To Little?

Fraser91x

Hi Guys and Gals!

So here is a little about me. I am a 22year old male who has lost about 34 lbs so far. I have gone from 283 to 249. I have done so with some exercise but mostly eating right. I have now moved onto some weight training and have been seeing some good results but I fear I am eating to little.

You see I have always had an issue with food - but normally it was to much and once I started eating less I feel I have switched to the opposite and not allowing my body enough. I really think its because im scared to gain weight and I don't want to go back to where I have come from.

My workout is as follows:
Monday Chest & Back
Tues Legs and abs
Wed Arms
Thu Rest
Friday Shoulders and Back
Sa chest and legs

really no cardio other than warm up.

So on average I am eating about a 1700 cal/day plan. Below is what I have eaten today and every day my breakfast and lunch stay the same its only my dinners that change slitly.

Breakfast 6:30AM - 2 eggs and 1 tbsp of homemade salsa
Post Workout 8:20AM - 1 scoop Muscle Pharm whey protein
Snack 10:30AM - greek yogurt with blueberrys
Luch 12:00PM - 1 cup quinoa, 1 chicken brest 3 oz, and 1 tbsp of franks red hot sauce
Snack 3:00PM - 1 Oh Yeah energy bar
Dinner 6:30PM - Eye of Round steak 3 oz with asparagus and a salad.

This put me at about 1694 calories. Also within that day I drank 10 glasses of water or 2.4L

For my workout it was leg day so my workout consisted Leg Press, Calf raise, squat, leg extensions, hamstring curls, and lunges.

So mainly- am I eating too little as I haven't seen the scale move in 3 weeks, am I eating to much, and am I not having enough cardio?

Aaron_K123

Hey OP. Some quick answers first then maybe more detail if you have further questions or if other people weigh in.

For a 250 pound man exercising 6 days a week 1700 calories is likely overly aggressive so yes you may be eating to little.

As for the scale not budging in 3 weeks that is actually exactly what I would expect in your situation. Whenever you start or change into a new weight lifting program your muscles will take a pretty hard hit and in response amp up the glycogen storage and with that water retention for energy and repair. This can result in gaining a lot of water weight which can offset the fat loss in terms of your weight on the scale. If you haven't actually gained weight since starting to lift then you are still losing fat.

As far as your routine goes I'd make one comment which is this. A split routine is typically done by intermediate to advanced weightlifters once their gains cease from doing full body routinues. For a complete novice such as yourself you might actually get more benefit from doing full body lifting 3 days a week (each day hit every muscle group) and if you want to work out 6 days a week intersperse some cardio leaving your muscles a day to recover between lifting.

Basically for a novice your muscles can recieve a strain from not that much time spent per muscle and they can get hit multiple times in a week so doing full body 3 days a week will say have you work your chest three times keeping it regularly hit during the week rather than just working it once.

Aaron_K123

I guessed at your height and said you were 5'11 and used the following calculator assuming you were working out for 1 hour at a time.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I got that your BMR was 2400, your activity an extra 1000 so you would maintain at 3400. That means eating 1700 you are at a 1700 calorie deficit which is HUGE. You probably want to back that up a bit and eat more like 2400 calories a day for a 1000 calorie deficit which is still 2 pounds per week. If you want to start out more aggressively maybe you could fudge a bit and eat like 2100 but I would definitely consider eating more than 1700.

navyrigger46

I guessed at your height and said you were 5'11 and used the following calculator assuming you were working out for 1 hour at a time.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I got that your BMR was 2400, your activity an extra 1000 so you would maintain at 3400. That means eating 1700 you are at a 1700 calorie deficit which is HUGE. You probably want to back that up a bit and eat more like 2400 calories a day for a 1000 calorie deficit which is still 2 pounds per week. If you want to start out more aggressively maybe you could fudge a bit and eat like 2100 but I would definitely consider eating more than 1700.

I agree with this.

OP I was almost identical to your stats, I cut at 2500, and am currently bulking at 3500. If I were you I'd try somewhere between 2300-2500 a day.

Rigger

Fraser91x

Hey OP. Some quick answers first then maybe more detail if you have further questions or if other people weigh in.

For a 250 pound man exercising 6 days a week 1700 calories is likely overly aggressive so yes you may be eating to little.

As for the scale not budging in 3 weeks that is actually exactly what I would expect in your situation. Whenever you start or change into a new weight lifting program your muscles will take a pretty hard hit and in response amp up the glycogen storage and with that water retention for energy and repair. This can result in gaining a lot of water weight which can offset the fat loss in terms of your weight on the scale. If you haven't actually gained weight since starting to lift then you are still losing fat.

As far as your routine goes I'd make one comment which is this. A split routine is typically done by intermediate to advanced weightlifters once their gains cease from doing full body routinues. For a complete novice such as yourself you might actually get more benefit from doing full body lifting 3 days a week (each day hit every muscle group) and if you want to work out 6 days a week intersperse some cardio leaving your muscles a day to recover between lifting.

Basically for a novice your muscles can recieve a strain from not that much time spent per muscle and they can get hit multiple times in a week so doing full body 3 days a week will say have you work your chest three times keeping it regularly hit during the week rather than just working it once.

So something more like a 5-5 workout would be a better fit for my level of fitness?

Also thank you for the response I will try and look at eating more its just trying to find where - should I eat larger meals or larger snacks because if I bump to 2100-2300 then I am going up 400-600 calories a day.

Fraser91x

I guessed at your height and said you were 5'11 and used the following calculator assuming you were working out for 1 hour at a time.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I got that your BMR was 2400, your activity an extra 1000 so you would maintain at 3400. That means eating 1700 you are at a 1700 calorie deficit which is HUGE. You probably want to back that up a bit and eat more like 2400 calories a day for a 1000 calorie deficit which is still 2 pounds per week. If you want to start out more aggressively maybe you could fudge a bit and eat like 2100 but I would definitely consider eating more than 1700.

I agree with this.

OP I was almost identical to your stats, I cut at 2500, and am currently bulking at 3500. If I were you I'd try somewhere between 2300-2500 a day.

Rigger

If you were at my stats where you lifting or cardio more for your weight loss?

FoxyLifter

I guessed at your height and said you were 5'11 and used the following calculator assuming you were working out for 1 hour at a time.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/CalRequire.html

I got that your BMR was 2400, your activity an extra 1000 so you would maintain at 3400. That means eating 1700 you are at a 1700 calorie deficit which is HUGE. You probably want to back that up a bit and eat more like 2400 calories a day for a 1000 calorie deficit which is still 2 pounds per week. If you want to start out more aggressively maybe you could fudge a bit and eat like 2100 but I would definitely consider eating more than 1700.

I agree with this.

OP I was almost identical to your stats, I cut at 2500, and am currently bulking at 3500. If I were you I'd try somewhere between 2300-2500 a day.

Rigger

If you were at my stats where you lifting or cardio more for your weight loss?

For weight loss, it's all about the calorie deficit. If you want to maximize fat loss and retain as much muscle mass as possible, then lift heavy while on a deficit.

RHachicho

My recommendation ..i take up walking. Trust me for us heavy dudes there really is little better you can do to make the lb's fly.