The most accurate formula for calculating caloric needs:

BMR = 370 + (21.6 x Lean Body Mass in kgs) then times this final number by your activity level (1.55)

Most reasonably fit women will be around 2100 calories daily. So you'd probably aim for 1700 cals daily. Keeping an eye on your macros is a good idea too.

Calorie counting can be tedious but if you are stuck in a weight loss plateau, getting serious into tracking can be the best way to find something that works for you.

Good luck !

mandyleeann · 10-16-2007, 08:39 AM

Thank you! When I did the equation, it looks like I need about 1880 calories to maintain. So I am thinking around 1500 would result in fat loss/maintain muscle. Does this seem right?

polinutrigirl · 10-16-2007, 11:24 AM

Do you use fitday? I love this; it has helped me so much in tracking my eating. I track everything so I make sure I get all my required calories, and keep my protein up.

mandyleeann · 10-16-2007, 11:28 AM

Yeah, I have been using fitday. I am just still figuring out what numbers I should be shooting for.

Lckymii · 10-16-2007, 08:26 PM

For your height it does sound about right. Give it a shot and see how you feel. Your body will tell you if you are undereating pay attention to unusual fatigue and/or extreme hunger/cravings. When it comes to diet some times it will be a little bit of troubleshooting before you find the right amount of calories to get things going in the right direction. And this will never change, because as your body changes it's needs will change. Unfortunately there is no magic number that you get to stay at...

Lauroo · 10-17-2007, 12:51 PM

1880 Cals for maintenance sounds low to me! What's your body fat %?

mandyleeann · 10-17-2007, 01:17 PM

21%...I'd like to get down to 18% and stay around there if I'm happy

Lauroo · 10-17-2007, 01:56 PM

Okay so you are 21% BF and 114lbs?

That would mean your BMR is 1254 calories

Then you do 1254 x 1.55 (your activity level) so that's 1944 cals to maintain.

To create a 20% deficit makes 1555 calories, so that would be a good range to eat at for fat loss!

mandyleeann · 10-17-2007, 02:30 PM

Thank You!

mandyleeann · 10-17-2007, 02:35 PM

Do you guys know the equation for men? My hubby is now asking

He needs it much more than I do...lol

tattooboiee · 10-17-2007, 02:37 PM

I consume about 1,500 calories a day, which includes 30g of protien. Hope that helps.

mandyleeann · 10-17-2007, 02:46 PM

only 30 g protein??? i think i have that just at breakfast. LOL

tattooboiee · 10-17-2007, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandyleeann

only 30 g protein??? i think i have that just at breakfast. LOL

lol.

Lauroo · 10-17-2007, 04:25 PM

Mandy, because that equation goes by lean mass, the exact same equation works for men too!

Lauroo · 10-17-2007, 04:26 PM

I just found an online calculator to do it, very useful!!!!!!!!!

http://www.esnips.com/doc/b08202cc-e...dle-Calculator

mandyleeann · 10-17-2007, 04:48 PM

That was VERY cool! I downloaded it!! THANKS SO MUCH!

iNatalia · 10-17-2007, 06:41 PM

try this for calculating maintenance cals, gaining mass or loosing fat:

http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

I use it and it's accurate IMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandyleeann

Thank you! When I did the equation, it looks like I need about 1880 calories to maintain. So I am thinking around 1500 would result in fat loss/maintain muscle. Does this seem right?