Trying to loosen vice grip on calorie intake. Help please.
kliffoth
Posts: 29
Hello, I apologize in advance for my wall of text. I'm a 5ft 11in 35 year old male who weighed 225lbs Feb 11th of last year. About 6 months ago I weighed 160ish, I currently hover between 140-144.
I do 45 minutes of step aerobics every day, planks 6 days a week, lunges 2 days a week, and pushups/simple dumbbell exercises 2 days a week. My heart rate monitor tells me I burn 500-700 calories a day working out depending on the day and how hard I push myself. At work I do fairly physical things for 3 hours solid and sedentary to moderate activity the rest of the day. I eat 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.
According to this site http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/[1] my TDEE is 2624 and my BMR is 1603. I eat 1850 calories six days a week and eat back all my calories (to a net of 0) once a week.
I have rather muscular legs and 'V' abs but rather scrawny arms and torso. I am not interested in becoming built but I realise I should be putting on a bit more upper body muscle for what exercises I do, I figure I'm eating too little for what's good for me.
Frankly I'm paranoid that if I increase my caloric intake more I'm going to get fat again. You can see the outline of my skull and the bones in my hands/lower arms. I am rigid about eating 1850 fixed cals a day (before it was 1700) and have only recently been allowing myself a day to eat to a net of zero. For a few months I'd get to a point where I would binge on sweets hardcore for 1-2 days a week, gain 3-5lbs, then lose it again only to repeat a week or so later. I've broken myself of that.
How much SHOULD I be eating considering my stats and exercise? I'm trying to loosen this stranglehold I have on my intake but, frankly, I'm frightened. I know it's not healthy but I don't know a healthy target to shoot for. My weight has been hovering between 140-144 even though I eat at a 900-1100 calorie deficit 6 days a week, though I have been putting on muscle steadily on my legs and my abs have become tighter.
Any advice would be greatly welcome.
I do 45 minutes of step aerobics every day, planks 6 days a week, lunges 2 days a week, and pushups/simple dumbbell exercises 2 days a week. My heart rate monitor tells me I burn 500-700 calories a day working out depending on the day and how hard I push myself. At work I do fairly physical things for 3 hours solid and sedentary to moderate activity the rest of the day. I eat 30% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fat.
According to this site http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/[1] my TDEE is 2624 and my BMR is 1603. I eat 1850 calories six days a week and eat back all my calories (to a net of 0) once a week.
I have rather muscular legs and 'V' abs but rather scrawny arms and torso. I am not interested in becoming built but I realise I should be putting on a bit more upper body muscle for what exercises I do, I figure I'm eating too little for what's good for me.
Frankly I'm paranoid that if I increase my caloric intake more I'm going to get fat again. You can see the outline of my skull and the bones in my hands/lower arms. I am rigid about eating 1850 fixed cals a day (before it was 1700) and have only recently been allowing myself a day to eat to a net of zero. For a few months I'd get to a point where I would binge on sweets hardcore for 1-2 days a week, gain 3-5lbs, then lose it again only to repeat a week or so later. I've broken myself of that.
How much SHOULD I be eating considering my stats and exercise? I'm trying to loosen this stranglehold I have on my intake but, frankly, I'm frightened. I know it's not healthy but I don't know a healthy target to shoot for. My weight has been hovering between 140-144 even though I eat at a 900-1100 calorie deficit 6 days a week, though I have been putting on muscle steadily on my legs and my abs have become tighter.
Any advice would be greatly welcome.
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Replies
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I doubt you are building any muscle eating so little. You probably need to eat double what you are, 144 lb for your height is very underweight.0
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You definitely are underweight and could afford to eat in a surplus and lift heavy to build muscle without being worried about becoming fat IMHO.
I hope some of the gentlemen who lift and already have muscle chime in to give you more accurate advice. But you need to eat more and gain more weight in my opinion. You're a male and 5'11...you should weigh more than 140-144. No offense.0 -
I'm 5ft5 and 136lbs and I maintain on around 2200 cals... And I only burn about 200 cals 5x a week...
Look into a heavy lifting programme and work your way up to maintenance and then add about 10%... 160 sounds like a more reasonable weight for your height.
Add 100 cals a day to your food so it's not a massive jump all at once.0 -
Dude, time to start bulking.
Do heavy lifts with the barbell, 3 times a week, while eating at least 3000 calories.
The first 20 lbs you put on, 15 of it will be muscle, and you'll love it.
This is the jungle. Being big brings benefits.
When you do gain a little bit of fat, you can lose it a couple weeks. You already know how to do that.
Build some.0 -
Thanks for the advice so far guys. Like I said I'm not even worried about becoming much more muscular, I just see my lack of muscle gain as a sign of unhealthiness. My abs down look great and well muscled (I HAVE been doing steps 99% of days for about 8 months for 45 minutes a day and planks 6 times a week, my legs look really nice) but my arms and hands are rather skeletal and you can see my ribs from the back. I like being lean and like my current weight (I went down to 135 at one point and didn't like it, bones in my butt made it uncomfortable to sit!) my size 30/30 pants are loose on me, I keep telling myself 'as long as I can fit in them, I'm cool'.
The scale is my nemesis. I know it 'lies'. For instance I usually eat only 1300mg or less of sodium a day, Friday I had spicy chicken chinese takeout, lots of salty sauce with some soy sauce on rice. This was the day I ate up to my net of 0 for the week. I got water bloated, of course, and weighed myself on Monday as I always do. 'Gained' 3.5 lbs for the week. MFP said I was 6500cals under maintenance for last week (I weigh and log all my food and use a heart rate monitor to log my calories burned while exercising). I see the 'gain', my brain says "dude it's water weight, there is NO WAY you ate 13000 calories over your maintenance last week! it's salt and MSG, chill". My emotions go "YOU'RE MESSING UP! YOU EXERCISE YOUR BUTT OFF AND STILL ARE MESSING UP! YOU'RE GONNA GET FAT AGAIN!" I'm tired of this, I know it's in my head. I keep saying to myself 'Keep eating at a 900+ deficit to make sure you've still 'got it' and won't get fat again. I hover at 140-144. I 'should' be losing more weight for what I'm doing but I think I'm just building muscle while cannibalising it for energy, causing the hover. UGH. Tired of this mess.
I don't get sleepy during the day but I'm always one snack away from that 'starving' feeling. I can do the math and say 'yes, you can eat quite a bit more and still be under maintenance' but then I think 'well why aren't you losing weight faster then?'. My libido is almost nonexistent, when I was fat it was very much there.
Ugh. It's seems the solution is to eat more (duh). Increase my cals to 2200 or so? Probably more but that'd be a start. But DAMN is it hard to. The scale makes me paranoid even when the 'math' doesn't check out. Getting this out on the forum is making me feel a bit better. Thanks guys. More feedback is appreciated.0 -
I personally think you are bordering on disordered eating/mental food issues. The way you describe what is happening is very unhealthy. You are underweight at this point, your body is trying to hold on to anything it gets. You're too focused and hung up on specifics, and I think you're also over exercising for how much you're (not) eating. Let me tell you this is no way to live and you're gonna drive yourself crazy.
I'd personally focus less on cardio (step mill for a guy? Unnecessary) and start lifting some weights. Not only will you feel better, you'll look better. You said it yourself in your title, you need to loosen the grip on calorie control. Try not logging for a week or two, lit will be liberating. Also, stay away from that scale!!! You said it yourself, you're hungry, so eat more!0 -
You need to fuel your body, and you are kit doing a good job of it. It sounds like you have some body issues. You basically weigh what a 5'5" woman should weigh not a taller male. Is that the look you want?0
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I don't think I can give better advice that what everyone else said - but I just wanted to say that it sounds like you have an eating disorder. Please look into getting some help - you are not eating enough, and you are overexercising. You came here looking for help, but with all of the great advice you've been given, you don't seem interested in taking any of it.0
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I know how you feel. I do a ton of cardio, and lift 6 days a week. I eat like 3300+ calories a day to net 2000-2200. The weight lifting is just to keep the muscle I have though while I lose fat.
It sounds to me that you've completely your weight loss and now it's time to "bulk" If you're worried about gaining too much weight then you should increase your calorie intake by maybe 20-25%, and also increase your protein intake, maybe just add a couple of protein shakes a day. Go to the gym and start lifting heavy. Get a personal trainer if you need to learn how to do the exercises correctly.
Anyway, if you do end up over eating and putting on more fat that's no big deal. You already know how to lose the weight.0 -
"You came here looking for help, but with all of the great advice you've been given, you don't seem interested in taking any of it."
I have been getting great advice, and I am interested in taking some of it. I just posted not long ago!
Eating disorder? Probably. I've always hated the way I look (though I'm not ugly, even I can admit that), I had an....interesting... childhood. I have been making slow progress on that though. Like I said, I used to eat 1700 a day until I would lie awake at night SALIVATING over the thought of eating sweets, I'd DREAM about eating sweets, then binge on sweets for two days. We're talking 10000+ calories a day, gain a few pounds, hate myself, but feel good for having energy for half a week, lose the weight in a week, then do it again a couple of weeks later. I've just recently broken myself of this. It is progress.
You all are right, of course, I'm eating too little, even though I don't go to bed anymore feeling like I'm starving I should still have more energy throughout the day.
I will increase my intake from 1850 to 2200 while still doing my steps, I think. I love the exercise in the morning and it gets me going. I will give it a couple of weeks and see how I'm feeling. I will avoid the scale during this time, screw that little WiiFit board! After this I will see about increasing my calorie intake even more.
I'd like to put more emphasis on upper body strength training but all I have is a 20 and a 25lb dumbbell. Weight benches and barbells are so expensive and I really don't feel comfortable exercising at a gym around strangers. I do triangle push-ups every couple of days and arm exercises with the dumbbells, I was getting stronger doing so while still having fat on me, I have plateaued for obvious reasons.
A couple of questions:
Does anyone know of a good upper body strength regimen I can do without weights? Again I'm not looking to get 'built' but would like to increase my strength a bit.
Is 30% protein 30% fat 40% carbs a good macro spread?
You guys are really helping, thank you!0 -
Someone your size, weight, age, has a BMR of 1684
Spending 45min on the stairs will burn you around 490cals
So now we are at 2174 cals per day...and all we have covers is keeping you body alive and spending 45 minutes on the stair machine.
If you are working out every single day, and living a normal life, your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is likely closer to 2700.
I am 5'9", 190lbs, and burn on average just under 3000 cals per day walking over 5miles each day, doing a short little workout each morning (5 minutes running, 25 pushups & crunches, and a 13min stretching video), and hitting the gym 2 times a week to lift heavy (for me).0 -
It definitely sounds like you have some disordered eating patterns and a great deal of anxiety around weight/food/exercise. It's great that you're recognizing that it's an issue and are taking steps to go in a different direction. If it gets worse or if trying to increase your calories starts to trigger you to restrict, please think about seeing someone. Unless you have a bunch of other symptoms, you probably don't have an actual ED and wouldn't need treatment, but having some short-term help might make it easier. (Totally my personal opinion -- I'm not internet diagnosing you ).
As you start increasing your calories, the scale will almost certainly do some weird things. You'll see some added weight from water retention/glycogen replenishment, and you'll probably see fluctuations of a couple of pounds at a time. This is NOT fat. You're not going to get fat overnight, even though we're all afraid of that when we up our calories.
If you can stand it, don't weigh in until you've been at your new goal for a few weeks. Put the scale away if you're tempted to weigh yourself. In that time, take measurements or pictures and don't just rely on your eyes! You know you're taking in more calories, so there's the chance that your brain will "see" fat because it wants to. The tape measure won't lie to you. Even while the scale is going up/down, the tape measure will tell you whether or not you actually take up more space. In the end, the scale number really doesn't matter.
Focus on any other benefit of upping your calories. Even the littlest things, like having more energy at the end of the day, will make it easier for you to keep eating.0 -
I'm 34, 5'11.6" and 173.4lb at the moment.
I have got a biggish frame (at least big chest) - when I hit 170 I'm going to start upping calories by 250 extra caloires a day each week for five weeks or so - it may need to be six to get to a surplus for .5lb/week gain.
If I average 1900 calories a day then the Libra app shows 2.5lb/week loss which is 1250 calories a day (I do 2400 on weights days, then 1400 on rest + all extra from cardio eaten back - some days are 3000-4000!)
I would well recommend the Libra app for tracking weight as it gives you averages in weight and calories. Up your calories, keep an eye on the trend in libra and keep upping them until you are where you want to be. Keep logging with it to fine tune as you go along.0 -
What everyone else has said. But to address your question of any routines to build your upper body, if you can't get to a gym, look into some body resistance training - www.nerdfitness.com has some great ones, or check out Mark Lauren's You Are Your Own Gym. Do press-ups and triceps dips. Get something heavy (a 5l water bottle, or gallon jug depending on your country of origin) and do rows with that.0
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"You came here looking for help, but with all of the great advice you've been given, you don't seem interested in taking any of it."
I have been getting great advice, and I am interested in taking some of it. I just posted not long ago!
Eating disorder? Probably. I've always hated the way I look (though I'm not ugly, even I can admit that), I had an....interesting... childhood. I have been making slow progress on that though. Like I said, I used to eat 1700 a day until I would lie awake at night SALIVATING over the thought of eating sweets, I'd DREAM about eating sweets, then binge on sweets for two days. We're talking 10000+ calories a day, gain a few pounds, hate myself, but feel good for having energy for half a week, lose the weight in a week, then do it again a couple of weeks later. I've just recently broken myself of this. It is progress.
You all are right, of course, I'm eating too little, even though I don't go to bed anymore feeling like I'm starving I should still have more energy throughout the day.
I will increase my intake from 1850 to 2200 while still doing my steps, I think. I love the exercise in the morning and it gets me going. I will give it a couple of weeks and see how I'm feeling. I will avoid the scale during this time, screw that little WiiFit board! After this I will see about increasing my calorie intake even more.
I'd like to put more emphasis on upper body strength training but all I have is a 20 and a 25lb dumbbell. Weight benches and barbells are so expensive and I really don't feel comfortable exercising at a gym around strangers. I do triangle push-ups every couple of days and arm exercises with the dumbbells, I was getting stronger doing so while still having fat on me, I have plateaued for obvious reasons.
A couple of questions:
Does anyone know of a good upper body strength regimen I can do without weights? Again I'm not looking to get 'built' but would like to increase my strength a bit.
Is 30% protein 30% fat 40% carbs a good macro spread?
You guys are really helping, thank you!
Weights do not have to be expensive. I got a bar, plus 65lb of plates for $20 at a garage sale. Try Craigslist.0 -
Get something heavy (a 5l water bottle, or gallon jug depending on your country of origin) and do rows with that.
A quart of water is 2.09lbs.
A gallon of water is 8.35lbs.
A liter of water is 1kg (2.2lbs)
5 liters of water is 5kg (11lbs)
I get that 8-11lbs might be heavy for some people... But if you are aiming to add muscle, find a weight you struggle to use 12 times, rest 60 seconds, and do it again, rest, and again. When you can do 3 sets of 12 reps, up the weight 5lbs.
If your main goal is adding strength, find a weight you struggle to lift 5 times, now do that 5 times with a rest between each set. When you can do 5 sets of 5, up the weight 5lbs.0 -
yea I am a 5'10" female and I once weighed about 137 - I was disgustingly thin....and you probably look as thin or more thin than I did because you are both taller, and a male. You need to eat eat eat eat - you wont gain any muscle if you dont eat.0
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PS I think its time to see a psychologist.0
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Find a body weight exercise regiment if you don't want weights or a gym. Google "scooby pushups"0
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Upping my cals to 2200, starting today. Will probably up again in a week. Going to clear space in spare bedroom and look into some strength building upper body exercises and possibly a weight bench. Not going to weigh myself for awhile. I'm really going to enjoy being able to eat more.
Thanks for the recs on the exercises. Going to look into those scooby pushups.
Question: Will a weight bench with an adjustable dumbbell set do
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BH283O/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FRRQPDO80X7G&coliid=I35JWAGUHBJWZ5)
and
(http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ARYU58/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FRRQPDO80X7G&coliid=I3VYZEZ7HIZF6S)
or is a barbell strongly recommended? I have money, but not a ton of money to spend.0 -
...or would something like this:
http://www.****ssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10793623
and
http://www.****ssportinggoods.com/product/index.jsp?productId=22455776
be better?0 -
The first thing I would do is throw the scales in the bin and instead visit your local gp once a fortnight and use the scales there, that way you are not focusing on those numbers.
Then I would add calories slowly, 100 at first for a week or so, weigh in, see what's happening, increase again by another 100 and repeat.
Increase heavy lifting to build upper body strength.
Focus on a weight range rather than a set number. Your numbers on the scales will fluctuate from day to day.
Don't worry about getting fat again! You have proven to yourself that you can lose weight so just give yourself a break and just play around with your calorie intake until you find something you are comfortable with.0 -
Well my scale is a Wii Fit board so it'd be silly to trash it... The good thing about it though is I have to turn on the tv, wii, boot up the program so it's not like it's in the bathroom where I'm tempted to step on it every time I pee.
As far as going to the GP every two weeks.... I live in America and I'm not rich. :laugh:
Definitely up for some heavy lifting though. Think I'm going to get a barbell set, LOVED barbells in strength training in highschool.0 -
I haven't read the other posts, so I'm sorry if this is redundant; if you are eating at a deficit of your maintenance calories, you will never be putting on muscle. The reason you can see your abs now is because your body has eaten away all of the fat that was covering them, not because you have built them bigger. If you've ever seen a body builder during the "bulk" phase they look very pillowy and squishy, they don't have defined muscles like what you see on the stage until they reach their "cut down" phase. You can't cut-down all the time, it's not sustainable and your body will be eating away at your muscles and bones at this stage because you have no fat left. That wreaks havoc on your metabolism!
In saying that, in my admittedly unqualified opinion, you absolutely have crossed the line from weight loss into disordered eating. This terror and paranoia you are feeling is not healthy for your mind and you already know it's not healthy for your body. I think the best thing for you would be to talk to a psychologist who specializes in disordered eating to help give you the tools you need for food and exercise to be a *part* of a full life rather than the only thing filling your life.0 -
I'd go with a barbell.
Ideally Olympic if you've got the cash, but I wouldn't stress it.
Ideally go second hand, as you'll get more for your buck.
I got a standard size barbell with 82kg of weight for £32. And that actually included 50kg of them being Olympic weights, so very good deal (I later sold said Olympic weights on for £50)
You should be able to get a bench from about $20.
I made my own 'powercage' out of spare wood I had lying around - one pack of screws for about £2. However, I've also bought a rack with safety bars to use on my travels that's rated for 250kg for £75 - ones that go up to 150kg are cheaper, or use some builder's tressles and the like. 0 -
Yeah.... there's no room in my apartment for a weight rack so I may have to make due with a set of adjustable dumbbells and a nice bench. They should work well for me and my wife can use them too. Not looking to get superbuff so they should suit my needs fine.
Really excited about this. Thanks for your input so far guys.0 -
My trainer has me increasing my calories in order to increase my energy levels to support my muscle development goals. It IS a mental challenge to learn to eat more when eating less has been the goal for so long. You have to trust that it will work though and just continue to make adjustments along the way.0
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I have a weight bench, set of adjustable dumbbells w/stand, physioball, and plans for upper/lower body workouts coming friday.
You guys have been a big help.
Does anyone know of a good site where I can learn what macros I should be shooting for while bulking/cutting? Thanks in advance.0 -
I have a weight bench, set of adjustable dumbbells w/stand, physioball, and plans for upper/lower body workouts coming friday.
You guys have been a big help.
Does anyone know of a good site where I can learn what macros I should be shooting for while bulking/cutting? Thanks in advance.
Read this for macros:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
Set your protein a bit higher since you're trying to put on muscle.0 -
When bulking you would typically set protein LOWER than cutting, not higher.
Your body won't be trying to use protein in place of carbs for energy, so you don't need quite as much because what you have can go straight to the muscle, as such.0
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