Trainer says to Net 1000 Calories?!

2

Replies

  • RGv2
    RGv2 Posts: 5,789 Member
    Thank you guys for the advice. The BMR actually seems to add up as I am 5'4 and 150 pounds. My goal is to avoid losing as much muscle as possible while sculpting a lean(ish) body through weight lifting. I am not sedentary at all. I work 8 hour shifts on my feet, head to the gym after work and go home and run around after my 17 month old daughter. I am currently eating 1500-1600 calories a day and I still always feeling hungry and grumpy. I can't even imagine a day eating the way this lady has suggested. I would be a ticking bomb by the end of the day. :noway:

    I just want to ensure I am doing everything correct. It is hard not to feeling overwhelmed and bombarded my the ridiculous amount of information out there.:laugh:

    That's because....just took a shot at age of 25...a woman age 25, 150, who's on their feet as much as you are has a TDEE -20% of ~2200 calories.
  • kr1stadee
    kr1stadee Posts: 1,774 Member
    It's not crazy. I've been doing 1000 calories a day - supervised by my doctor - and I've lost fat and gained muscle. Food choices are what makes the difference.

    You didn't gain muscle.

    OP - I took training with CanFitPro. We spent an hour on nutrition. That's it. A PT is there for the exercise. A nutritionist is there for nutrition. If you like the exercise side of it, keep her, just do what you know is good for nutrition
  • megsmom2
    megsmom2 Posts: 2,362 Member
    That is way too low. Take her advice about exercise...but she don't know much about nutrition.
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    I currently eat at least 150 grams of protein a day in hopes that this will help me maintain LBM. I don't even care about the scale anymore, the number doesn't matter. I just care about the physique and the strength I can gain.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,292 Member
    I currently eat at least 150 grams of protein a day in hopes that this will help me maintain LBM. I don't even care about the scale anymore, the number doesn't matter. I just care about the physique and the strength I can gain.

    Sounds perfectly adequate for your goals. But I would eat BMR Net or TDEE -10-15%, not 1000 Net
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    .
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    Thank you guys for the advice. The BMR actually seems to add up as I am 5'4 and 150 pounds. My goal is to avoid losing as much muscle as possible while sculpting a lean(ish) body through weight lifting. I am not sedentary at all. I work 8 hour shifts on my feet, head to the gym after work and go home and run around after my 17 month old daughter. I am currently eating 1500-1600 calories a day and I still always feeling hungry and grumpy. I can't even imagine a day eating the way this lady has suggested. I would be a ticking bomb by the end of the day. :noway:

    I just want to ensure I am doing everything correct. It is hard not to feeling overwhelmed and bombarded my the ridiculous amount of information out there.:laugh:

    That's because....just took a shot at age of 25...a woman age 25, 150, who's on their feet as much as you are has a TDEE -20% of ~2200 calories.
    [/quote]


    Wow thats definitely a lot more than I am eating now. Maybe I should increase my calories for a few weeks and see if it makes a noticeable difference.

    This trainer was also saying in a few months we would do carb loading (whatever that is). And 2 days a week I would eat 650 calories. This lady obviously doesn't know the wrath of me everyone would be dealing with if I ate that. It all just seems so gimmicky and crazy. Oy :noway:

    When it comes to exercise, I will listen to her. When it comes to nutrition, I'll come to you guys :smooched: Thank you!
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    Carb loading? For what event?
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    This trainer was also saying in a few months we would do carb loading (whatever that is). And 2 days a week I would eat 650 calories. This lady obviously doesn't know the wrath of me everyone would be dealing with if I ate that. It all just seems so gimmicky and crazy. Oy :noway:

    When it comes to exercise, I will listen to her. When it comes to nutrition, I'll come to you guys :smooched: Thank you!
    Carb loading is what you do before a long cardio race - running, cycling or swimming. There's no value to it unless you're doing a half-marathon or more.

    Two days a week at 600 calories would be a version of 5:2 diet under which you should be eating your 2200 TDEE on the other five days.

    Ditch your trainer.
  • lrmall01
    lrmall01 Posts: 377 Member
    Carb loading is what you do before a long cardio race - running, cycling or swimming. There's no value to it unless you're doing a half-marathon or more.

    Of course there is no way to know, but the trainer might have been suggesting something more along the lines of Carb Back-loading, which is just a fancy name for having a high carb post workout meal.
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    Carb loading? For what event?

    No event, just to "cut the last bit of fat." Which I know doesnt make sense.

    I think it is the 5:2 thing. Except it would be 2 days 650 and the other days 1000-1350. I think she wants me to die lol :laugh:
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    Carb loading? For what event?

    No event, just to "cut the last bit of fat." Which I know doesnt make sense.

    I think it is the 5:2 thing. Except it would be 2 days 650 and the other days 1000-1350. I think she wants me to die lol :laugh:

    I kinda glossed over all of the post, but I've read your OP now (but not all of the others).

    Anyway; your trainer may or may not have correctly calculated your BMR. The energy your body needs to maintain basic function when asleep/horizontal/in a coma.
    The then forgot to multiply that by an activity level. This varies according to levels and source, but for example - MFP would multiply this by 1.2 if you tell it that you are sedentary. The trainer didn't do this.

    They then applied what MFP and Weight Watchers do, and added on calories for your workouts based on expected burns. I've not heard of a professional do this before. It is far more the norm to calculate BMR, multiply your activity level to give your TDEE and then take a deficit from that. There are various ways to achieve this with varying accuracy, but it's the usual basic approach.
  • IronSmasher
    IronSmasher Posts: 3,908 Member
    I realise I've not answered your question.

    It's up to you, whether you can just use their exercise advice and not take the nutritional advice is only something you know how comfortable you are, how much you enjoy it and how much you get out of it.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    It does sound like they mixed up BMR and TDEE.
    How long have you been eating at this level?
    It usually takes me a bit of time to adjust to eating less.
    Unfortunately at the moment I've got into eating more - a good few 4000 calorie days (due to lots of exercise), which makes the lower calorie days harder.
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    Carb loading? For what event?

    No event, just to "cut the last bit of fat." Which I know doesnt make sense.

    I think it is the 5:2 thing. Except it would be 2 days 650 and the other days 1000-1350. I think she wants me to die lol :laugh:

    I kinda glossed over all of the post, but I've read your OP now (but not all of the others).

    Anyway; your trainer may or may not have correctly calculated your BMR. The energy your body needs to maintain basic function when asleep/horizontal/in a coma.
    The then forgot to multiply that by an activity level. This varies according to levels and source, but for example - MFP would multiply this by 1.2 if you tell it that you are sedentary. The trainer didn't do this.

    They then applied what MFP and Weight Watchers do, and added on calories for your workouts based on expected burns. I've not heard of a professional do this before. It is far more the norm to calculate BMR, multiply your activity level to give your TDEE and then take a deficit from that. There are various ways to achieve this with varying accuracy, but it's the usual basic approach.

    Yeah that seems to make the most sense.
  • marissabakescakes
    marissabakescakes Posts: 35 Member
    It does sound like they mixed up BMR and TDEE.
    How long have you been eating at this level?
    It usually takes me a bit of time to adjust to eating less.
    Unfortunately at the moment I've got into eating more - a good few 4000 calorie days (due to lots of exercise), which makes the lower calorie days harder.

    I've been eating around 1500 or so (give or take 100) since mid November. Prior to that I was a lot larger and aiming to lose 2 pounds per week so I was netting 1200-1300 a day. Obviously the weight loss is slower now, but I am trying to make it more sustainable long-term. Whereas at first I had a bit more leverage because I was considered "obese."

    But even so, I still find myself always hungry (literally all day), even though I am eating more than I was previously. And since I cut out cardio for the post part, I don't really get as much exercise calories as I previously did. Maybe I am burning more from weight training than I think and I should get a heart rate monitor to track it?

    How significant is your weight training routine that your eating 4000 calories?
  • RachelRuns9
    RachelRuns9 Posts: 585 Member


    I've been eating around 1500 or so (give or take 100) since mid November. Prior to that I was a lot larger and aiming to lose 2 pounds per week so I was netting 1200-1300 a day. Obviously the weight loss is slower now, but I am trying to make it more sustainable long-term. Whereas at first I had a bit more leverage because I was considered "obese."

    But even so, I still find myself always hungry (literally all day), even though I am eating more than I was previously. And since I cut out cardio for the post part, I don't really get as much exercise calories as I previously did. Maybe I am burning more from weight training than I think and I should get a heart rate monitor to track it?

    How significant is your weight training routine that your eating 4000 calories?

    Unfortunately the heart rate monitor doesn't work for lifting - only for steady state cardio.

    Lifting cals burned can be hard to calculate. I've done a lot of googling and collected estimates from various sites, and honestly they all seem pretty close to what MFP calculates when I use the cardio "strength training" entry on here. Something like 130-250 per hour depending on intensity.

    However, you also continue to burn cals after the workout, unlike with cardio. Because of that, it may take some time for you to figure out what you need. For me, doing a lot of lifting has been a good exercise in listening to my body as opposed to sticking to a strict daily calorie number. If I feel hungrier, then I really try to analyze if I'm actually hungry or just thirsty or bored or emotional. If I'm sure it's none of those things, I will definitely have protein/something healthy, because I feel like my muscles are rebuilding and I want to fuel that. So, it takes some time to sort of figure out what you are really burning ... but it's all sort of a fun journey as learn more about your body and change it!
    Edit: When I was doing that (eating as I felt truly hungry even if it meant going over my chosen "calorie goal"), I ended up still losing 0.5lbs/week. So just because you eat when you are hungry, it doesn't mean you will be eating at maintenance or at a surplus. You could truly just have burned more than you thought. So, it's just a balance that takes time to work out. If I had ended up maintaining or gaining, I would have re-evaluated.
  • This site has a BMR calculator:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator

    It states:

    What is your BMR?

    Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories you'd burn if you were to do nothing but rest for 24 hours. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating.

    Your BMR does not include the calories you burn from normal daily activities or exercise.

    Our calculator uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations to estimate your BMR which is believed to be more accurate than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation.

    I plugged my numbers in and my BMR is 1268 a day. What is ironic, I am also 5'4, 145 lbs, and active as well. I just hired a personal trainer too, and she is training in nutrition. From all I have read on good websites such as WebMD, Mayo Clinic, ect....they all say, including my trainer, NEVER GO UNDER 1200 CALORIES A DAY! Never ever, because it will slow your metabolism to a screaming halt and you won't receive adequate nutrition. My trainer, and every calculator I have used says I need 1200 calories a day to lose weight. Check this out on Web MD, its a good calculator because it calculates how many calories you will burn based on your activity level:

    http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-metabolism-calculator

    When I calculate my calories burnt a day, just being lightly active, it states 1755 so that minus 500 calories a day to lose weight is: 1255 calories a day I am allowed! I believe that will be close to your number as well since we are the same height and close in weight.

    I am on a journey as well, it's tough for me to only eat 1200 calories a day, but I am just now training my self to eat more veggies and fruit. I have been training on weights for a good month now, and see a big difference in my body, it is a journey, and I want to be down 15 to 20 lbs by May. But the only way is 1200 to 1400 calories a day, 1400 on workout days. I have tried the 1500 to 1600 calories a day, with little success. Good luck to you, we are in the same boat!:flowerforyou:
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
    First thing I'd find out is where she got her certification from. Some states allow anyone to call themselves a Personal Trainer, even if they haven't even taken a single class for it... but there ARE some good certification agencies out there such as NASM and ACE.

    Second, realize that even if she was certified from reputable school, that doesn't mean she will recommend sound practice, many people just act on their opinion even if logically they know better.

    Third, if you feel what she is saying is unhealthy, get a different trainer.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
    She's a physical trainer, not a nutritionist or an M.D.

    They go hand in hand you cannot be a PT without all round knowledge of what it takes to be healthy and how to feed your body.