Started 2k/day Calorie Burn- need advise on food.

If you are eating 2000 calories, and burning 2000 calories, your net calorie intake is 0. That is not a good thing at all. Your body is not getting enough fuel for these kinds of workouts. You are risking starvation mode and loss of lean body mass if you continue. You need to eat more.

The only people I know that spend 3 hours in the gym, are either people that talk to people the whole time or people trying to compete in something.. And those people that spend that time in the gym are eating 5000+ calories a day.. you are eating 0.. I understand you want to achieve your weight loss, but you don't have to spend 3 hours a day in the gym and however much money your paying your trainer..
If your BMR is 2550 ( or around there) I would say you should be netting that amount or around 2700 for probably the same amount of weight loss.. Also the 2000k calories is that what the machines say or is that a number from a HRM? Some of this stuff can be really overestimated but at your weight its possible to burn that much..
Also simply cutting out bad items from your intake can help drop a lot of weight.. Soda, Sugar, Candy, Snacks, etc..

Do you see this 3 hour a day thing sustainable for life? There is no need to overdo things, although the enthusiasm is great I eat 2800 or thereabouts and my bmr is 1455.......just eat healthy foods with healthy fats, avacado, nuts and lean meat and veggies, along with moderate treats.....and an hour a day is better sometimes less is more. Focus on the strength training and make sure you get adequate protein.....maybe 100g a day depending on who you ask:) along this whole process I have only done 4 stints of 3 hour cardio sessions, with breaks, I like to focus on muscle building, personally:) good luck

I wish I could help, but 2-3 hour cardio every day like you do, I'm not even close (nor do I intend to be). So, no personal experience.

If you need rapid weight loss, people are raving about intermittent fasting. Again, no personal experience, but maybe something to look into.

Why not try something less extreme and more sustainable? The goal is to be healthy and fit for life, not to burn out as quickly as possible.

i had trouble sleeping last week, I forgot to mention that, and I know that can have a big impact on weight loss. my gut tells me that is a big factor. 3 nights I only got about 4 hours sleep. had some work stuff to complete. this week though sleep should not be an issue. will be getting 7-8 hours going forward.

Trouble sleeping is one of the symptoms of over-training, and I wouldn't be surprised if you experienced more as the weeks go on. In the long run it will be detrimental to your weight loss and fitness goals.

Remember that you're burning another 3000 calories plus just by living in addition to your exercise. MFP is designed so you eat back your exercise calories, or at least a good proportion of them to allow for a margin of error (even the best heart rate monitor gives you a 75% accurate estimate), and still remain at a deficit.

Go look at the success stories. Stalk your MFP friends with the most impressive bodies. You'll find that that few of them exercise for more than an hours at a time. Most of them take a complete rest day at least once a week, and those who've managed to keep up a steady weight loss have a relatively small deficit of around 500 calories over their TDEE - that's their sedentary burn PLUS exercise calories.

I have read a few articles about this topic. Here's one:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/367666-can-too-much-exercise-slow-weight-loss/?utm_source=undefined_R1

I am a 46 year old male. current weight of 303. started at 326 in late June and have a steady loss of 5 pounds per month. My goal weight is 190. I have the time now to hit the gym hard and would like to increase my weight loss pace.

For the past week I'm doing cardio for about 2000-2200 calories per day on elliptical/uphill treadmill/stat bike at my gym for 3 hours. I break it into 2 sessions 1.5 hours each in the morning and evening. I also do strength training 2-3 days per week each session for 45 minutes that was originally setup by a trainer. The strength training is done during my daily 3 hour sessions and I just started training 2 weeks prior. Previously I was only doing 1 hour sessions daily only before last week. Yes, I am sore in my legs some and back daily.

I am taking strata-6 protein drink after every workout per my trainer.

I am eating about 2000 calories per day. My first week of doing this I only lost 1.2 pounds. I thought I would lose closer to 4-5 pounds. By the numbers my daily basal metabolic rate should be 2550-3300 depending on which one you use. With this I should be losing 500 calories per day roughly from taking in less food another 2000 per day for the exercise. 2500 calories per day x 7 day would be 17.5k "lost", divide by 3500 calories per pound to get to 5 pounds lost. However, I have only lost 1.5 pounds.

I know a lot of factors can come into play. individual genetics. water retension. starvation mode. hormones. etc.

I would love to get some input from people who have tried this type of regimen and learn what their results were?

My goal is to be healthy and fit and maintain my new active lifestyle and eating habits even after losing the weight. I still have a long way to go. But I'm not focused so much on that as I am just taking it day by day, meal by meal, gym session by gym session and enjoying the journey.

Losing weight requires tremendous patience. You will not lose it when you want it or where you want it. The body does its thing. Some apparent plateaus can last a month or so. You cannot make it happen faster. You must focus on two things; calories and exercise. Nothing else matters. Scales and metrics don't matter. The day in and day out grind of exercise and calories are all that matters. It is not very exciting until things fall into place. You get your victories and you ride one victory to the next.

The scale is a trend tool. The scale is good but put it away and only check once a week and only use it as a trend tool. It will fluctuate, it does not matter. Take front side and back progress pictures at least once a month. You will see differences that the metrics won't tell you and it's that little bit of NSV that will keep you going until the next victory.

Some people will say you need to eat more. Some people will say you need to eat less. Only you can decide or check with your doctor. But what would make the most sense? Eating more or eating less, to lose weight? Hmmm..

Taller people have more room in their calorie budget to go up or down. Shorter people like me have less room and get frustrated with "eat more" because that typically does not work for us. If you are confused about it don't just listen to any of us, do some research and get approval from your doctor, then just do what you need to do and tune the rest of us out.

It really depends on your RMR. If you are short like I am then your RMR is really just above the 1200 limit so you really don't have much room for a calorie deficit and going up is less likely to work. If you are taller you will have a higher RMR and can go up or down and still be in a deficit so you can lose no matter what. All that matters is a calorie deficit. If you are short it can be hard to have a deficit at 1200 or above so your only option is to check with your doctor. I did and he agreed and had me go down. So I had to tune everyone out around here.

BTW it does not sound like you are short since you are eating 2000 calories.

Once I got leaner I had to taper UP my calories. The leaner you get the less of a calorie deficit your body can handle. It needs to be a long slow shallow deficit. For me still under a doctor’s care, this was still lower calories compared to others because I am so short, petite, and am under 12% body fat where I truly can go into starvation mode if I ate too low. . Again, you must seek your doctor’s advice. No one here can tell you how many calories to eat, either up or down.

Seek advice from your doctor. Myself or anyone else on here can’t tell you how much to eat, or to go up or down. If you have a lot of body fat reserves you would be surprised at how little you can eat (unless you have emotional eating issues or disorders). The leaner you get the less your body has to draw from and then you have to taper up your calories. There is no such thing as starvation mode for woman over 12% body fat or men over 6% body fat. I pretty much proved that for myself by staying strong and building muscle and doing what I did. I'm the leanest, most muscular, and most fit that I have ever been in my life at almost 52 years old. My doctor looked at my blood work throughout my journey and it remained fine even with “taking breaks from eating” for periods of time and eating less. Even now at less than 12% body fat everything is A-OKAY. I am healthy, active, and vibrant, muscular not skinny. I have never had eating disorders nor do I now. If you have eating disorders you should not be on a diet unless you are under a doctor’s care and/or get those issues resolved first. I do not advocate unhealthy eating or promote eating disorders.

While there is no one size fits all I listed the things that worked for me here --> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout

I found the following quotes helpful for sorting through all the myths plastered all over the place

What is the exact number of calories for you?

We’ve been trying to figure out an exact NUMBER of calories that everyone should be eating, without recognizing that everyone is slightly different. In truth, the calories aren’t the end game. Your body is. So the EXACT amount of Calories that are right for you is the EXACT amount that will allow you to maintain your ideal bodyweight no matter what some calculator or chart says.

In other words, an online calculator might tell you that you need to eat 2,500 calories
per day to maintain your ideal bodyweight. But the only way to know for sure if this is
the right amount for you is to test it out. If you gain weight or can’t lose weight eating
that much, then you know you need to eat less to lose weight no matter how many
calculators and text books say otherwise.

This doesn’t mean your metabolism is broken, it just means the estimate of your needs
was just a bit off.

-John Barban (The Body Centric Calorie Guide from the Venus Index and Adonis Index Manuals)

The Theory of Fat Availability:
•There is a set amount of fat that can be released from a fat cell.
•The more fat you have, the more fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•The less fat you have, the less fat can be used as a fuel when dieting.
•Towards the end of a transformation, when body fat is extremely low you
may not have enough fat to handle a large caloric deficit anymore.

At the extreme low end, when your body fat cannot ‘keep up’ with the energy deficit
you've imposed on your body, the energy MUST come from SOMEWHERE. This is
when you are at risk of losing lean body mass during dieting (commonly referred to
as ‘starvation mode’). This happens at extremely low levels of body fat, under 6% in
men and 12% in women [Friedl K.E. J Appl Phsiol, 1994].

-Brad Pilon and John Barban (from The Reverse Taper Diet in The Adonis Index and Venus Index manuals)

Ever since I finally lost the 60lbs and went from Obese to super fit I've realized that tiny people like me simply need less calories than most other people. Even now as healthy and vibrant as I am, with 100's of people stalking my diary, I get questioned almost daily about my calories seeming to low. Why do people ask when they don't even know my height or RMR? Since I'm so small my RMR is only 1380 and that is based on my recent DXA scan which isn't nearly as accurate as going to a lab and blowing into the tube several times to fine out a more accurate number, but it is certainly more accurate than an online chart. I will never be able to eat the 2000 calorie diet everyone thinks is necessary, I'm just too small for it.

Never again will I let anyone tell me what to eat, when to eat, or how much to eat. I learned what works for me. I OWN IT. No one will ever pressure me to eat birthday cake at a party or anywhere else, I DECIDE. No one else decides for me. I eat when I want to eat and I don't eat when I don't want to eat.