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How much should I eat?

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alejandrajoy193
alejandrajoy193 Posts: 21
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Hi, I'm new here and I hope this isn't a repetitive question, I'm just confused on some things. I weight about 192 right now, I've lost 9/10 pounds and have about 55 pounds to lose. I want to start stronglifts with cardio on alternate days, and I was just wondering how much I should eat? Right now I'm eating about 1500 cals + 100-200 of my exercise cals back (i'm just doing cardio now). I calculated my TDEE and it says it's about 2500, so should I be eating more? I'm just very confused on how to eat to lose fat when lifting weights, especially since i still have so much to lose. =/ Should I be more focused on macros? Thank you for any information anyone could give me. :)

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  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    if your TDEE is 2500 I'd recommend you eat 2k. That's a 20% cut, or 1lb per week. That's a good rate of loss for someone with 55 lbs to lose. If you are sure your goal weight is set correctly (a lot of people pick a weight that's too low) or its set higher, you could go for 1800 and see how that does. But I'd generally recommend you start higher, and then cut if you don't see any change in 4-6 weeks.

    I can try for more specific calculations if you give me more details - how tall are you, what's your daily activity like, etc?

    As far as macros, you don't need to do more than keep it pretty simple -- eat at least 1 gram of protein per kg of body weight and make sure you eat at least some fat and you'll be fine. No need to be more complicated than that.

    So, 130 grams of protein, and if you're worried about sufficient fat intake at least 44 grams of fat (which is 20% of your 2000 calories) and then fill in the rest of your day with anything you want - more protein, fat, or carbs.

    Thats honestly all you need to do macro wise, for now. People who are lean or who have certain medical issues like insulin resistance MIGHT need to manage it more carefully but you should assume you're healthy until proven otherwise.
  • alejandrajoy193
    alejandrajoy193 Posts: 21
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    if your TDEE is 2500 I'd recommend you eat 2k. That's a 20% cut, or 1lb per week. That's a good rate of loss for someone with 55 lbs to lose. If you are sure your goal weight is set correctly (a lot of people pick a weight that's too low) or its set higher, you could go for 1800 and see how that does. But I'd generally recommend you start higher, and then cut if you don't see any change in 4-6 weeks.

    I can try for more specific calculations if you give me more details - how tall are you, what's your daily activity like, etc?

    As far as macros, you don't need to do more than keep it pretty simple -- eat at least 1 gram of protein per kg of body weight and make sure you eat at least some fat and you'll be fine. No need to be more complicated than that.

    So, 130 grams of protein, and if you're worried about sufficient fat intake at least 44 grams of fat (which is 20% of your 2000 calories) and then fill in the rest of your day with anything you want - more protein, fat, or carbs.

    Thats honestly all you need to do macro wise, for now. People who are lean or who have certain medical issues like insulin resistance MIGHT need to manage it more carefully but you should assume you're healthy until proven otherwise.

    Thanks for all of the info! I'm 5'2" and I usually work out 4-6 times a week for about 30-60 minutes. And what would be a goal weight that is too low? I wanted to get to 135-130 and I'm 5'2, I'm hoping thats not too low. I know I will weigh more if I'm building muscle along the way so I don't want to get down lower than that.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
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    Oh yeah that's probably fine - sometimes people set really low goal weights (like a lot of ladies who are 5'6" will say their goal weight is 130 or 135) and while its true that you might not be happy til you reach that weight, its impossible to tell what a good goal is until you'er a lot closer to it. You might get to 135 and decide yuo want to lose 5-10 more but I think setting higher and then moving down slowly is good.

    So anyway yeah - I'd go to at least 1800 if I were you, and seriously think about how you feel with that. If you have any SUPER hungry or bingey days, I'd bump it up overall to 2k. If you just have an occasional hungry day you could go to 2k-2200 on that day only.

    and if you start feeling tired, or weak, or you'er not hitting lifts that you KNOW you should be able to make, go up to 2k.
  • vegannlg
    vegannlg Posts: 170 Member
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    alejandrajoy1, as a comparison I am 4'10" and work out 4 - 5 days a week also. I am eating about the same as you, however I am at the oposite end of the weight loss spectrum (123 pounds, only about 3 or 4 to go and can't seem to budge them!) AND I am 52 years old - older than you by the looks of it. :) From what you describe you def. have room to eat more and with lifting, will need it.
  • alejandrajoy193
    alejandrajoy193 Posts: 21
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    thank you both so so much, i appreciate it :) I've started eating more and increased the protein!
  • iorahkwano
    iorahkwano Posts: 709 Member
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    Oh yeah that's probably fine - sometimes people set really low goal weights (like a lot of ladies who are 5'6" will say their goal weight is 130 or 135) and while its true that you might not be happy til you reach that weight, its impossible to tell what a good goal is until you'er a lot closer to it. You might get to 135 and decide yuo want to lose 5-10 more but I think setting higher and then moving down slowly is good.

    Yeah, that was me... 5'6" wanting to be 130lbs. I was 130lbs in 2010 (Cardio-kickboxing days) & thought I looked alright. I gained weight over the years (Hit 144lbs this year) & was hoping to get back to that. But as my fitness strategy changed from cardio to weights, I'm realizing that with Strong Lifts, I probably won't be able to have lots of muscle tone and still be 130 at the same time.
  • tameko2
    tameko2 Posts: 31,634 Member
    Options
    Oh yeah that's probably fine - sometimes people set really low goal weights (like a lot of ladies who are 5'6" will say their goal weight is 130 or 135) and while its true that you might not be happy til you reach that weight, its impossible to tell what a good goal is until you'er a lot closer to it. You might get to 135 and decide yuo want to lose 5-10 more but I think setting higher and then moving down slowly is good.

    Yeah, that was me... 5'6" wanting to be 130lbs. I was 130lbs in 2010 (Cardio-kickboxing days) & thought I looked alright. I gained weight over the years (Hit 144lbs this year) & was hoping to get back to that. But as my fitness strategy changed from cardio to weights, I'm realizing that with Strong Lifts, I probably won't be able to have lots of muscle tone and still be 130 at the same time.

    well, Nia Shanks is 125ish (maybe she's up to 128 now) and 5'6" - but she's also one of those ladies that's just built VERY slender and she's also very lean. I think most women would find that weight impossible to get to with her levels of strength (she's working on a 3x bodyweight raw deadlift).

    I have a friend who's 5'8" and with very little muscle and she looks healthy and slim at 120 but she's freakishly slim (and like I said, no muscle) and built tiny - she has to buy child sized motorcycle helmets because her head is so small despite her height. And it doesn't look disproportionately small - she's just small all over. And naturally light blond. And blue eyed. *shakes fist*

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