male 6' 227 consuming 1500 calories.

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wildbill0351
wildbill0351 Posts: 8
in Health and Weight Loss
i was curious if im eating too little calories. im hitting about 1500 without taking in to consideration the calories earned from working out. any advice or help is much appreciated in advance.

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  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Yep, no doubt you're eating too little. I'm the same weight as you (6 inches taller) and eating 2300 calories a day. Go here and do the calculations Dan lays out for you (it also makes it easier because you don't have to worry about eating back exercise calories):

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/654536-in-place-of-a-road-map-2-0-revised-7-2-12

    Dan also has a group here where "Roadmappers" congregate and discuss:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8017-in-place-of-a-road-map
  • golferd
    golferd Posts: 400 Member
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    Considering you just joined. Try to follow the calculators. If it doesn't work then try what your doing. Calculators did not work for myself
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
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    At 5'8" and 236, I am dropping .5 pound to 1 pound a week netting 2200 calories a day.
  • arcticfox04
    arcticfox04 Posts: 1,011 Member
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    I'd recommend you up your intake. Your BMR is 2023 says on this sites tool. I'd recommend you look over the diet/fitness settings in your profile. Make sure your using the correct activity level and set it to 1LB a week. You should eat back your exercise calories atleast get to 1700 net calories a day is my personal rule.

    The best thing to do is ask more questions and share more information about why your stalling.
  • EccentricDad
    EccentricDad Posts: 875 Member
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    i was curious if im eating too little calories. im hitting about 1500 without taking in to consideration the calories earned from working out. any advice or help is much appreciated in advance.

    Without exercising? You're doing fine. Exercising and being that low, you're hurting yourself.
  • wildbill0351
    wildbill0351 Posts: 8
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    ok thanks Gents appreciate all the quality feedback. i exercise recently at least one hour a day so im working out a lot more then i was just a few short weeks ago.
  • usmcmp
    usmcmp Posts: 21,220 Member
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    As a 5'9" female I crashed an burned trying to stay at 1500 at any weight (210 to 170). 1800 is the lowest I will go and I'm still dropping body fat.
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
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    Sounds too low to me, but keeping in mind that you're not exercising, it might be right. I've just set up an account for my dad after his open heart surgery and he's 6 foot, 260 pounds. I set him up to eat 2200 calories, completely sedentary other than a few five minute walks throughout the day.... So, I would guess without even looking at a calculator that you'd need at least 1800.

    ETA: If you are exercising for an hour a day, you definitely need more calories! I'm 5'8, exercise thirty minutes a day, and I eat almost 2,000! :) Plus, I'm female. Males automatically get to eat more (damn you guys).
  • jlanz10
    jlanz10 Posts: 58 Member
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    Im 6' and 224 lbs...Im down 34 lbs. from my starting weight by eating about 2100 calories a day...Id say youre eating too little, especially if youre burning alot exercising...
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Without exercising? You're doing fine. Exercising and being that low, you're hurting yourself.
    With the stats he gave? No, he's way too low. Calculating his BMR on Fat2Fit, he's got a BMR of around 2184 and a TDEE of 2621 at Sedentary, or 3003 at Lightly Active. I wouldn't call a 50% cut from TDEE "doing fine" unless he's really into losing a lot of lean body mass (muscle) and enjoying the "skinny fat" look. His daily intake should be around 2300-2400 calories/day - about one and a half times what he's currently eating. The OP and I are at the exact same weight, but I'm 19 years older than him. I've lost 36 pounds and over 10% bodyfat in the last 6 months eating 2300 calories/day (plus plenty of cheat days mixed in there in which I was significantly higher than that).
  • Topsking2010
    Topsking2010 Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Good advice everyone!! Eat more weigh less!!
  • BeantownSooner
    BeantownSooner Posts: 254
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    Do you have your settings to Lose 2 lbs per week? If so, I think you should roll with it for awhile and see how it goes. Use the following as queues to figure out what works best for you. To arbitrarily just say 'eat more to lose more' is reckless in my opinion as everyone is different. I personally cannot eat more to lose more as I have 70 lbs of fat that I'm carrying around!

    - Say you have is set to 2 lbs per week then that's a 1,000 calorie deficit per day. 1 lb per week is 500 per day. The way that I approach this is simply I want to lose at least 1 lb per week and that extra 500 is my personal buffer. If I can hit the 1000 wonderful but if not then....keep reading....

    - When working out if you crash hard core you need to start upping your calories. Do so in 100-200 calorie increments. One spoonful of Peanut Butter will do it or a handful of nuts or a cup of cottage cheese. What I'm referring to here is literally not being able to do an exercise whatever it is you're doing. It's unmistakable and not just feeling winded. Rest a little bit, try again and if you can't move your legs for instance that's a queue to add the calories

    - If you're hungry eat, if not don't. At least consume the 1500. Some days you'll be a wolverine and eat into the 500 extra buffers. Others you won't.

    - You also have your exercise calories to dip into as well so if you shoot for your number and then end up eating the exercise calories you should be putting in ample calories into your body to feel great and lose weight. More than likely if you're exercising you'll probably end up eating more than the 1500.

    - Go in knowing that you've got flexibility and a buffer to eat more when you feel you need to eat. Friends birthday bash on Saturday night? No worries, you're covered.


    This has not failed me yet. Eat more than BMR, TDEE this and that has NOT at this point on my journey. For giggles, check out your Body Fat % as that is an ample fuel source for you to tap into. Your body burns fuel in this order when available: Carbs, Fat, Protein (muscle). For example, if you have 20 extra lbs of fat you want to lose well then you're carrying around a gas tank with 70,000 calories in it!

    So far I'm down 47 lbs, my "target" is 1350 (BMR is 1950), I've done P90X and am doing Insanity now. I do not crash. I lose 1-2 lbs per week. I lose fat and am gaining muscle.


    Now, I do agree with a lot of the science and thinking behind "eat more to lose more", however, I do not agree with that as a blanket statement as frankly it only comes into play when you're at a normal BMI approaching 15% body fat or less. At that point your gas tank is starting to run dry so time to give your body the fuel that is needs and therefore Do not eat below BMR, eat back some of your exercise calories, etc.

    I just wanted to provide an alternate view to "eat more" so that you can make the best decision that works for you. Unfortunately, there is no magic pill or way to lose weight. You will find what works best for you just make sure as you make changes you run with them for 3-4 weeks at a time.

    Good luck!

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