Counting Calories and Nutriton Myths Debunked for noobies!

[robasol]

So 2300 - 800 from workout equals 1500. Should I be eating 1300 cals or 2300+800=3100 and be eating 2900 cals? Sorry for stubborn questions I just need correct info so I can eat right and not mess it up. Thanks

All the exercise/cardio you do should already be accounted for in your TDEE. Why? Because you multiplied your BMR by an activity factor, which is the sum of all your physical activity.

Eat at a 10-20% from your TDEE, not your BMR

[Ghosting]

So 2300 - 800 from workout equals 1500. Should I be eating 1300 cals or 2300+800=3100 and be eating 2900 cals? Sorry for stubborn questions I just need correct info so I can eat right and not mess it up. Thanks

Even at a big 20% of 2300 that is 460. Not sure were the 800 is coming from.

[robasol]

Even at a big 20% of 2300 that is 460. Not sure were the 800 is coming from.

Supposing I burn 800 cals in a workout and my BMR is 2300 cals. How many cals should I be eating to be at a deficit. I guess that's the easiest way to put my question. Thanks

[Ahmed81]

Supposing I burn 800 cals in a workout and my BMR is 2300 cals. How many cals should I be eating to be at a deficit. I guess that's the easiest way to put my question. Thanks

Your TDEE is 2300, not your BMR. Eat at a 10-20% deficit from 2300.

Once again, all your physical activity is already accounted for in your TDEE, that's why you multiplied your BMR by an activity factor. So forget about this "burning 800 calories while lifting", as if that's even possible in one lifting session...

[robasol]

Your TDEE is 2300, not your BMR. Eat at a 10-20% deficit from 2300.

Once again, all your physical activity is already accounted for in your TDEE, that's why you multiplied your BMR by an activity factor. So forget about this "burning 800 calories while lifting", as if that's even possible in one lifting session...

I guess my polar watch is useless then. It reads 800+ in one lift and cardio session. Thanks for clarifying man, much appreciated

[Ghosting]

All your physical activity is already accounted for in your TDEE

Thanks

[SkinnyAssAsian]

Depends on who you are for the junk food bit.
ectomorphs, hardgainers, junk food is great for mass but for people who pack on fat easily, the bad fats/carbs don't help.

[Ahmed81]

Depends on who you are for the junk food bit.
ectomorphs, hardgainers, junk food is great for mass but for people who pack on fat easily, the bad fats/carbs don't help.

False. Eating over your caloric intake makes you gain weight, not specific food items.

[Miido]

Do you feel like you have enough muscle mass worth cutting for? No point in cutting down to 6-7% if you're going to look like a concentration camp survivor. My advice to you is to really assess your muscle mass. In my opinion, people begin cutting too shortly after their first bulk. I bulked for 2.5 years before going on my first cut and that helped me to put on adequate muscle mass that was worth cutting for.

When you do decide to bulk, you can reduce fat gains by only eating slightly above your TDEE (200-300 over).

Also, please remember that high protein diets have no extra benefit. If you're someone who prefers a diet high in protein, then awesome. But at 143 lbs you only need .8-1 g protein/lb of body weight when cutting, and 1 g protein/lb of LBM when bulking. So at your current weight, you only need to allocate ~600 calories daily worth of protein for optimal results. The rest of your intake can be composed of carbs and fat, or more protein if you desire.

Thanks to your advice I'm now 150 lbs in no time. Still I will make sure I get 150 grams of protein and quite a bit surplus. There is one other question though, is meal timing important?

[Ghosting]

Supposing I burn 800 cals in a workout and my BMR is 2300 cals. How many cals should I be eating to be at a deficit. I guess that's the easiest way to put my question. Thanks

Ok. Didn't understand but now I get what you were asking.

[flyrich]

this was worth reading

Hello fitness world, my name is Ahmed Zaid. As someone who struggled with obesity growing up, I decided to make a change for the better and dedicate my mind and body to the fitness life. I like to call myself the guinea pig, because I spent the first 3-4 years of my fitness lifestyle experimenting with different methods and acquiring knowledge on the way. Using my body as the test subject, I learned the proper way to go about the overwhelming topic that is NUTRITION! Following the popular method of weight loss (no fats or carbs and cardio cardio cardio!), I endured metabolic damage and severely hurt my blood work. I now wish to give back to society as I look to deviate beginners from that dangerous path.

In order to really take your fitness to the next level, I highly recommended that you begin to count calories and, of course, compliment your diet with consistency in the gym. Counting calories IS NOT EASY AT ALL. IT WILL CHALLENGE YOUR MENTAL TOUGHNESS AND SANITY. I don't say this to discourage you, but rather to let you know what you're up against. You know what they say, nothing worth having comes easy. Ok so in order for me to teach you this, I'm going to have to rock your world a little bit by debunking a lot of the nutrition myths that society has come to believe.

1. MEAL TIMING: Lots of people think you have to eat breakfast, or you have to eat post workout to see results; they also tell you not to eat before bed time. The truth is, meal timing is irrelevant in terms of body composition. Total daily caloric intake is what governs weight loss/gain. Ex: I eat 2350 calories daily, and 1500 come immediately before bed time. Meal timing is all personal preference bu it IS relevant to your daily performance. If you're someone who needs breakfast in the morning, then go ahead. If you need the majority of your calories two hours before you hit the gym (a.k.a. a pre-workout meal) in order to have an optimal performance, then meal timing is relevant in that sense. But there's no extra benefit to eating six small meals a day or depriving yourself of a bed time snack. Eat when YOU want to!

2. JUNK FOOD IS NOT BAD FOR YOU: Total caloric intake is what governs weight loss/gain, not specific food items. In order to lose weight, you have to eat 10 - 20 % under your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture). Your TDEE is how many calories you burn in a day, so you have to burn more calories than you take in (hence why you eat 10 - 20 % under that). You have to hit certain numbers in regards to macronutrients. 1 g of protein/lb of bodyweight, and .45 g of dietary fat/lb of bodyweight, and you can fill the rest of your calories with carbs, or more protein and fat. WHATEVER food choices you use to hit those numbers (as long as you don't go over your caloric intake for the day) will result in you losing weight. For example, I use pop tarts to help me out with my dietary fat goal daily. A lot of people avoid dietary fat in their diet, and that's absolutely horrible. Fat intake helps to regulate hormonal function in men and women, and without it, your blood work will suffer. In order to meet your caloric goal without going over, you'll have to have "healthy" foods too. Ex: If I wanted to get 50 g of protein from the McDonald's menu, I would need at least 600 calories (because their food is so caloricly dense). But to get 50 g of protein from home made chicken breast, I would only need ~200 calories. So as you can see, in order to only eat 2350 and hit my protein and fat needs, I would have to have "healthy" foods, I can't just have 2350 calories worth of pop tarts and McDonald's because I wouldn't have hit my protein intake. It is also vital that you consume a wide variety of foods that are rich in micronutrients (fruits, veggies, minimally processed foods). These serve a major role in preserving your general health including, but not limited to, your cholesterol, blood pressure, and sodium levels. This method of fitting your favorite foods into your intake is called "if it fits your macros" (IIFYM).

3. CARDIO: Cardiovascular exercise, contrary to popular belief, is NOT the most efficient way to burn fat. Being in a caloric deficit is what is optimal. But cardio exercise plays a major role in heart health, so it's VERY important that you pay attention to it. A healthier heart leads to better breathing, better breathing leads to better stamina, which will help you in the weight room. The beauty of fitness is that everything comes full circle. In order to calculate your TDEE, you first have to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn if you literally laid in bed all day and didn't move a muscle. Because we don't live like that, we take our BMR and multiply it by an activity factor, which ultimately gives us our TDEE. If you want to incorporate more cardio into your regimen, that's absolutely fine, but please make sure you account for that when you consider the activity factor you multiply your BMR by. Some people choose to eat more and rely strictly on cardio to put them in a caloric deficit. For example, John estimates his TDEE to be 2800. John consumes 2800 calories worth of food/drink daily, and does 30 min worth of cardio to put him in a daily deficit. Because it is difficult to track how many calories one burns during a cardio session, I recommend that you do not SOLELY rely on cardio to put you in a deficit. To reiterate, cardiovascular exercise is extremely important to one's health, and it should be accounted for in your weekly regiment. Just make sure you are not over-doing it!!

4. PROTEIN: As far as protein goes, you want to try to hit your daily protein goal from whole foods. Only incorporate a supplement when you need a quick and convenient fix, or you need something that is low-cal and protein dense (120 calorie scoop worth 24 g protein). Getting your protein from whole foods will not only give you more energy and help with satiety, but will also help to ensure MICROnutrient sufficiency. Really try to get most, if not all your protein, from whole foods though, as taking the "recommend" 3 scoops a day of supplements will drain your wallet rather quickly

Another common misconception that people have is that they think they are sacrificing results by using IIFYM, false! Rather you are excelling by tracking your intake and making sure that you hit your numbers. Following a "broscience" diet where you only eat brown rice, veggies, and chicken breast will likely leave you deficient in one of the macronutrients (protein and fat), if not BOTH. More so, depriving yourself of the foods you love can lead to binge eating and eating disorders. It's neither necessary, nor realistic to go through life avoiding the foods we enjoy. Many in our society begin a weight loss "diet" by dropping their carbohydrate intake, avoiding all fatty foods, and severely under-eating overall. Unfortunately, that approach has become rather popular, and it does your body harm in both the long and short term. Under-eating can cause severe metabolic damage, and that can make it harder for you to lose weight correctly in the future. Such a method is highly detrimental and neglects the science involved in weight loss, so don't fall into the trap!!


I hope this article has removed the uncertainty or fear for anyone thinking about entering the fitness lifestyle. Speaking from experience, I can relate to how overwhelming making such a drastic commitment can be. Process the situation, take a deep breath, and shoot for the stars! As always, for any questions/comments please do not hesitate to contact me here on the forums!


- Ahmed Zaid

[Ahmed81]

Thanks to your advice I'm now 150 lbs in no time. Still I will make sure I get 150 grams of protein and quite a bit surplus. There is one other question though, is meal timing important?

Meal timing is personal preference; it's relevant to your performance. If you're someone who needs your biggest meal of the day two hours before you lift for optimal performance, then it's relevant in that sense. Hitting your caloric needs and macros is what's important

[LovinLife2014]

1) This is retarded. Try working out before eating every morning and tell me about your results.
2) IIFYM is nonsense as well. If I eat only McDonalds and scoops of whey protein, I will hit my Macros. I assure you that is not optimal.. or even good.
3) Theres a difference between fat weight and muscle weight... Reading this is so painful to me.
4) 4 contradicts your point in 2... which is it? Eat real food or eat junk food and supplements?

How can you title this myths debunked when you're starting you own new myths?

It doesn't contradict as he didn't say get all your calories from junk food.

The point about junk food was to demonstrate that when it comes to losing weight, it's about a calorie deficiency. You can eat junk food or whatever and still be calorie deficient.

Some of us find that a significant point to reiterate, because a lot of people seem focused on the food, or avoiding certain foods, and not the calorie count.

And millions of people struggle with their weight and can't figure it out. No wonder.

[BTSwriter]

hey dude, thanks for telling me to read this (and I read your bio). I'm glad I read this article it really helped me. But I have some questions to has ask about it.
#1: I'm very glad I read this one. It really helped. I figured a pre-workout meal isn't needed, and it helps to know I can eat WHENEVER I want even before bed.
#2: I was very confused about this one mostly because of all the numbers and math involved. You said, " In order to lose weight, you have to eat 10 - 20 % under your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture). Your TDEE is how many calories you burn in a day, so you have to burn more calories than you take in (hence why you eat 10 - 20 % under that)." Although, I'm probably way off, it sounds like one has to eat 10-20% more than they eat, in other words, eating 200-400 calories out of 2000. I guess I just might need it reworded slightly for better clarification.
Also, you mentioned that one should have "1 g of protein/lb of bodyweight, and .45 g of dietary fat/lb of bodyweight..." To clarify, for a guy who weighs 150 lbs. would that be 150 grams of protein and 67.5 grams of dietary fat per day?
3#: In reference to the BMR, you said, "In order to calculate your TDEE, you first have to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn if you literally laid in bed all day and didn't move a muscle. Because we don't live like that, we take our BMR and multiply it by an activity factor, which ultimately gives us our TDEE." So what exactly is the number we use as the activity factor that we multiply by our BMR? Also, hypothetically, if one could calculate how many calories one does burn if they just laid in bed all day, how much would that be, or would that also answer the previous question?
#4: For protein, I'm glad I read this too. I had a protein bar earlier today, and after reading this, I know to be iffy about that now. The bar I had had 370 calories and 32 grams of protein which is a perfect reverse example in comparison of the one you gave of something good to have in that sense.
Also, a good snack I usually have is a peanut butter and honey sandwich on wheat bread. Is that a good choice of protein snack, and is it also considered a great whole foods source?
Lastly, I want to say, in late 2012, after losing 30 lbs in a few months (possibly due to the psych meds I started then), I was soon motivated to start working out a lot more to get the look I wanted. Now, this year I am experiencing the opposite whereas I've gained constantly more and more and am borderline eating disorder. If I do work with this and it helps, I thank you so much for it. I really hope that I can get back to how I was in December (almost my dream look).

[Ahmed81]

#2: I was very confused about this one mostly because of all the numbers and math involved. You said, " In order to lose weight, you have to eat 10 - 20 % under your TDEE (total daily energy expedenture). Your TDEE is how many calories you burn in a day, so you have to burn more calories than you take in (hence why you eat 10 - 20 % under that)." Although, I'm probably way off, it sounds like one has to eat 10-20% more than they eat, in other words, eating 200-400 calories out of 2000. I guess I just might need it reworded slightly for better clarification. Also, you mentioned that one should have "1 g of protein/lb of bodyweight, and .45 g of dietary fat/lb of bodyweight..." To clarify, for a guy who weighs 150 lbs. would that be 150 grams of protein and 67.5 grams of dietary fat per day?

I'm confused by what you're asking here. Are you asking what the caloric intake should look like on a bulk (gaining mass)? If so, then yes, you should eat ~20% ABOVE your maintenance to build mass.

During a bulk, you should aim for .8 g protein/lb of LBM. To calculate your LBM, subtract your bf% from your total bodyweight. Ex: If you're 150 lbs and you're 15% bf, then you have 22.5 lbs of fat (150 x .15). So your LBM would be 127.5 lbs. So during a bulk, you should aim for at least 102 g protein. You could go higher if you'd like, but that should be your minimum. During a cut, you should aim for .8 g protein/lb of TOTAL bodyweight (150 lbs).

Dietary fat should be anywhere from .4-.5 g/lb of total bodyweight. During a cut, this dietary fat intake will help to preserve hormonal function. While in a caloric surplus (bulking), there's no need to keep dietary fat that high.

The info in my OP is a little outdated, it over states protein requirements. I've been cutting on .8g protein/lb of total bodyweight for 6 months and I've had great results. Also saves me more room for carbs

3#: In reference to the BMR, you said, "In order to calculate your TDEE, you first have to calculate your BMR (basal metabolic rate). Your BMR is the amount of calories you burn if you literally laid in bed all day and didn't move a muscle. Because we don't live like that, we take our BMR and multiply it by an activity factor, which ultimately gives us our TDEE." So what exactly is the number we use as the activity factor that we multiply by our BMR? Also, hypothetically, if one could calculate how many calories one does burn if they just laid in bed all day, how much would that be, or would that also answer the previous question?

Your activity factor is anywhere from 1.1-2.0

1.1 is almost completely sedentary whereas 2.0 is HIGHLY active. The majority of Americans are within the 1.3-1.5 range IMO. Be conservative when you pick an activity factor to multiply your BMR by.

"Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours."

Also, a good snack I usually have is a peanut butter and honey sandwich on wheat bread. Is that a good choice of protein snack, and is it also considered a great whole foods source?

Peanut butter is a macro-efficient food choice because it has a good balance of both protein and fat. However, it's not the best for satiety (peanut butter is dense in calories). If you haven't already, opt for the natural peanut butter as that will be a much more efficient MICROnutrient source.

Lastly, I want to say, in late 2012, after losing 30 lbs in a few months (possibly due to the psych meds I started then), I was soon motivated to start working out a lot more to get the look I wanted. Now, this year I am experiencing the opposite whereas I've gained constantly more and more and am borderline eating disorder. If I do work with this and it helps, I thank you so much for it. I really hope that I can get back to how I was in December (almost my dream look).

I hope this information can help you repair your relationship with food. However, please continue to follow the advice of a medical professional (if you are currently being advised). This information is general and should not take precedent over any medical plans that professionals have for you.

Good luck with all your goals