please review my fitness and nutrition plan

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Hey Guys,
I have been eating healthy and working out for some time now and it is time to really attack that stubborn belly fat.
I entered all my information to on this website and my food diary for today (sept 18) is pretty accurate. I drink about 8 cups of water a day. Drink alcohol 1-2 times a week.

As far as my workouts, I do a full body strength training 3 times a week for about 2 hours each session. I bench press 115-135 lbs 4-5 sets of 12 reps each, squats, pull-downs, wrist curls etc. I try to make it a pretty intense workout. I don't do cardio. Other than that my lifestyle is pretty sedentary except for the weekends when I do various activities but nothing sporty really.

My main goal is to loose that stubborn abdominal and chest fat. I do not want to grow my chest and really only shape and tone it. Since I don't enjoy cardio I figured if I build muscle that would help me burn that fat and boost my metabolism. However, I am plateauing at around 170lbs. I am 33 years old, 5'-7".

What calorie intake should aim for? This website suggest that if I want to loose 2lbs per week I should consume 1200 cals daily and 1663 cals. on a workout day.

Also, thanks to myfitnesspal I noticed that my diet is still deficient in Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, and Iron. Should I go ahead an use supplements or maybe it is a good idea to do a blood test? I really would like to keep my diet as simple, inexpensive, and easy as possible. I get few but high quality foods however.

Thanks!

Replies

  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    A blood test is a good idea. Look at your calculations again. You need to eat more.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    1200 is way too low for a male. Drop your deficit to .5-1 pound a week. Weigh and measure everything you eat/drink.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    1200 calories is completely inappropriate for you. 1200 calories is more for petite or older women. Definitely not for a 5'7 male in his 30's.

    2 lbs/week also sounds a bit aggressive for what you want. You should be looking at .5-1 lbs /week, realistically.

    Weigh all your food, measure your liquids. Log consistently.
  • mrxandmry
    mrxandmry Posts: 5 Member
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    Thank you for your responses. I have used MFP calculator for that. Changing the weekly weight loss to 1lbs/week gives me 1,590 cals/non-workout day and 2,093 cals/day on a strength training day (three times a week). The tool also sets my target cholesterol at 300 mg - but no matter what I try I always go over...
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Thank you for your responses. I have used MFP calculator for that. Changing the weekly weight loss to 1lbs/week gives me 1,590 cals/non-workout day and 2,093 cals/day on a strength training day (three times a week). The tool also sets my target cholesterol at 300 mg - but no matter what I try I always go over...

    You can ignore the MFP settings for cholesterol.