Problem Eating Enough Calories?

KevRiles

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site as well as new to the realm of health and fitness. A couple of weeks ago I decided enough is enough and began a workout routine (I'm doing the Insanity Beach body workouts) along with incorporating a healthy diet into my life. I'm 6'1, male, 22 years old, and currently weigh around 185 pounds. This seems to fluctuate a lot.

Since I began working out/eating right I feel worlds better than I did just a few weeks ago. I can feel some muscles coming in and generally have more energy than I used to. As I said before, I have been working out using Shaun T's Insanity, which is classified as Max Interval Training. There is a lot of cardio involved. My goal is to significantly reduce the amount of fat on my body and increase muscle. I look like I'm supposed to be skinny, but I have a decent amount of fat around my mid-section (Belly, love-handles). I work a desk job and to go school full time and usually work out once I get home from work, around 6pm.

My problem is eating enough. I wake up around 7am on weekdays and immediately have breakfast. Lately it has been a serving of whey protein in water, a piece of fruit (usually apple, orange, or banana), and possible a serving of peanut butter with a handful of cheerios for carbs. After this I eat a 100-200 calorie snack every 2-3 hours and am pretty full all day. I eat a lot of veggies, lean meats, low sugar, and keep it low fat. The most amount of calories I have been able to get without feeling like I absolutely stuff myself is around 1600. I have begun to incorporate a daily serving of almonds or cashews for their nutrition benefits and high calorie density. I am wondering if 1600 calories will be enough for me to cut fat and gain the muscle I am looking for. I don't want to be huge, just toned.

It is my thinking that I am not getting enough calories, and I would hate for this to be the reason that my workout/diet regimen fails. I hope somebody has had a similar experience. Thanks in advance for the help!

PhearlessPhreaks

Can't see your diary, so I have no idea. What does MFP have you set at? What is your BMR & TDEE? 1600 cals is an arbritrary number without knowing what your body needs from you. Depending on what your body needs, 1600 may be great, it may be a bit high, or it may be too low. Generally speaking, it's probably fine, but if you want precsion, use a BMR (basal metabolic rate) and TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure) calculator to figure it all out.