Question on Calorie intake and Cardio??

[TanTan1986]

Hi everyone! I have a couple questions?? I have started a low carb diet and have downloaded the my fitness pal to track my calorie intake, I have it set to 1300 calories a day, now I know to burn fat you have to have a calori deflect, in ways it is a little confusing to me!! Now for example, today for supper, lunch and dinner I have consumed 966 calories, I have done High intensity cardio and burned 337 calories! Now that is defiantly not more than I have consumed! Will I still see weight loss? Not every day I consume 966, some day less and some days almost the same, can someone let me know if what I'm doing is right (to burn fat)?? I do walk every day (20 mins) and do cardio for 30 mins every 4 days a week! I have been trying to avoid potatoes, pasta, bread and rice, I have been eating high protein (no less skinless chicken Brest, pork loins, eye of round steak, broccoli, green peppers ect...) I do eat cheese occasionally, is that bad? It is the brick mozzarella and I only have it grated in salad ect..

 

[Lizzy84]

Hi, this is by no means a professional opinion. But from my own experience you need to figure out how many calories your body needs to just work a normal day for example i spoke to a nutritionist who worked out that my body needs 1500 calories to maintain exactly as I am. Thereafter if you calculate calories to about 200 less than that every day you will start to lose weight at a decent ratio and speed. Anything under that many calories will put your body into starvation mode and will then make you not only hold onto weight, but will eat away your muscle and turn any nutrition thereafter into stored fat. So it's a fine line and balance. I think it's a great investment to meet a nutritionist as they help you with that balance and tell you how best to manage your calorie intake.

Hopefully that helps a little

 

[MrNiceGuy1]

Hello TanTan1986 and welcome to the forum.

Depending upon how much you currently weigh, a severe daily calorie deficit (which is what you’re implementing) may work for a few weeks but it won’t serve you well in the longer term.

As such, you need to consult BMR/TDEE calculators, since both are largely accurate in determining energy requirements, based upon current measurements (age/weight/height) and level of activity.

Regardless of your chosen route towards weight loss, at the very least, you should aim to consume sufficient daily calories to satisfy that of your BMR, since the figure represents the amount needed to maintain existence. If you routinely consume fewer calories than your BMR, the body quickly enters starvation mode, resulting in increased levels of lethargy and decreased levels of weight loss.

Is the figure of 1300Kcal based upon your current BMR, or one that you’ve simply decided upon?

If it’s a figure you’ve simply decided upon, based upon current measurements, it may still be insufficient.

Given that you’re performing HIIT regularly, I’d concentrate upon consuming sufficient calories to meet that of your TDEE, allowing the huge energy deficit that the activity creates to burn through existing levels of body fat.

Moreover, when performing HIIT frequently, you need to sufficiently replenish depleted glycogen reserves in the muscles between workouts (with carbohydrate), so an excessively low-carb approach probably isn’t the best idea.

In terms of daily dietary intake between respective food groups, aim to consume 50% lean protein, 30% complex carbohydrate and 20% healthy fat.

Again, having ascertained your BMR/TDEE, I’d also research macronutrient calculators to provide an idea of how many calories should be consumed between the respective groups, taking into consideration that protein and carbohydrate each contain 4Kcal per gram and fat contains 9Kcal per gram.