Need help with calorie goals

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mariom1112
mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! Im a 20 year old male
Ive posted before when i lost 38 lbs in 3 in a half months from 206 to 168 as of recent a week ago i took a rest week and 2 days prior to getting back in the gym a day after going back i weighted in at 173, threw me off, and kinda was like really? Anyways on my diet when i lost 38 lbs i ate 2300-2500 cals a day
Worked out 5 days a week sometimes 6 30 mins of cardio and lifted weights higher reps but lifted 4 days out of the 6, coming back from my rest week i hit my goal so now i just want to slowly lose the rest of my weight since i chopped 38 lbs off, im looking at losing .5 lb a week maybe .75 AT most while gaining some muscle, but my main goal is 165 in the end, how do i find my true maintenance calorie intake so i can get that .5 a week
As work i am very active i work 4 days a week 12 hours as a mechanic, so im constantly on my feet, my fit bit tracks 18-23k steps at work
But i need help finding my nutrition goals as i cant seem to pull the trigger on it
Im 173lbs 5’10 and 20 years old
My new work out schedule is 25-30 mins of cardio with 5 lifting days and more focused on stomach
Heres photos of me past and as of last night with my gf

Replies

  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
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    How much were you losing per week on the 2300-2500 cals a day? It was around 1lb from memory, right? If so, add another 250 cals a day, and that should drop your loss to 0.5 lb per week.

    Also, it's completely normal to see a bit of a bounce up on the scale when you have a diet break. You have more food in your digestive tract, and also replenish glycogen stores, which has some water weight attached to it. It usually drops off within a few days (I do high carb refeeds on the weekends, eating at maintenance, weight bumps up a bit by Monday, and is back down again by mid week).
  • mariom1112
    mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
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    I lost 2 - 2.5 lbs which is 8k cals a week so that means my total for the week was 24000 cals
  • mariom1112
    mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
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    Sorry that was confusing
    Average 2400 a day equals 16800 a week in cals
    If i lost we will say min 2 lbs a week thats 7500 + 16800 = 24300
    So divided 24300 by 7 is 3417.?? Is that my mait.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 9,966 Member
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    mariom1112 wrote: »
    Sorry that was confusing
    Average 2400 a day equals 16800 a week in cals
    If i lost we will say min 2 lbs a week thats 7500 + 16800 = 24300
    So divided 24300 by 7 is 3417.?? Is that my mait.

    actually, 2 lbs a week is a weekly deficit of 7000, not 7500
    And you transposed the 7 and the 1 in the result of 24300/7.
    But your approach is right other than that, and the two errors almost canceled each other out.

    7000 + 16800 = 23800
    23800/7 = 3400
    Assuming your data is correct (2 lbs a week lost on 2400 calories a day), your maintenance should be 3400 calories a day.

    For future reference, it's a lot simpler just to add 500 calories a day to your average calorie consumption for each pound you're losing per week on average.

    Averaging 2400 kcals consumed, losing 2 lbs a week on average, maintenance = 2400 + 1000 = 3400.
  • mariom1112
    mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
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    Thank you for the reply! And my apology i usually do very good at making it harder lol
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    Well, you certainly want to minimize your deficit at this point. So probably close to 2900 assuming you are using a food scale to be accurate.

    My bigger question is what are you actually doing for your lifting program. I suspect, by the way you talk about it, that it is a self designed program.
  • mariom1112
    mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
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    Day 1
    Cardio (30 mins)/arms/abs
    Day 2
    cardio/Back/sides
    Day 3
    Cardio/chest/triceps
    Day 4
    Cardio (40 mins/abs)
    Day 5
    Cardio/legs/sides
    Day 6 (optional cardio depending on energy level after a long work week)
    Cardio 20 mins (1 of the any muscle groups)
  • mariom1112
    mariom1112 Posts: 61 Member
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    Cardio is usually some high intensity cardio w/ Hiit
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,389 MFP Moderator
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    So you have an active job and do a ton of cardio. Personally, if you struggle with calories, drop some cardio.

    Second, get on a well structured lifting program like one found: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

    Your program is just not going to be effective.

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