Minimum calorie intake?

[patoff]

Hi guys,

I am trying to figure out how much calorie I need to eat, but I am not sure. I use this method :

I weigh 169 lbs (76.8 kilos)
My body fat percentage is 17% (28.7 lbs fat, 140.3 lbs lean)
My lean mass is 140.3 lbs (63.7 kilos)
My BMR = 370 + (21.6 X 63.7) = 1745 calories
My activity level is moderate = 1.55
1745*1.55 = 2700 calories.

So my maintenance level is 2700 calories right? So if I want to cut 20%, I need to eat 2100 calories. That's what I am doing now. My main goal is to lose my to much fat, I want to go down to 10%.

I do 30-45 of cardio everyday and I lose 600-700 calories while doing it. (is it possible or my bike is wrong?).

I saw that the minimum calorie intake is 1800 if I don't want to slow my metabolism. Is my calorie intake is the food I eat or is it the food I eat-the cardio I am doing?

If I am at 17% bf and I want to go down to 10%, when should be my goal? Is it something I can obtain in 12 weeks from now?

Thanks a lot!

[The Solution]

Hi guys,

I am trying to figure out how much calorie I need to eat, but I am not sure. I use this method :

I weigh 169 lbs (76.8 kilos)
My body fat percentage is 17% (28.7 lbs fat, 140.3 lbs lean)
My lean mass is 140.3 lbs (63.7 kilos)
My BMR = 370 + (21.6 X 63.7) = 1745 calories
My activity level is moderate = 1.55
1745*1.55 = 2700 calories.

So my maintenance level is 2700 calories right? So if I want to cut 20%, I need to eat 2100 calories. That's what I am doing now. My main goal is to lose my to much fat, I want to go down to 10%.

I do 30-45 of cardio everyday and I lose 600-700 calories while doing it. (is it possible or my bike is wrong?).

I saw that the minimum calorie intake is 1800 if I don't want to slow my metabolism. Is my calorie intake is the food I eat or is it the food I eat-the cardio I am doing?

If I am at 17% bf and I want to go down to 10%, when should be my goal? Is it something I can obtain in 12 weeks from now?

Thanks a lot!

First of all the cardio machines you read are not going to be telling you the truth.. because it just goes on a general standard of how many calories you burn.. everyone will be different.

Again how many calories you are going to need will depend.. It will vary from person to person as those calculators are again on a general basis.. this will change depending on how active you are outside of the gym, how fast of a metabolism you have, and ur RMR ( resting metabolic rate)

in 12 weeks shedding 7% BF will be tough, and you will have to be literally spot on with your diet.

Also I think if you just focus on lifting hard and doing some moderate cardio you will be ok. But stretching it everyday may be a long run at overtraining.

[patoff]

There is no way to tell if I need to eat 3000 calories per day or 1500?
I also lift weight 4-5 days a week.

[ThaRock]

4-5 times a week may be too much. Rest.. dring rest periods your muscles will burn calories.. and your body will burn the food to feed the muscles those calories. But honestly.. I dont know how exactly that stuff works myself..

[BlueFenix13S]

4-5 times a week may be too much. .

Depends on the split. If it's a straight body part split, then yeah it's overtraining, but you can probably get away with an upper/lower 4 days a week, or push/pull/legs or something.

OP, bodyweight x15 is a good starting point for maintenance. From there, subtract 500 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week. Don't go below 1800 for men though IMO. You're better off eating more and just adding in some extra cardio or something.

[patoff]

Yeah, it's a split routine. Basically I am doing 2-3 muscles per day.

But when you say don't go below 1800, is it food only or food - cardio?

[BlueFenix13S]

Yeah, it's a split routine. Basically I am doing 2-3 muscles per day.

But when you say don't go below 1800, is it food only or food - cardio?

Never eat less than 1800 calories. You can burn more, I don't really recommend it, but at least don't eat less than that.

[patoff]

Ok thanks.
I eat 2200 on low days with 30-40 minutes of cardio.