HELP!! I don't know how much I should eat

mcorsaletti

I have been told to eat above my BMR so that I don't damage my metabolism. I am an 18 year old male, 186 pounds and 6 feet 2 inches. 20% bodyfat. My BMR is approx. 2050. Because I work out 3-5 times a week MFP puts my TDEE at around 2800.

Previously I was eating around 200-300 cals below BMR and now I am told I need to eat above my BMR for healthy weight loss. This past week I have been trying to eat above my BMR at around 2300 calories, however, because I exercise most days I find myself needing to eat around 2600 calories for healthy weight loss.

I will be eating 2600 and netting 2200-2300. I know that I should be eating more, but I have some questions about what and how much I should be eating.

1 - How many calories do you reccomend I NET each day?
2 - Many people say "eat more but eat smaller sized meals" well ok I understand that keeps the metabolism active but if I'm eating smaller portions that means they will have smaller calories, especially as they are all healthy meals. When I try do this I find myself netting on average around 1600 calories a day. Should I eat bigger meals?
3 - DOES MY FOOD ALWAYS NEED TO BE HEALTHY? Don't get me wrong I LOVE healthy foods, I have actually found that I have adjusted my body well to like healthy foods, but seeing as they lack the calories I need for healthy weight loss I am wondering if I should eat some unclean foods every now and then. NOT ALL MEALS! just like 2 out of 6 of my meals.

any help is greatly apprectiated

ladynocturne

According to your stats you:

Maintain at 2450 calories per day Sedentary.

Since you are already at a healthy weight, I wouldn't recommend trying for any more than 1lb a week loss.

To lose 1lb a week, subtract 500 calories from maintenance.

2450-500 = 1950 net calories per day.

Eat whatever portion sizes work for you to get to your net calorie goal. There are no set "rules".

No your food does not always have to be healthy, this is a life style, not a scary restriction diet. But there are a lot of healthy foods that contain a lot of calories like nuts, avocados, and olive oil.

You can search through the forum for protein shakes, there are some posted to have close to 1000 calories each. Sometimes drinking calories is a lot easier than trying to eat them.

mcorsaletti

thanks, but I dont have sedentary days, nearly every day I go for a 45 minute walk and 4 days a week I lift weights so I'm more active than sedentary

ladynocturne

thanks, but I dont have sedentary days, nearly every day I go for a 45 minute walk and 4 days a week I lift weights so I'm more active than sedentary

Right so, net 1950 calories, that mean 1950+ exercise calories. I can't believe you were unable to take more than "none of that matters because I'm not sedentary" from my entire post.

mcorsaletti

i appreciate the help you gave, and believe me thats not all that I took away from you post, it actually helped me a lot. I'm just wondering now if you mean I should net a minimum of 1950 calories and then also net back my exercise calories (eg. 250 calories) leaving my net at 2200 calories