Confused about calories

Gearsome

Dear MyFitnessPal community,

Last week I had what might have been the most terrible week in my life. I lost my job and my girlfriend, we had been together for four years. We're supposedly "on a break" but I've been in this situation before and nothing good came of it. My heart is shattered for now.
Rather than sulk and eat nachos, I decided that the only way to make things better for myself, was to improve myself. So I've been hitting the gym again for the first time in years. Just got back from my third day, feels fantastic. I don't want things to go back the way they were anymore, I only want things to be better.

Short introductions aside, I'm a bit puzzled about how many calories I should be eating to achieve my goals. Just to put things in perspective:
I'm 175cm tall (5'7)
Last time I checked I weighed 75kg (165lbs)
Paunchy gut, love handles
I've cut out all soda and fast food from my diet months ago when I attempted a protein diet. I still have coke light lying around for cravings though. No more Burger King, no more take-out Chinese.

I've counted my calories for a few days now and with the exception of yesterday I haven't managed to reach the amount of calories advised so much as once. Yesterday I did get 70g more protein than advised, not intentional. MyFitnessPal says I should be aiming for about 1400 calories a day. I managed to get 1383 yesterday.
Now my goal is to lose weight, but also build muscle. I have no idea if I should be eating more or not. Also afraid that if I eat more that I'll put on bad weight because my starting exercises aren't intense enough. Should I focus on eating less carbohydrates? More protein? More calories? Stick to the recommended deficit?

Finally, I've been eating like this for quite some time already and used to frequently skip breakfast. Could it be that the paunch is because of this "starvation mode" that I read about? Or is it just a combination of bad food with a lack of exercise?

Any advice and help is welcome

psuLemon

Bump for when i get to a computer so i can run the calculations.

babydull

Welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time of it. If you set your diary to viewable we would be able to advise better. Anyway, feel free to add me if you want, and I'll try and help where I can and also keep you motivated.

SergeantSunshine_reused

1400 for a guy seems very low to me. Its going to be hard to gain muscle mass on a calorie deficit. Continue to get that protein and lift to protect as much muscle mass as you can while you cut :]

What are your current ratios?

erickirb

I would not set your goal higher than to lose 1 lb/week. Since you are not obese 2lb/week weight loss is too aggressive. So try changing your goal to 1 lb/week and make sure you are eating back the calories that you burn. If you want to retain the muscle you have while losing weight your deficit cannot be too large.

meeperoon

I'm glad you've chosen to make a positive change rather than dwell on the negativity

I'm sure that by watching your cals and carrying on your new regime of going the gym, you'll be where you want to be in no time!

Best of luck.

bereal75

In my eyes the most important thing for you is to eat all your exercise calories. Your daily Calorie goal - exercise calories = net calories. If you aim to build muscle it is very important you don't enter starvation mode which can easily lead to loss of muscle. That's why you should always eat your exercise calories. A very good introduction to the topic:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Gearsome

Welcome to the forum.
I'm sorry to hear you're having such a hard time of it. If you set your diary to viewable we would be able to advise better. Anyway, feel free to add me if you want, and I'll try and help where I can and also keep you motivated.

Right, got that changed. Exercise is all over the place at the moment, I'm just getting started after all. Today I had an appointment with the instructor at the gym though, going to be working on creating a proper program

What are your current ratios?

Sorry, I have no idea what that means...

I would not set your goal higher than to lose 1 lb/week. Since you are not obese 2lb/week weight loss is too aggressive. So try changing your goal to 1 lb/week and make sure you are eating back the calories that you burn. If you want to retain the muscle you have while losing weight your deficit cannot be too large.

Changed the setting to 1lb/week. I was thinking that 1400 seemed terribly low anyhow. Target is 1600 again.

I'm glad you've chosen to make a positive change rather than dwell on the negativity
I'm sure that by watching your cals and carrying on your new regime of going the gym, you'll be where you want to be in no time!
Best of luck.

Thanks! Hoping to finally start on the life that I feel I deserve

In my eyes the most important thing for you is to eat all your exercise calories. Your daily Calorie goal - exercise calories = net calories. If you aim to build muscle it is very important you don't enter starvation mode which can easily lead to loss of muscle. That's why you should always eat your exercise calories. A very good introduction to the topic:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/10589-for-those-confused-or-questioning-eating-your-exercise-calo

Thanks, giving it a read right away!

SergeantSunshine_reused

Ah your ratios are your percent of carbs/fat/protein :] If you go to goals you can view them

I would increase your protein to about 1 gram for ever lb of body weight, always a great start!

babydull

If it's toning, bulking up and building muscle you're after. rather than becoming simply 'skinny', you'll want high protein and good fats. I'm sure your trainer will advise you well on this - as will others on the forum- but I think by adding in more things like (unsalted) nuts, avacado, egg whites, beans and protein shakes you'll easily exceed the 1400 set out for you. And don't forget to hydrate, that is key.
A mix of strength training and cardio would help, my guess would be about 2/3 weights to 1/3 cardio to get a good physique, but again I'm no expert especially with regards to men's health and fitness.
I think you should also be set a higher calorie goal, with the -1 lb a week setting. Would be nice to see more fresh fruit and veg in your diet too. With regards to ratios, they are talking about your macros, i.e. percentage protein to fat etc. Talk to your trainer, do some research and lurk around the forum, you'll soon pick up some knowledge. Good luck!

Gearsome

If it's toning, bulking up and building muscle you're after. rather than becoming simply 'skinny', you'll want high protein and good fats. I'm sure your trainer will advise you well on this - as will others on the forum- but I think by adding in more things like (unsalted) nuts, avacado, egg whites, beans and protein shakes you'll easily exceed the 1400 set out for you. And don't forget to hydrate, that is key.
A mix of strength training and cardio would help, my guess would be about 2/3 weights to 1/3 cardio to get a good physique, but again I'm no expert especially with regards to men's health and fitness.
I think you should also be set a higher calorie goal, with the -1 lb a week setting. Would be nice to see more fresh fruit and veg in your diet too. With regards to ratios, they are talking about your macros, i.e. percentage protein to fat etc. Talk to your trainer, do some research and lurk around the forum, you'll soon pick up some knowledge. Good luck!

Sadly I'm allergic to many, many fruits :frown:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome
The vegetables part is work in progress, more salads for lunch, more vegetables for dinner.

missikay1970

i dont' have any answers, but just wanted to commend you on not taking the "nacho route" after your hard times. bravo!
i hope you see positive changes in your life really soon!

babydull

Sadly I'm allergic to many, many fruits :frown:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oral_allergy_syndrome
The vegetables part is work in progress, more salads for lunch, more vegetables for dinner.

Ah, shame. In that case I'd recommend you take a good multi-vitamin every day.

Sparksfly

Yes, go you for not going the "nacho route"!

I still think 1600 calories a day is very low for a guy.

I am 5'4 130 lbs and I am aiming for 1500 calories plus eating back any calories I burn from exercise. Usual total for me for the day is 1800-2000 calories a day.

If you are looking to tone up, look into circuit training. That really cut my body fat % down a great deal. Does your gym have bootcamp type class? That could be helpful if you ever get bored.

Sorry to hear about the relationship issues. You are doing this the right way that will benefit your wellbeing instead of set you back!

Gearsome

Yes, go you for not going the "nacho route"!

I still think 1600 calories a day is very low for a guy.

I am 5'4 130 lbs and I am aiming for 1500 calories plus eating back any calories I burn from exercise. Usual total for me for the day is 1800-2000 calories a day.

If you are looking to tone up, look into circuit training. That really cut my body fat % down a great deal. Does your gym have bootcamp type class? That could be helpful if you ever get bored.

Sorry to hear about the relationship issues. You are doing this the right way that will benefit your wellbeing instead of set you back!

Thank you! The gym I go to is pretty bare-bones (and doesn't have a squat rack, which is something I really wanted to start), it does feature classes and instruction if you request it though.
With the 20 minutes of cardio I'm doing at the moment (going to try to increase that per week) the machine tells me I burn about 110-120 calories, which would set me at 1700 a day on days that I do cardio. I find it a little confusing that I can't see how much I'm burning from strength exercises though...

Ah, shame. In that case I'd recommend you take a good multi-vitamin every day.

Check!

i dont' have any answers, but just wanted to commend you on not taking the "nacho route" after your hard times. bravo! smile
i hope you see positive changes in your life really soon!

Thank you, here's hoping too!

erickirb

Yes, go you for not going the "nacho route"!

I still think 1600 calories a day is very low for a guy.

I am 5'4 130 lbs and I am aiming for 1500 calories plus eating back any calories I burn from exercise. Usual total for me for the day is 1800-2000 calories a day.

If you are looking to tone up, look into circuit training. That really cut my body fat % down a great deal. Does your gym have bootcamp type class? That could be helpful if you ever get bored.

Sorry to hear about the relationship issues. You are doing this the right way that will benefit your wellbeing instead of set you back!

Thank you! The gym I go to is pretty bare-bones (and doesn't have a squat rack, which is something I really wanted to start), it does feature classes and instruction if you request it though.
With the 20 minutes of cardio I'm doing at the moment (going to try to increase that per week) the machine tells me I burn about 110-120 calories, which would set me at 1700 a day on days that I do cardio. I find it a little confusing that I can't see how much I'm burning from strength exercises though...

enter "strength training" in the cardio section to get an estimate of calories burned.

psuLemon

ok, 1600 calories is very low for a guy and is completely unnecessary. My question is, how often do you go to the gym and for how long? Also, has your training done a body fat measurement? If so, can you provide it?


Generally, a guy your height and weight, should be eating around 2000 calories if you plan on losing weight and go to the gym 3-5 days a week for an hour a day. I didnt see if you have weight goals or just plan to change the fat into muscle so its harder to say.


By ratio's they mean carb/protein/fat ratios (it's under goals --> custom set up). Generally, you want to aim for 1 g of protein per pound of lean body mass (@ 165 lbs and 25% body fat, you would have 123 lbs of lean body mass, which 123g of protein would be your goal). So you go into your goals and adjust your ratio's so you have that much protein. Overall, generally a 40/40/20 ratio works well at first.

erickirb

ok, 1600 calories is very low for a guy and is completely unnecessary. My question is, how often do you go to the gym and for how long? Also, has your training done a body fat measurement? If so, can you provide it?


Generally, a guy your height and weight, should be eating around 2000 calories if you plan on losing weight and go to the gym 3-5 days a week for an hour a day. I didnt see if you have weight goals or just plan to change the fat into muscle so its harder to say.


By ratio's they mean carb/protein/fat ratios (it's under goals --> custom set up). Generally, you want to aim for 1 g of protein per pound of lean body mass (@ 165 lbs and 25% body fat, you would have 123 lbs of lean body mass, which 123g of protein would be your goal). So you go into your goals and adjust your ratio's so you have that much protein. Overall, generally a 40/40/20 ratio works well at first.

He only weighs 165 and is 5'7. My maintenance is only 1930 and I am not much smaller (5'6, 142), so I don't think 1600 is low at all for someone his size, if the OP was over 200 lbs and 5'10, then I would agree.

OP try the 1600 Net (1600 and eat back what you burn) for 3-4 weeks and see how it works for you. If you are losing too fast or not fast enough, reevaluate your intake and exercise.

Gearsome

enter "strength training" in the cardio section to get an estimate of calories burned.

Cheers!

My question is, how often do you go to the gym and for how long? Also, has your training done a body fat measurement? If so, can you provide it?
I didnt see if you have weight goals or just plan to change the fat into muscle so its harder to say.
By ratio's they mean carb/protein/fat ratios (it's under goals --> custom set up). Generally, you want to aim for 1 g of protein per pound of lean body mass (@ 165 lbs and 25% body fat, you would have 123 lbs of lean body mass, which 123g of protein would be your goal). So you go into your goals and adjust your ratio's so you have that much protein. Overall, generally a 40/40/20 ratio works well at first.

Originally I wanted to do 6 days, 3 days cardio and 3 days of lifting. The trainer I spoke to today said for now I should focus on combining cardio and strength on 3 days a week in sessions of about 60 minutes. Thursday I'm going back for instruction on proper form for compound lifting. I'll have to wait and see where it goes from there. No body fat measurement, sadly haven't got a clue.
As for the goals, I don't have any specific value set in my mind about how much I should weigh. I do however, have a clear image of what I would like to look like, less paunchy and more muscles.
Is it safe to change the ratios around and eat to those values before I have my training routine down?

OP try the 1600 Net (1600 and eat back what you burn) for 3-4 weeks and see how it works for you. If you are losing too fast or not fast enough, reevaluate your intake and exercise.

That's the plan for now, until I'm positive about what changes need to be made to reach my goals.

keiraev

1400 is way too low for a guy.

millerll

This article contains great info on how to set up a good nutrition plan for you. The author is a well-educated trainer who often posts on these boards. The article explains the basics of nutrition and how to set your calories and percentages of carbs, fat, and protein. It's a bit lengthy, but worth it. Good luck!

http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/

Gearsome

This article contains great info on how to set up a good nutrition plan for you. The author is a well-educated trainer who often posts on these boards. The article explains the basics of nutrition and how to set your calories and percentages of carbs, fat, and protein. It's a bit lengthy, but worth it. Good luck!

http://body-improvements.com/resources/eat/

Thanks, reading right away!

Also got a tape measure while I was out for a bit, according to several online calculators my body fat % would be 17.7%. I guess getting this value down would be my main goal, not keeping an eye on the scales.

psuLemon

ok, 1600 calories is very low for a guy and is completely unnecessary. My question is, how often do you go to the gym and for how long? Also, has your training done a body fat measurement? If so, can you provide it?


Generally, a guy your height and weight, should be eating around 2000 calories if you plan on losing weight and go to the gym 3-5 days a week for an hour a day. I didnt see if you have weight goals or just plan to change the fat into muscle so its harder to say.


By ratio's they mean carb/protein/fat ratios (it's under goals --> custom set up). Generally, you want to aim for 1 g of protein per pound of lean body mass (@ 165 lbs and 25% body fat, you would have 123 lbs of lean body mass, which 123g of protein would be your goal). So you go into your goals and adjust your ratio's so you have that much protein. Overall, generally a 40/40/20 ratio works well at first.

He only weighs 165 and is 5'7. My maintenance is only 1930 and I am not much smaller (5'6, 142), so I don't think 1600 is low at all for someone his size, if the OP was over 200 lbs and 5'10, then I would agree.

OP try the 1600 Net (1600 and eat back what you burn) for 3-4 weeks and see how it works for you. If you are losing too fast or not fast enough, reevaluate your intake and exercise.

Looking at a sedentary life the I must agree with you that maintenanc calories are 1900. I was factoring in his time in the gym which I should have specified. I suggested 2000 calories based on the workout schedule he mentioned.