Weight-Loss Can someone put this to rest for me? CALORIES.

Weight-Loss
N

nixon2

New member
Hello,

I'm getting frustrated. The reason? I'm doing too much investigating so I thought I'd ask here finally as there appears to be quite a group of people in the know enough about actual weight loss to answer my question with much validity.

Looking around the place, I have seen several and heard several variations on how many calories I should be taking in daily to help my weight loss.

Details about me:

Age: 23
Sex: Male
Height: 180cm / 5'11"
Start weight: 102.5kg / 225lbs
Current weight: 87kg / 191lbs
Desired weight: 78-80kg / 172-176lbs

I have changed my plan this week because I feel I'm burning out so this is how it's going to pan out over the next few weeks for me.

Monday morning 6am full body weights session. A good mate of mine is a new personal trainer so is helping me to get through these sessions gratis.
Monday evening - 40 minutes cardio again walking and jogging where I can

Tuesday morning 6am cardio session. 40 minutes walking with jogging where I can followed by 15 minute sauna session.

Tuesday evening - I head to the gym and do a boxing class which takes an hour. Hard work out!

Wednesday - complete rest day.

Thursday morning 6am - full body weights session.

Thursday evening - half hour session with my original personal trainer doing cardio work.. and he kills me which is great.

Friday morning 6am - cardio session. 40 minutes walking with jogging where I can.

Saturday - rest day.

Sunday - depending on social activity, most likely head to the gym around 11am to do some cardio and whatever else I feel like doing.


I do the weights sessions because I enjoy them, but at this stage I'd prefer to get my body into the right shape weight wise and so forth before I focus on actual muscle building and definition but it would be great to arrive at both destinations simultaneously but don't know.

Can someone tell me how many calories to live by when doing this?

I plan to take protein each day also.
 
I'm not even about to read all of that for the simple reason that you are waaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy over thinking this.

15 calories per pound is a good estimate for maintenance. Emphasis on estimate.

Since all the calcs are estimates and given that even if you knew the exact number required it would have to be adjusted before long, there is no reason at all to spend this amount of time worrying about it.

Shoot for 12 calories per pound.

Adjust accordingly based on bodily feedback (measurements, weight, how you feel, etc, etc.)
 
Lol.. thanks

Even then it says I should be around 2300 calories per day which still seems kind of high for weight loss?
 
nixon said:
Lol.. thanks

Even then it says I should be around 2300 calories per day which still seems kind of high for weight loss?
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You have to remember that you have burning alot of calories in the gym. I'd prob shoot for 2000.
 
At 12 calories/pound My weight loss mark is 2760.

I started shooting for 2100. If thats still too fast I guess I need to bump it up some more. At first I thought "1600 calories and I'm full this is great" then I was reading all the ways I was setting myself up for failure.

Is a steady 2 pounds a week an ok target? Or should I be shooting for more around 3 pounds every 2 weeks or am I worrying too much?

I'd prefer to never actually plateau badly. I think reaching a plateau for any extended period of time could very much sabotage me as I'm a weak willed individual. Unless it happened after reaching the 200 mark. If I can lose those 30 pounds without plateauing, which I think shouldn't be difficult if I don't try to burn myself out, I think the feeling of having lost the weight I'm most concerned about will keep me going regardless.
 
nixon said:
Lol.. thanks

Even then it says I should be around 2300 calories per day which still seems kind of high for weight loss?
Click to expand...

You aren't looking at this appropriately.

There is no set number for weight loss. It's a completely individual thing.

I've had clients who want to lose weight yet can't exercise for numerous reasons. Obviously they are going to have to eat far less food (calories) than someone who can exercise and burn off extra energy.

Or some people seem to have to eat far less food to trigger appreciable weight loss than others of similar stature.

The idea though, in almost all cases, is to eat as much food as you can while still triggering an appreciable rate of weight loss. That is, if what you're interested in is lifetime results.

Losing weight is very easy. Shit, you could just starve yourself.

But see how long that lasts in terms of weight remaining off.

This is about finding a lifestyle you can adhere to on a consistent enough basis that results are permanent.

Also keep in mind that when you 'pick' your starting caloric intake for weight loss, you aren't signing a damn contract. As I noted above, you pick the high side. You be rational by keeping tabs on important metrics such as weight, measurement, pictures, etc. With these, you evaluate the data and adjust accordingly based on said feedback.

If you aren't losing enough, drop the cals a bit.

If you are losing too quickly, raise them up.

Adjust based on what's happening every 2-4 weeks.

Get the idea?
 
jeffisbig said:
At 12 calories/pound My weight loss mark is 2760.

I started shooting for 2100. If thats still too fast I guess I need to bump it up some more.
Click to expand...

The actual number being thrown around here doens't decide if it's too 'fast' or not.

The actual progress of your body does.

So how has your weight loss been going.

An important note here is this: The bigger you are, the deeper of a deficit you can 'afford' to be in. That doens't mean if you have a lot of fat to lose you should eat as little as possible. It just means you don't have to be as careful.

A good rule of thumb is a 1% of total body weight loss per week, keeping in mind that you aren't going to lose that each and every week. Some weeks might be 0. Others 2+

But you get the point.

Is a steady 2 pounds a week an ok target? Or should I be shooting for more around 3 pounds every 2 weeks or am I worrying too much?
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See above. Sorry, I'm replying as I'm reading along... I really have to stop doing that, lol.

But yes, you are worrying too much.

If you are progressing consistently I wouldn't change a thing. Two pounds per week is great.

I'd prefer to never actually plateau badly. I think reaching a plateau for any extended period of time could very much sabotage me as I'm a weak willed individual.
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This is a can of worms I'm not going to dive into at the moment but you really need to work on changing that mindset.

Weight loss is not a linear phenomenon, unfortunately.

Plateaus will arise, invariably.

With this in mind coupled with what you just said above, you're basically admitting to yourself that you won't succeed in the long run.

You need to program into your mind that you will plateau and when it happens, it does not equal failure nor does it equal time to give up and/or revert back to my old habits.

What it does mean is it's time to be patient and if things don't start heading in the right direction before too long, I am going to analyze what I'm doing and see where I can make some changes. I can even come here to this very forum and ask for some help to see if anyone else with experience or knowledge can help me bust through.

This is critical above all else in this post.
 
I think my main problem is I started at a number I picked out of the air. 1800. And then I was only eating 1600 cause I was terrified of going over.

Now I'm getting comfortable adding more calories on each week. I should have started higher and worked down, but I guess also what works works. I'm just glad I'm sticking to something and that my mindset about dieting is so different from what it was even just weeks ago.

I guess once you learn that not having bad food won't kill you (when literally the opposite very much will) it gets easier.
 
The reason why you are not getting a definitive answer is that there is no definitive answer to how many calories you should be taking in. I have tripped up on this before too, thinking that there is a set necessary amount out there somewhere, but the truth is that:

1: No one really knows
2. It varies by person

My advice to you is to simply try as much as you are comfortable with, without eating yourself into the plus side. You can use your weight as a kind of warning sign, just be sure you are not losing too much weight too fast, (2lbs a week is very fast) and you will be fine with everything else.
 
Steve is the bomb. Over any other posts I've read, I trust his the most implicitly. He's the reason for my consistently positive mindset...
 
Steve said:
Isn't that what was said already?
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It is, but I wanted to emphasize that there is no exact answer. A lot of people seem to have the impression that nutritionists have figured out exactly how many calories you need, and how many grams of protein you need, and then go on long internet quests to find it...and well, that is just impossible...

Also, I will admit that I skimmed your posts, seemed like you were overthinking the issue... :p
 
Actually I strive to stop people from over-thinking these types of things.

But whatever.
 
A lot of people seem to have the impression that nutritionists have figured out exactly how many calories you need,
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I'm under the impression the whole profession needs to be disbanded. I have never talked to such incompetent people. The only RD I have ever run across who was actually decent would have to be Alan Aragon.
What do you think, Steve?
 
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