Trying to zone in on how many calories to eat daily

mjpisat

using the fat2fit method.

started at 5'8 208. got down to 193 by working out and doing a 1500-1600 cal a day diet. been hovering around 193-195 since then.

since june i've been playing ice hockey 1-2 times a week. i also do starting strength lifting program. I'm in week 3. other than that, i'm pretty sedentary. but I can't stay on that low calorie without burning out.

went to f2f last week and put in my info. according to the site I'm about 25% bf. I want to get to 13-15% bf, but DO NOT want to put on more muscle. just maintain. according to the site my goal weight should be 171 with that criteria.

when i did my bmr on fat2fit I tried two different entries. I put in my goal weight as my current and then put in my actual 171 goal weight. here is what it came back with:

maintain 193 lbs. lightly active - 2614 cals a day
get to 171 lightly active - 2417 (it doesn't tell you how long it's going to take to get to that weight though)

i would like to lose 1 lb a week minimum.

since Monday i've been trying to do 2100 a day and not eat back exercise cals.

given all the info above, any suggestions on what amount I should eat daily and not worry about eating back calories?

also had a ? about macros. If I do 2100 calories and do the 30% p, 30% f, and 40% carb would be about 160 g of protein and 210 g. of carb.

Correct?

Just trying to figure this out and zone in.

210 seems like a lot of carbs. i have lost in the past by going lower carbs. what type of food should I be getting these carbs from?

forgot to add something. according to my polar FT-7, I've been burning about 300-400 calories when lifting and 800-1400 calories when i play hockey. don't know if that changes the equation.

I'd like to eat a steady amount of calories and not add/subtract my workout calories

Blueberry09

I work out in the mornings before work 4 days a week. I know I'm going to have at least a 350 cal burn so what I've been doing is not logging it as such in my exercise diary but adding 200 cals a day to my allowance (350x4=1400 / 7 days = 200 day). This keeps the macros in proper alignment with the percentages. If I happen to get an extra workout in, THAT I log as normal exercise. I like having the same number of calories to work with on a daily basis even though I haven't found that magic starting number yet. But I'm working on it!

samhigh

Glad you have done some research. Everyone is different, but the following might help.

Cycle your macronutrients, taking cals up on training days and down on rest days.
Lift harder! Think you are really killing it? Lift even harder.
Training day - 1g protein per lb body weight, lots of carbs, low fat.
Rest day - same protein, moderate fat, low carb

Type of carbs - whole food sources with low sugar - sweet potatoes, quinoa, beans, etc.


Honestly, it doesn't matter if you eat 2200 or 2400 calories, you can still transform your body.

Make your program as simple as possible. I highly recommend LeanGains. www.leangains.com

Don't be scared of carbs. Fat is okay on rest days (caloric deficit). Train harder.