Minimum Calorie Intake

Dannyr1995
Dannyr1995 Posts: 2 Member
edited February 22 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi guys,

Wondered if any of you could offer some advise. I was told a while ago that the minimum I should really intake calorie wise is 1400, however I've recently come across different information. I'm male, 19, 6ft and around 15st 3lb.

What advise should I follow?

Thanks,

Danny

Replies

  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    Do you know your BMR? I'm willing to bet it's higher than 1400 - that's about what mine is and I'm a 46 year old woman. :tongue: So likely you should be eating more than that.

    Enter your info and goals accurately and realistically into MFP to get your daily goal (and by realistic I mean not set to lose 2lbs a week when you only have about 20 to lose)l. If you exercise, log it and eat at least a good portion of those burned calories back - your daily net cals should be at or near goal at the end of the day. This leaves you well-fueled for daily life and activities while still keeping you at a calorie deficit, and you'll lose weight.
  • aliakynes
    aliakynes Posts: 352 Member
    In the Minnesota starvation experiment, men ate 1537 calories so no, 1400 calories is not a minimum for men, especially not 6ft tall ones.

    Scooby says eat 2094 before exercise: http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
  • Dannyr1995
    Dannyr1995 Posts: 2 Member
    I've just broken up from University so I'm hitting the gym 3 times a week. Going to be mainly doing cardio as I want to drop from 15st to sub-14.

    I wasn't sure whether I qualify for more than lightly active since some days I may be doing nothing but hitting gym quite hard 3 times a week. It has returned a goal of 1830.

    It also says I should consume 94g of protein a day. Is that key to weight loss and should I make a point of drinking some protein shake or high protein food to reach that?
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
    Do not eat less than 1800 cal/day. You need to fuel your body for it to function properly. Also, if you can eat more and still drop weight, do it. You'll be better off down the road if you hit a plateau. The problem with under-eating is that your body reduces it's metabolism. It is trying to conserve energy because it is not getting enough. Trying to figure out which calorie level is right for you can be tricky. Good old trial and error is the best way. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    DONT JUST DO CARDIO.... you will regret it once you lose a couple of stone and half of it ends up being muscle that you lost...

    set MFP to lose 1lb per week, do your 3 days cardio, and add in a couple of days of strength/resistance training. eat back your exercise calories and as long as you're weighing and measuring everything you WILL lose weight.
  • LaneB89
    LaneB89 Posts: 93 Member
    Do not eat less than 1800 cal/day. You need to fuel your body for it to function properly. Also, if you can eat more and still drop weight, do it. You'll be better off down the road if you hit a plateau. The problem with under-eating is that your body reduces it's metabolism. It is trying to conserve energy because it is not getting enough. Trying to figure out which calorie level is right for you can be tricky. Good old trial and error is the best way. What I do and what I recommend to people is to eat at a calorie level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs/week. This assumes an average calorie burn from you getting in all of your workouts. This will be different for everyone, so you'll have to do some trial and error to figure it out. I'd start ~2200 cal/day. Hit this goal, along with your macros and getting in your workouts, for a week. If you lose 1-2 lbs, you're good to go. If you lose too much, increase your intake and repeat. If you don't lose enough, reduce your intake a bit and repeat. After a few weeks, you'll figure out what works for you in your situation.

    Allan

    I'm not a fan of catch-all "don't eat less than this". It can often conflict with your recommendation of eating at a level that allows you to drop 1-2 lbs per week. I am a 24 year old 5'11" male that weighs 183. I have been cutting for ~6-7 months. For the past month I ate 1600 calories a day and did lifting/cardio 4x a week and lost no weight. After such a long cut I had become just mentally stressed and obsessed with food, so I decided to take a 2 week break (which I'm in the middle of) and eat 2100 calories a day. According to calculators I should be losing a little less than a pound a week with that intake. Actual weight change? Slowly gaining. Not everyone fits neatly into the caloric requirements set forth by all of these TDEE calculators.
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