Giant dude, 1 year testing, found true TDEE. Surprising!

GetSoda

6'7 male, 255 lbs, 24% body fat.
Exercise is lifting 3-5x a week, 45-90 minutes.
Walking 5+ hours a week.
Bicycle on occasion.


The above exercise seems to make no difference to fat gain or loss.

I've eaten for months at several calorie levels.

Calculated TDEE is about 3100 calories per day.
Calculated BMR is 2300 calories per day.

These are GROSS calories, not net.

3100+ calories = Steady weight gain - Decent strength progress, but mostly gaining fat. (Went from 230lbs to 260lbs eating 3300 a day on average, high protein. Body fat went up considerably)
2200-3000 calories = Slow weight gain - Able to make progress in strength training.
2000-2200 calories = Maintenance - Slow strength progress.
1600-1900 calories = Weight loss of about .5lb/week - Problems gaining strength
1200-1500 calories = Weight loss of about 1lb/week - Strength reduction

Macros were at least 150g of protein per day on the lowest calorie goal, 240 on the highest.
I found that heavy fat, less carbs would allow me to eat slightly more calories.

The problem is, of course, that I won't eat 1500-1800 calories to lose weight. It's just not enough. I've also found that exercise has little to no impact on weight loss for me.

I feel fine, energetic, and such at that level, I just hate it.

Perhaps I have a boned metabolism. Or perhaps I am very efficient and turning food into fuel. Who knows?

jzammetti

Have you given your body enough time at a new level to really be sure of your progress/result? 4-6 weeks is probably best.

I cannot imagine that your maintenance TDEE is lower than mine - I am 5'2", female and weight train 90 minutes x3 times per week. My TDEE is around 2200-2300.

GetSoda

Have you given your body enough time at a new level to really be sure of your progress/result? 4-6 weeks is probably best.

I cannot imagine that your maintenance TDEE is lower than mine - I am 5'2", female and weight train 90 minutes x3 times per week. My TDEE is around 2200-2300.

Usually 4 weeks. Longer for the higher calories. Mostly because, you know, food is ****ing delicious.

Just 2 weeks at the 1200 level, which may mostly be loss from water. Because, **** that. My burrito is 996 calories.

YoungDoc2B

Have you given your body enough time at a new level to really be sure of your progress/result? 4-6 weeks is probably best.

I cannot imagine that your maintenance TDEE is lower than mine - I am 5'2", female and weight train 90 minutes x3 times per week. My TDEE is around 2200-2300.

I agree with this. How long did you test each calorie range? I also find your TDEE to be too low for a guy of your size. I'm 9 inches shorter and about 70 lbs lighter, and my TDEE is around 3200 to 3400

GetSoda

Have you given your body enough time at a new level to really be sure of your progress/result? 4-6 weeks is probably best.

I cannot imagine that your maintenance TDEE is lower than mine - I am 5'2", female and weight train 90 minutes x3 times per week. My TDEE is around 2200-2300.

I agree with this. How long did you test each calorie range? I also find your TDEE to be too low for a guy of your size. I'm 9 inches shorter and about 70 lbs lighter, and my TDEE is around 3200 to 3400

I gave the ~3300 calories probably about 2 months, and trained my *kitten* off with the weights. Meanwhile reading bodybuilding dotcom posts about 6'0 dudes not being able to gain even eating 4000 calories a day.
I got pretty fat and I'm still working to lose that.

jzammetti

Have you given your body enough time at a new level to really be sure of your progress/result? 4-6 weeks is probably best.

I cannot imagine that your maintenance TDEE is lower than mine - I am 5'2", female and weight train 90 minutes x3 times per week. My TDEE is around 2200-2300.

I agree with this. How long did you test each calorie range? I also find your TDEE to be too low for a guy of your size. I'm 9 inches shorter and about 70 lbs lighter, and my TDEE is around 3200 to 3400

I gave the ~3300 calories probably about 2 months, and trained my *kitten* off with the weights. Meanwhile reading bodybuilding dotcom posts about 6'0 dudes not being able to gain even eating 4000 calories a day.
I got pretty fat and I'm still working to lose that.

So, you gave each level enough time...so, are you weighing your food? That is probably your issue combined with overestimating calories burned during workout... something to consider

muddynicola

If you want to lose weight you need to eat around 1500 -1900 calories from what you have said - just accept it! It's not even that little, I would be gaining weight eating that much

RiesigJay

Hah, I knew it. Your results match what I thought.

Thank you very much for posting this.

CoachReddy you seeing this? This guy's a helluva lot bigger than me. I say my 1500 a day is about right.

YoungDoc2B

If you want to lose weight you need to eat around 1500 -1900 calories from what you have said - just accept it! It's not even that little, I would be gaining weight eating that much

You're not a man. No adult male should be eating 1500 calories, period.

CoachReddy

Hah, I knew it. Your results match what I thought.

Thank you very much for posting this.

CoachReddy you seeing this? This guy's a helluva lot bigger than me. I say my 1500 a day is about right.

lololololol

how do i reply to this without getting banned......hmmmm

CoachReddy

6'7 male, 255 lbs, 24% body fat.
Exercise is lifting 3-5x a week, 45-90 minutes.
Walking 5+ hours a week.
Bicycle on occasion.


The above exercise seems to make no difference to fat gain or loss.

I've eaten for months at several calorie levels.

Calculated TDEE is about 3100 calories per day.
Calculated BMR is 2300 calories per day.

These are GROSS calories, not net.

3100+ calories = Steady weight gain - Decent strength progress, but mostly gaining fat. (Went from 230lbs to 260lbs eating 3300 a day on average, high protein. Body fat went up considerably)
2200-3000 calories = Slow weight gain - Able to make progress in strength training.
2000-2200 calories = Maintenance - Slow strength progress.
1600-1900 calories = Weight loss of about .5lb/week - Problems gaining strength
1200-1500 calories = Weight loss of about 1lb/week - Strength reduction

Macros were at least 150g of protein per day on the lowest calorie goal, 240 on the highest.
I found that heavy fat, less carbs would allow me to eat slightly more calories.

The problem is, of course, that I won't eat 1500-1800 calories to lose weight. It's just not enough. I've also found that exercise has little to no impact on weight loss for me.

I feel fine, energetic, and such at that level, I just hate it.

Perhaps I have a boned metabolism. Or perhaps I am very efficient and turning food into fuel. Who knows?

why do you hate it if you feel fine and energetic? out of curiosity...

RiesigJay

You're not a man. No adult male should be eating 1500 calories, period.

Please cite sources.

The man's own personal results showed he can function with 1200 to 1500 calories. Should a adult male dwarf not eat less than 1500 calories? Should a average sized work-from-home male who spends 90% of his conscious hours doing programming/software design not be consuming 1500 calories?

why do you hate it if you feel fine and energetic? out of curiosity...

Cause calorie deficit dieting sucks no matter how hard you try to make it not suck.

CoachReddy

You're not a man. No adult male should be eating 1500 calories, period.

Please cite sources.

The man's own personal results showed he can function with 1200 to 1500 calories. Should a adult male dwarf not eat less than 1500 calories? Should a average sized work-from-home male who spends 90% of his conscious hours doing programming/software design not be consuming 1500 calories?

why do you hate it if you feel fine and energetic? out of curiosity...

Cause calorie deficit dieting sucks no matter how hard you try to make it not suck.

it doesn't have to.

and the OP was not functioning on 1200-1500 calories. he was losing muscle mass, as he stated.

Bearbrat

You're not a man. No adult male should be eating 1500 calories, period.

Please cite sources.

The man's own personal results showed he can function with 1200 to 1500 calories. Should a adult male dwarf not eat less than 1500 calories? Should a average sized work-from-home male who spends 90% of his conscious hours doing programming/software design not be consuming 1500 calories?

why do you hate it if you feel fine and energetic? out of curiosity...

Cause calorie deficit dieting sucks no matter how hard you try to make it not suck.

it doesn't have to.

and the OP was not functioning on 1200-1500 calories. he was losing muscle mass, as he stated.

He's right, it doesn't have to suck. I'm eating at a calorie deficit and I'm eating FOOD, lots of food....steak,chicken, fish, turkey, veggies, fruit, bread, peanut butter, cheese, occasional ice cream (yea sugar free) and chocolate.

myofibril

The problem is, of course, that I won't eat 1500-1800 calories to lose weight. It's just not enough.

Your mind's saying one thing.

Your body's saying another thing.

When it comes to weight loss your body will win.

Accept it or accept a slower rate of loss.

RiesigJay

He's right, it doesn't have to suck. I'm eating at a calorie deficit and I'm eating FOOD, lots of food....steak,chicken, fish, turkey, veggies, fruit, bread, peanut butter, cheese, occasional ice cream (yea sugar free) and chocolate.

He's right, you're right. You can eat at BMR or TDEE levels and lost a tenth of a pound a week and feel like everything's great... Until you get frustrated that you're not losing 2 pounds a week and you say "f-- it, I'm incapable of losing fat" and binge. If that's not you, then I really applaud your patience and your patience is a virtue I wish I had.

Your mind's saying one thing.

Your body's saying another thing.

When it comes to weight loss your body will win.

Accept it or accept a slower rate of loss.

I say your willpower (or lack thereof) will win.

________________________________________________________________________

Greco roman wrestlers, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners, MMA fighters, et. al. all choose to "cut" weight by implementing low calorie diets. And they are athletes who train, and train hard.

So to suggest a male shouldn't eat below a certain number of calories is a fallacy. It all depends on how fast a person wants (or needs in some cases) to lose. Before anyone jumps in with muscle loss or "metabolism shut-down", two things:

Some muscle loss is a part of a calorie deficit, and cannot be avoided (with the exception of chemicals). Just accept it, and while you're losing weight, put some time into reading up on putting lean mass back on without excessive fat gain.

"Metabolism shut down" here is a partial quote from someone from somewhere else that has actual results (from "clients" following his guidelines) and near as I can tell, knows what he's talking about:

"Malnourished prisoners (POWs etc.) do not stall out in a consistent calorie deficit. There would be a point where you would start catabolizing muscle tissue to meet energy needs if your output was much greater then your intake (and were not talking one day we are talking week long chunks here)."

YoungDoc2B

You're not a man. No adult male should be eating 1500 calories, period.

Please cite sources.

The man's own personal results showed he can function with 1200 to 1500 calories. Should a adult male dwarf not eat less than 1500 calories? Should a average sized work-from-home male who spends 90% of his conscious hours doing programming/software design not be consuming 1500 calories?

why do you hate it if you feel fine and energetic? out of curiosity...

Cause calorie deficit dieting sucks no matter how hard you try to make it not suck.

Function? yeah.....no. he's burning through all types of muscle mass at that amount.

myofibril

If you go to many BB sites you will see guys cutting using a range of 1,500 - 1,800 calories. It is pretty aggressive but sometimes people prefer quicker loss over the slow and steady approach.

I think if a person does does use this range they should incorporate refeeds and well timed diet breaks to prevent metabolic slow down over and above predicted by loss of weight. For example a 6-8 week aggressive phase followed by a 1 - 2 week diet break before going back on the aggressive cut can work well as well as a refeed once or twice a week depending on leaness.

The real killer though is not metabolic slowdown in my opinion but unconscious lowering of daily activity and higher efficiency of movement. Therefore you should do as much as possible to keep normal daily activity as high as possible. I think limiting cardio is a good idea and keeping your diet tight so it does the work for you.

RiesigJay

Function? yeah.....no. he's burning through all types of muscle mass at that amount.

OK. I'll honestly accept that statement if you can back that up with a scientific medical study

YoungDoc2B

Function? yeah.....no. he's burning through all types of muscle mass at that amount.

OK. I'll honestly accept that statement if you can back that up with a scientific medical study

I don't have time to argue over the internet,I have better things to do. it's common sense. look it up yourself

Francl27

I don't get it. If your TDEE is 3100, how can you maintain at 2200 and your BMR be higher than your maintenance level? It makes no sense to me at all.