220 lbs and confused on how many calories

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michaelbryant7547031
michaelbryant7547031 Posts: 22
in Introduce Yourself
I'm 6'2, 220 lbs, 24 years old

I currently have a pretty serious weight program, and I do Insanity for cardio (I'm on day 27.)

I am so confused about how many calories I should be eating a day, there is so much information and it is all different.

I want to lose approximately 2 pounds a week.

I used the BMR Calculator which said 2200 calories was my maintenance level. Is this accurate? There are several other websites that use different methods and I don't know which one is right..

If 2200 calories is my Maintenance level, then I would need 1200 calories a day to lose 2 lb/wk right? Probably 1700 calories and then burn the rest doing cardio/weights.

Someone PLEASE help me!

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  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    1200 is way too low. I'm 6'-1" and 195, and I'm eating 2000 calories as my base with an extra 800 to 1400 a day for Insanity. If your BMR is 2200, you need to eat above that, not below. You're confusing BMR (base metabolic rate) with TDEE (total daily expenditure). BMR is the minimum you need just for your body to function properly and doesn't account for any activity. The two below links should help walk you through what you need to be doing. If you're doing insanity, you'll starve yourself trying to only eat 1200.


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
  • michaelbryant7547031
    michaelbryant7547031 Posts: 22
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    @Grimendale could you add me on facebook? Same goes for all of you reading this, always good to have more fitness friends.
    https://www.facebook.com/michael.bryant.7547031
  • j6o4
    j6o4 Posts: 871 Member
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    1200 is for girls, 1800 is the minimum for a guy.
  • salmon620
    salmon620 Posts: 1
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    I think 1200 is not enough for you. I am 5'4" and 168 lbs. I have been eating 1200 calories a day plus doing an hour of zumba for cardio and I'm losing about 2 to 3 lbs a week.

    From what I've read, you burn 1850 calories just going through your day normally (depends how active you are throughout the day). If you do insanity for an hour it burns about 600 calories. That adds up to 2450 and you need to burn 1000 per day to lose 2 lbs a week. That allows you to eat 1450 per day. Hope this helps! Good luck!
  • michaelbryant7547031
    michaelbryant7547031 Posts: 22
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    I think you guys misunderstood me. I meant my BMR - 2200, so if I eat 1700 calories and do nothing then i'll lose 1lb a week. THen if I burn another 500 calories through excercise, i'll lose 2 pounds a week.
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    @Grimendale could you add me on facebook? Same goes for all of you reading this, always good to have more fitness friends.
    https://www.facebook.com/michael.bryant.7547031

    Not on facebook much. You can FR me here if you like, though.

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