Calorie intake vs exercise

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xspader
xspader Posts: 5
in Food and Nutrition
I need some real advice about calorific intake vs exercise, ad i have a calorie intake of 1650 and I am doing approx 1200 cals of exercise daily.
Am I putting my body into starvation mode by not fueling it enough? I have plateaued for 5 weeks now and still have 30 kg to lose.
My job is IT so i sit alot but I go to the gym in the morning and evening so I have the MFP set to Sedentary, but should I be changing this as I am active outside of work? I would be expecting th eweight to be falling off as I'm feeling good and never really feel hungry, but I'm just not shifting any body fat

Really need help with this as motivation is strating to dissappear and I'm beginning to wonder if its all really worth the effort
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  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I need some real advice about calorific intake vs exercise, ad i have a calorie intake of 1650 and I am doing approx 1200 cals of exercise daily.
    Am I putting my body into starvation mode by not fueling it enough? I have plateaued for 5 weeks now and still have 30 kg to lose.
    My job is IT so i sit alot but I go to the gym in the morning and evening so I have the MFP set to Sedentary, but should I be changing this as I am active outside of work? I would be expecting th eweight to be falling off as I'm feeling good and never really feel hungry, but I'm just not shifting any body fat

    Really need help with this as motivation is strating to dissappear and I'm beginning to wonder if its all really worth the effort

    We can't really know if you're in starvation mode without knowing your numbers at least. But I'd say it's a very strong possibility. Considering your only netting about 450 calories a day, I'd have to believe that you're really doing yourself a disservice.

    For the record, I'm IT as well, and my TDEE was 2850 when I stared, I was 60 lbs overweight when I started, but I never ate less than about 1900 calories and always ate back my exercise calories (on top of that 1900). This isn't definite proof of the concept, just an example to show that it can be done without creating a gigantic deficit.
  • hbrutz
    hbrutz Posts: 5 Member
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    Have you considered that you might be gaining muscle mass? This could explain the plateau but having more muscle and less belly fat is healthy. The BMI is sometimes inaccurate for muscular men because muscle weighs so much more than fat.
  • xspader
    xspader Posts: 5
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    I had considerd that but the body fat percentage hasnt changed and my clothes feel no looser, and my measurements havent changed.
    I'm 182cm tall and weight 117kg. Ideal goal is 90ish kg. My next option is going to see a nutritionist. MFP has been excellent as a food diary so i have that record to show them. Will see what I can figure out with a nutritionist.

    Thanks for the responses
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Bump for later reading.

    aww, my first bump!
  • Circuslife5
    Circuslife5 Posts: 3
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    I can't tell you anything unless I see what your day to day eating is. But, if you are logging all your workouts in... myfitnesspal should tell you exactly how much to be eating. Also, it depends on your goal. Make sure youre drinking LOTS of water... changing your routine up. Our bodies get stuck doing the same thing all the time. We need to trick our bodies into knowing its not done yet. I have hit those bumps many many times. For months at a time. I had to REALLY REALLY watch what I was eating and add different workouts in. Don't give up. IT IS WORTH IT! I promise! Also, you can gain muscle without loosing weight too. I would try not to worry about what the scale says. Go by how you feel. How your clothes fit. Numbers are to dangerous to ourselves. Good luck!
  • Wonderob
    Wonderob Posts: 1,372 Member
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    Have you considered that you might be gaining muscle mass? This could explain the plateau but having more muscle and less belly fat is healthy. The BMI is sometimes inaccurate for muscular men because muscle weighs so much more than fat.

    Absolutely no chance. It's widely accepted that you need a calorie surplus to gain muscle and the OP is nowhere near that.
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    Let's start with the 1200 exercise calories. That's a ton. Are you sure it's that much? Let's end with the eating only 1600 calories. Why so little. That would be an acceptable amount to eat if you did NO exercise. I mean, not a single running step and not a single pound lifted. Just cut to 1600. But 1600 including exercise? No way no how, I don't care what your size and weight are. Now excuse me a minute while I convert kg and cm to imperial measurements.....

    Okay I'm back. You're 6 foot and over 250lbs. If you're truly burning 1200 calories in exercise then you need to double the amount you're currently eating. Can I ask what exercise you're doing that gives you this 1200 calorie burn?
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
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    I had considerd that but the body fat percentage hasnt changed and my clothes feel no looser, and my measurements havent changed.
    I'm 182cm tall and weight 117kg. Ideal goal is 90ish kg. My next option is going to see a nutritionist. MFP has been excellent as a food diary so i have that record to show them. Will see what I can figure out with a nutritionist.

    Thanks for the responses

    ok so 5' 11" and about 257 lbs, and assuming your activity level is light to moderate, you're around 3000 calories a day as a TDEE. You need far more than 1200 calories, I'd say start with about 1800 and work from there. For particularly busy days with high exercise volumes, I'd add 3 to 400 calories onto that. Be aware, if you make an immediate upswing in calories, it's quite possible that you may gain a couple of pounds off the bat, that's normal. I would change gradually, about 100 calories a week for 6 weeks or so. What every way you do it, give it at least a month once you reach that goal deficit, to give your body a chance to adjust. Then check your weight, after that, small tweaks might be necessary. But 1200 is far to low for you IMHO.

    This of course is just my opinion, please take it as such.

    FYI 1200 was a number set aside for females only, the male version of that floor was 1600 calories, but that's just a rough guideline. These numbers were put out by the WHO (World Health Organization) back in the 80's. 1200 isn't an MFP thing, it's something that's been around for a while.

    And be very cautious about nutritionists. At least in the states, anyone can call them self a nutritionist, a Registered Dietitian is required to have a 4 year degree in nutrition, nutritionists aren't.
  • llstacy
    llstacy Posts: 91 Member
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    xspader, 1650 calories for a guy who exercises isn't a lot but you're definitely not starving! What are you eating that you're not hungry? Are you eating back those 1,200 in exercise and netting 1650? Do you measure your food?
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    I just want to say that a pound of muscle is the same weight as a pound of fat. The difference is that a pound of muscle takes up less space that a pound of fat.
  • mikeschratz
    mikeschratz Posts: 253 Member
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    What are all these numbers?
    Aloha,
    I had no idea how to go about losing weight the correct way, without hurting myself and without being hungry all the time. I found out from all the knowledgeable folks here on MFP that neither situation has to occur if you are losing the weight the proper way. I read the newbie posts on the forums a couple of times, which is where I ended up the these spreadsheets and all the stuff in this folder.

    JamaicaLady gave me these spreadsheets to figure out your numbers (which really made a difference), and HelloitsDan’s instructions on weight loss. It helped me quite a lot and made a big difference in what my goals were and are today. I can’t thank all who helped me learn what I needed to learn to get healthy and hopefully stay healthy.
    All of this is located at: https://docs.google.com/folder/d/0B3kFzsaVmRjmd1k4YjA1SlVWaFU/edit

    Please feel free to download, copy and SHARE anything in the folder. I believe in “Paying it Forward” as HelloItsDan says….
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    As a man your net should not be lower than 1500-1600 calories. So if you burn 1200 cals you should be eating 2700-2800 as a minimum. Eating 1650 and buring 1200, would be like eating 450 on days you don't workout (not enough for anyone, even a child)

    That said, how are you calculating calories burned? (if you are not using a HRM most likely you are over estimating your burn)
    Are you measuring liquids and weighing solids? (If not you are probably under estimating how much you are eating)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    I just want to say that a pound of muscle is the same weight as a pound of fat. The difference is that a pound of muscle takes up less space that a pound of fat.

    So, what is your point?
  • Cr01502
    Cr01502 Posts: 3,614 Member
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    I would definitely recommend seeing a nutritionist. They will be able to do tests to see exactly what your body needs. Also if you've been doing the exact same exercise program over and over again your body could be used to it. I would definitely recommend switching that up. It could also be the quality of food that your eating. If your eating low calorie but all those calories are unhealthy fats and simple sugars your body will be more likely to store it as body fat, Trying eating low GI carbohydrates and lots of protein. Protein boosts your BMR and makes your body really work to digest it. The result: You feel fuller for longer and you body is much less likely to store it as body fat. As for fats stick to healthy fats things like organic egg yolks, oily fish, and avocados will give your body the fat it needs to complete various functions in the body.
  • GaidenJade
    GaidenJade Posts: 171
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    I need some real advice about calorific intake vs exercise, ad i have a calorie intake of 1650 and I am doing approx 1200 cals of exercise daily.
    Am I putting my body into starvation mode by not fueling it enough? I have plateaued for 5 weeks now and still have 30 kg to lose.
    My job is IT so i sit alot but I go to the gym in the morning and evening so I have the MFP set to Sedentary, but should I be changing this as I am active outside of work? I would be expecting th eweight to be falling off as I'm feeling good and never really feel hungry, but I'm just not shifting any body fat

    Really need help with this as motivation is strating to dissappear and I'm beginning to wonder if its all really worth the effort

    First, I would say right off that you should eat more calories. Netting 450 a day is really low. Depending on what class of thinking you come from, the fact that you are plateauing is telling you something. If you are indeed burning 1200 cals a day from working out, then you need to, in my opinion eat at least half of those back, in order to allow your body to fuel itself properly.

    Give it a try for a few weeks, and if that doesn't help, change up your workouts.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,311 Member
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    Have you considered that you might be gaining muscle mass? This could explain the plateau but having more muscle and less belly fat is healthy. The BMI is sometimes inaccurate for muscular men because muscle weighs so much more than fat.

    He won't be gaining muscle on 1650 cals a day minus exercise.

    From your profile I am guessing you are male, in which case it sounds like you aren't eating enough. I don't believe in starvation mode as such, but you have probably slowed down all your motor functions to compensate for the lack of fuel. Try eating a bit more and fidgeting a lot more.
  • xspader
    xspader Posts: 5
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    Let's start with the 1200 exercise calories. That's a ton. Are you sure it's that much? Let's end with the eating only 1600 calories. Why so little. That would be an acceptable amount to eat if you did NO exercise. I mean, not a single running step and not a single pound lifted. Just cut to 1600. But 1600 including exercise? No way no how, I don't care what your size and weight are. Now excuse me a minute while I convert kg and cm to imperial measurements.....

    Okay I'm back. You're 6 foot and over 250lbs. If you're truly burning 1200 calories in exercise then you need to double the amount you're currently eating. Can I ask what exercise you're doing that gives you this 1200 calorie burn?
    My calorie burn is done essentially in 2 sets at the gym bot of about 45-50 minutes each. I spend 30 minutes on a spin bike mainly doing hills, use the rower for 10 mins or jog/walk for 10 minutes and jump rope 400 times at 100 jumps per 'set'. I use a Polar H7 Bluetooth heart rate monitor with my iPhone and use the iRunner app to measure heart rate and calorie burn, and my average heart rate when working out is between 155 and 166 normally, and my peak gets up into the 190's. when i work out I work out hard and come away literally dripping wet.

    I wa ssceptical at the rate of calories I was burning also, but have also used a Polar mopnitor with their watch and get the same, and have used the one at the gym (not sure what brand but not Polar) and get the same results. the Gym owner who is a competitive judoist (is that a word?) said that even now I must still be eating too much which is why nothing is moving. He's and idiot
  • xspader
    xspader Posts: 5
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    Thanks for these files. very helpful in determining a rough calorific intake. i have approached a friend in the UK who is a qualified nutritionist, personal trainer and competitive body builder. Will see what she has to offer as well.
  • fitfocusedfamily
    fitfocusedfamily Posts: 117 Member
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    I need some real advice about calorific intake vs exercise, ad i have a calorie intake of 1650 and I am doing approx 1200 cals of exercise daily.
    Am I putting my body into starvation mode by not fueling it enough? I have plateaued for 5 weeks now and still have 30 kg to lose.
    My job is IT so i sit alot but I go to the gym in the morning and evening so I have the MFP set to Sedentary, but should I be changing this as I am active outside of work? I would be expecting th eweight to be falling off as I'm feeling good and never really feel hungry, but I'm just not shifting any body fat

    Really need help with this as motivation is strating to dissappear and I'm beginning to wonder if its all really worth the effort

    Yes, you are putting your body into starvation mode. Your 5 week plateau is your sign. If you are burning approx 1200 cals per day just with exercise alone, you should be consuming a minimum of 2400 cal per day.

    Depending on your weight, resting heart rate, etc., you burn 1600-2000 cal per day just being alive, WITHOUT exercising. This means to maintain your weight, without exercise, you could consume 1600-2000 cal per day. Since you still have weight to lose, you still want a calorie deficit. Your NET calories should be at 1200 minimum.

    You have two options:
    1) Try bumping your intake up to 2400 cal daily. Keep up your level of exercise and maintain that for at least 3 weeks to see if you notice a difference. If no difference or you notice a gain AFTER 3 weeks (you will likely gain initially), lower your calorie intake by 100 cal per week until you feel you have stabilized.
    2) Leave your calorie intake where it is but reduce your level of exercise to burn 400-600 cal daily. Again, try this for at least 3 weeks before making adjustments.

    Great job being consistent!
  • fitfocusedfamily
    fitfocusedfamily Posts: 117 Member
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    Thanks for these files. very helpful in determining a rough calorific intake. i have approached a friend in the UK who is a qualified nutritionist, personal trainer and competitive body builder. Will see what she has to offer as well.

    She should be your first source of advice! She is an expert. You will get all kinds of uneducated advice here.

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