Rate my diet - please

gam81e

Hi guys,

Looking some feedback to see if I am eating enough - aiming for 1850 calories per day with one cheat meal per week

Stats
Male
Age 31
Height 5'8''
Weight 88kg

Goal 80kg
Progress 2kg lost in 3 weeks

Calories burned (fitbit) on average 3500 - 4500 per day depending on the day
Spin class x3 per week
Weights x3 per week
Circuits x3 per week
Running x3 per week

Typical food intake
Breakfast - 375cals
Oats 50g
Semi-skimmed milk 4oz
Blueberries 30g
Impact diet whey 30g
CLA x2
Thermopure x2
Vitamin tablet x1

Snack - 90 cals
banana

Lunch - 210 cals
Soup - 400g

Dinner - varies but yesterdays - 613 cals
Boiled eggs x3
Unsmoked bacon x2 rashers
Toast x2 slices

Snack - 550 cals
Cereal 100g
skimmed milk
Diet whey protein

Bit of confusion around BMR/benedict scale and how that effects how many calories and/or amount of exercise.

Also, not really sure of what percentage of macros I should be aiming for, for carbs, proteins and fats.

Any help would be appreciated.

kommodevaran

I would do what was right for me. So I would eat as wide a variety as possible of foods I like, with an emphasis on real, whole foods. I would get in plenty of fat, sufficient protein, and fill up with carbs. I would follow MFP's calorie goal for a month or so and assess weight loss rate, energy, mood, and adjust calories/macros as needed. I would aim for 1% weight loss per week on average, tapering off as I reached goal weight. I would eat as many meals as felt good and practical. I would not focus on planned exercise, just move more on the daily.

ldwatene

I suspect those fitbit numbers maybe a bit over at a first glance.

I'm about 8kg heavier than you are and it would take a lot of hours to burn that much calories. ie. My 70mins of weights is less than 350. 1 hour on a treadmill is barely 600. So 2 hours of working out and I'm still 2000ish calories short of you even with my weight gap.

I could be wrong

annabel92

That fitbit calculation looks way off to me, way too high. I appreciate you're excerising lots too, but 10,000 steps (approximately 5 miles) a day is only about 400 calories.

If that fitbit calculation is right, then you're not eating enough. You'd be eating 2,650 calories less a day than needed.... I think you'd know right away if this was the case as you'd be hungry all the time and passing out!!! I suspect that number is the step count you're doing, not the calories burned though.

Generally, 1,850 a day is a good amount to aim for if you're losing weight. My goal is 1,200 - ,1,300 net calories a day, but then I'm 54kg.

Lillymoo01

Where are all the vegetables?

amysteri

@gam81e I agree with what everyone else is saying on those Fitbit calories burned per day... it's really high!
I wonder if it's accurate!?
--but do those numbers include how much the body burns at rest? plus the calories burned from exercise?
--or are they just calories burned from exercise alone?

On the food and macros:
I don't know if you're on a diet, keto, high-carb, or bulk/cutting
Those would affect your macros
But the kinds of foods you listed seem to be healthy... I don't see any donuts, ice cream or cheesecake! lol

On your Calories per day goal:
The amount of calories you eat which is 1850 calories seem low since according to your Fitbit you burn 3500-4500 calories per day. You seem to work out a lot but I don't know how long you workout for?

Read the info and plug in your stats on this site: https://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/basal-metabolic-rate

Sunna_W

You need more fat in your diet!

Macros to consider: 40% healthy fat; 45% protein; 15% sugar / carbs.

This ratio will give you energy, help you maintain muscle, and keep you from feeling hungry. It will also get you to your goal fairly quickly.

gam81e

Thanks for the responses folks - Ive only got the fitbit 3 weeks so could be wrong? (Not sure how to change this if it is)
Let's take yesterday for example -
On a day I didn't wear a watch (no steps/exercise logged) the calories burned was 1830 which I assume is BMR?
Went to the gym twice yesterday

1830 - BMR?
452 - Spin class (morning)
233 - weights (morning)
270 - Circuit (evening)
159 - Spin class (evening)

Fitbit stats - steps = 12040, floors 26, Miles 5.15m, Cals 3960, Active mins 141

If I add the BMR plus exercise = 2944 cals burn which equals 2944 this is 1016 cals out but doesn't account for steps and rest of the day?

@amysteri Trying a diet to lose body fat
workouts last mostly 45mins + e.g. active mins from fitbit for past seven days are
241 - 88 - 54 - 152 - 52 - 138 - 141

Again folks thanks for your responses, hoping to get my head around it all.

amysteri

BMR is basal metabolic rate, it is the number of calories your body needs to function when it is resting --- if you were staying in bed all day.

And wow! you're exercising a lot!!!
Your workouts are long so I think you're very active.
make sure you don't over exercise.

Okay so according to your Fitbit your BMR is 1830. This means you need to eat at least 1830 calories per day so your body can function - breathe, digest food, etc... Now, remember, this is when your body is at rest!

But now you're exercising... so you need to make an adjustment to your calorie goal.
Think about it, if your body needs 1830 calories to just function while at rest and you're now doing circuits, spin class etc. 452+233+270+159= 1114 calories. You're Fitbit is telling you you're burning 1114 calories during exercise!
So taking your BMR and those workouts how many calories does it look like you're burning in one day?
Now you see why everyone's saying you're not eating enough when you said your "aiming for 1850 calories per day"

If you plugged in your stats to the link I posted earlier you'd see how many calories you need
but there are several different calculators/formulas each will vary with their results

As for macros, MFP has a default setting for macros that most people seem to follow
It can always be changed though. But I don't know why you'd want to unless you were on a specific diet... the thing is no one can tell you what your macros should be because we're not dietitians, we can only tell you what's worked for us based on our own personal diets... coz if you follow our macros it may not work for you, because we're following a specific diet, but you're not following that same diet --- do you get what I mean?

The best advice is to ask a dietitian, it looks like you go to a gym. Ask if they have a dietitian/nutritionist in the gym who can help you

The main issue we all see here is that you don't seem to be eating enough which is why I'm suggesting to consult with a dietitian/nutritionist because I'm also not certain about the accuracy of the Fitbit's results


Hope this helped!

TavistockToad

Why would you eat so little?

steveko89

Personally, I'd opt for a more specialized heart rate solution over the fitbit as much as you're exercising. Did a bit of research when I was shopping around and settled on the Polar H7; pretty reasonably priced, seemingly well-regarded as accurate (Amazon link). I know some don't prefer strap HR monitors, though this strap is quite comfortable and has held up well to at least 3x/week usage for a few years. Being sure on your calorie burn will really let you dial in your diet for your level of expenditure.

I'm also curious if you would share details on your goals. Off the cuff that seems like a lot of exercise for casual weight loss, are you training for something in particular?

gam81e

TavistockToad wrote: »

Why would you eat so little?

Trying to find out if I'm doing the right thing to lose weight

gam81e

steveko89 wrote: »

Personally, I'd opt for a more specialized heart rate solution over the fitbit as much as you're exercising. Did a bit of research when I was shopping around and settled on the Polar H7; pretty reasonably priced, seemingly well-regarded as accurate (Amazon link). I know some don't prefer strap HR monitors, though this strap is quite comfortable and has held up well to at least 3x/week usage for a few years. Being sure on your calorie burn will really let you dial in your diet for your level of expenditure.

I'm also curious if you would share details on your goals. Off the cuff that seems like a lot of exercise for casual weight loss, are you training for something in particular?

Thanks for the advice on the polar H7. Appreciate it.
Training to lose weight to help with preseason for football. 31 now the old legs can't carry 're extra weight around forever

gam81e

amysteri wrote: »

BMR is basal metabolic rate, it is the number of calories your body needs to function when it is resting --- if you were staying in bed all day.

And wow! you're exercising a lot!!!
Your workouts are long so I think you're very active.
make sure you don't over exercise.

Okay so according to your Fitbit your BMR is 1830. This means you need to eat at least 1830 calories per day so your body can function - breathe, digest food, etc... Now, remember, this is when your body is at rest!

But now you're exercising... so you need to make an adjustment to your calorie goal.
Think about it, if your body needs 1830 calories to just function while at rest and you're now doing circuits, spin class etc. 452+233+270+159= 1114 calories. You're Fitbit is telling you you're burning 1114 calories during exercise!
So taking your BMR and those workouts how many calories does it look like you're burning in one day?
Now you see why everyone's saying you're not eating enough when you said your "aiming for 1850 calories per day"

If you plugged in your stats to the link I posted earlier you'd see how many calories you need
but there are several different calculators/formulas each will vary with their results

As for macros, MFP has a default setting for macros that most people seem to follow
It can always be changed though. But I don't know why you'd want to unless you were on a specific diet... the thing is no one can tell you what your macros should be because we're not dietitians, we can only tell you what's worked for us based on our own personal diets... coz if you follow our macros it may not work for you, because we're following a specific diet, but you're not following that same diet --- do you get what I mean?

The best advice is to ask a dietitian, it looks like you go to a gym. Ask if they have a dietitian/nutritionist in the gym who can help you

The main issue we all see here is that you don't seem to be eating enough which is why I'm suggesting to consult with a dietitian/nutritionist because I'm also not certain about the accuracy of the Fitbit's results


Hope this helped!

Thank you so much. Was apprehensive posting here but your warmth and advice has helped a lot. I'll definitely take on board what you've advised

rybo

You do 12 workouts a week? That's a bit much unless you are are training for an iron man.

leanitup123

Don't think it's appropriate for others to give advice on your diet - perhaps speak with a dietitian?

gam81e

leanitup123 wrote: »

Don't think it's appropriate for others to give advice on your diet - perhaps speak with a dietitian?

Sorry, just thought I'd try a community based discussion forum. I'll go into the exercise forum now and advise people not to ask for advice, they should speak to a REPs level 4 personal trainer

TavistockToad

leanitup123 wrote: »

Don't think it's appropriate for others to give advice on your diet - perhaps speak with a dietitian?

Why?