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Doing it right?

thatdude156
thatdude156 Posts: 3
edited January 30 in Health and Weight Loss
Hey! 19 here and only 5'7 weighing 140 lbs. I started p90x last year at 160 and did the nutrition as well. Well this year I'm now starting again and this time I'm only lowering my calorie intake to 1200 from suggested 1900. So I am still eating out because I eat free meals at work. I'm eating grilled chicken sand which with apples as the side as well as a healthy cooked meal at home for dinner. I may start protein shakes soon, but I'm only looking to lose 10 lbs of fat and gain muscle. As long as I make a smarter choice at work and watch the colories as well as work out will this work? My meal at work is only 375 cal.

Replies

  • missyrawien
    missyrawien Posts: 37 Member
    1200 seems a little on the light side...why do you want to eat so little? Especially if you are trying to gain muscle too?
  • 1PatientBear
    1PatientBear Posts: 2,089 Member
    No. 1200 is not NEAR enough calories for a guy your size. And if you are trying to gain muscle, you definitely need to fuel your body. Educate yourself because your plan will NOT work.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    1200 calories? There's no way you're building an ounce of muscle on that diet, it's physically impossible. In fact, you'll probably lose a good amount of muscle, even with working out. Muscle cannot be built on a calorie deficit, so don't fool yourself into thinking that it can. Sure you can get stronger by working out, but only for so long until that levels out. A calorie surplus is required for muscle gain and a calorie deficit is required for fat loss, pick one and focus on it.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    I agree with the above. 1200 is WAY too low

    1) your a guy
    2) you are 19
    3) you are trying to gain muscle

    your BMR is 1659 cal/day. If you are wanting to lose weight and gain muscle, you need to be eating your TDEE or maybe 100-200 calories above it and lift weights.
  • pastryari
    pastryari Posts: 8,646 Member
    Hi, you're a male and I'm the same height as you and you're only 5 lbs heavier than I am and you're eating way less calories than I eat.

    Also, outside of "newbie gains", you can't build muscle on a caloric deficit. I'd be willing to bet you're losing muscle on that low of calories.

    Up your cal and protein intake significantly and go lift some heavy weights.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    BTW, depending on how active you are, that means your TDEE is probably somewhere between 2000-3000 cal/day.
  • thatdude156
    thatdude156 Posts: 3
    Thanks guys. Yeah I'm pretty active according to the app. I am a full time manager in fast food, but like I said I want to first lose the body fat..(how do I do that?) and then gain muscle. I really want my tummy to go flat. Reason why I'm low on calories is because I have a bad sleep schedule which takes out my breakfast. Then I eat how I normally would eat.. Lunch and dinner. I'd appreciate some tips on what to do to lose my tummy fat. I thought I should create a deficit?
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    Thanks guys. Yeah I'm pretty active according to the app. I am a full time manager in fast food, but like I said I want to first lose the body fat..(how do I do that?) and then gain muscle. I really want my tummy to go flat. Reason why I'm low on calories is because I have a bad sleep schedule which takes out my breakfast. Then I eat how I normally would eat.. Lunch and dinner. I'd appreciate some tips on what to do to lose my tummy fat. I thought I should create a deficit?

    you should create a deficit to lose fat... a sensible on ethough, not a ridiculously large one which will work against you , which is what eating 1200 cals would do.

    i am 5ft5 and 130lbs and i eat NET 1800 cals to lose fat...

    use the scooby calculator and take 10 -15% off your TDEE
  • Cait_Sidhe
    Cait_Sidhe Posts: 3,150 Member
    Actually, I'm pretty certain you're not doing it right.

    As an adult male, you should be eating a minimum of 1500. 1200 is the minimum women should eat, in general. You're setting yourself up to lose a bunch of muscle mass. Set your calories a little higher. The TDEE minus 20% method works pretty well for most. To find out your TDEE, http://fitnessfrog.com has a pretty good calculator. In order to preserve your muscle mass while losing fat, you should be eating at least 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass you currently have and you should be strength training. To learn more, look here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/10067-eat-train-progress-

    Also, here:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/833026-important-posts-to-read
  • Ophidion
    Ophidion Posts: 2,065 Member
    Agreed^...Here some other links as well...learning is fun :D (it is all covered in the eat-train-progress group)

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/why-big-caloric-deficits-and-lots-of-activity-can-hurt-fat-loss.html
  • amcsouth
    amcsouth Posts: 283 Member
    I agree with the above. 1200 is WAY too low

    1) your a guy
    2) you are 19
    3) you are trying to gain muscle

    your BMR is 1659 cal/day. If you are wanting to lose weight and gain muscle, you need to be eating your TDEE or maybe 100-200 calories above it and lift weights.

    ^^^ this!
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    Thanks guys. Yeah I'm pretty active according to the app. I am a full time manager in fast food, but like I said I want to first lose the body fat..(how do I do that?) and then gain muscle. I really want my tummy to go flat. Reason why I'm low on calories is because I have a bad sleep schedule which takes out my breakfast. Then I eat how I normally would eat.. Lunch and dinner. I'd appreciate some tips on what to do to lose my tummy fat. I thought I should create a deficit?

    OK, so you want to lose fat and get a flat belly first, then build back some muscle, right? That's fine, but you need to do it in a way that will keep you from losing a bunch of muscle right now. If you eat 1200 calories (or even 1500) for every 1 lb you lose, close to half that is going to be muscle.

    Run through the goals wizard on this site, choose a weight loss rate of 0.5-1 lb/wk and start lifting weights now. Also, you need to eat about 0.8-1.25g protein/lb of lean body mass to help preserve the muscle you have. Your goal should be to lose fat, not muscle.

    The more muscle mass you can keep now, the easier the fat loss will come and you'll thank me later on when you are trying to build muscle. Trust me on this one - building muscle mass is slow and painful; it is WAY easier to lose weight than to build muscle - especially if you are trying to do it and not get fat.
  • thatdude156
    thatdude156 Posts: 3
    Well going by the activity level it puts my caloric intake at 1800. Does that sound better? P90x has weight lifting so would eating 1800 calories plus using p90x as my workout become ideal rather than what I've been eating? What're some recommended foods that I take in? I know protein from meats or eggs plus veggies and fruit, but how much proportion should I intake?
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets


    Because you seem to have missed it.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
    read this and it should answer your questions.
    http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121703981

    Like I said, eat 0.8-1.25g protein per lb of lean body mass. You also need a minimum of about 0.4g fat per lb LBM.
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