A question for heavier men about calorie intake-from a lovin

I do know, he should probably be eating two servings! I am not a man, but he should eat 2000 calories probably and then eat back the calories he exercised.

Edited to add that if he eats to little, the body will start eating away at his muscle calories and therefore cannot burn any fat because his muscles are diminishing.

I weighed 303 in August of 2009 and am down to 253 and most of that has been in the last 6 months while on the diet below.

Personally for me, cutting way down on my carbs has helped, I try to eat around 2,000 calories most days regardless of working out or not. Ideally my diet is:

- lean meats - nothing fried
- raw or steamed vegetables
- plenty of fruit
- minimal bread - only 100% whole grains
- lots of water
- stay away from ranch dressing
- and make sure you have a cheat day from time to time

1st off - good for you guys trying to do it without surgery. Kind of depressing to hear the doctor suggested that instead of what you're doing (eating right and exercise). I wasn't quite that big, but I'm 5'8" and started my journey ~235-240.

I started ~1600 calories a day (trying to eat whole grains and lean protein as often as possible), and making sure I ate at LEAST 3 meals a day. Having fruits (like bananas) for a snack helped. My workouts were only ~300 calories burned when I started (no endurance), and I usually ate some but not all of them back. I would really suggest he focus more on cardio more than strength training. Lifting and other things are great (and by no means stop them completely!), but there is no substitute for cardio - and at the beginning of your (or his) weight journey, that may be the best thing.

Hope this helps.

**EDIT - a doctor could be male/female, i took out "he" - sorry!

Watch the movie Fat Head (available on Netflix and Hulu) and his life could change dramatically. I can't tell you how many people go on the movie maker's website who were just like your husband who have finally been able to lose weight. I am a mechanical engineer and not taken in by diet bs easily, but even if I am an idiot, the worst thing that could happen from you watching the movie is losing a couple hours of your time. I implore you, for your husbands sake, to watch it.

Well, he definitely needs to be eating more than 1200 calories per day. My husband is of similar stats and we try to keep him at 1800 net. Good luck on your journey.

well i can tell you from my experience i worked out at gym hard 5-6 days a week and could not drop wt even though i would literally be drenched with sweat and other gym members would comment to me how hard i was working some was change over to muscle but i could not drop wt,frustrated and after knee surgery my wife and i have started biggest loser program i am in my 11 week on the 12 week program and am down 30 lbs or so I am 5'9" started at 267 feel good i don't know if the program changed me or learning to eat at least 1600-1700 cals daily,thought I would throw out there find something you both enjoy it will happen
good luck
pat

I am 5'11 and 234. My Caloric intake without working out is in the range of 2300... I'm considered active. That still allows me to lose 1.5 lbs per week.

Check his diet for carbs, fats and sodium and also make sure he is drinking more that 8 cups of water a day.

If he wants, he can Friend me and I'll look at his Diary and see what I can suggest.

A reply from my husband: I read all the replies to your question, and the most important thing to tell your husband is that everyone is different and he needs to find what is right for his body! Some of what people wrote here is right for them, but they try to generalize it to every man, which is not appropriate. This web site does not even do that! For instance, when everyone submits their information to set up their profile, the site asks for their age, gender, weight, height, activity level, and weight loss goal. This is what is used to determine the Calorie limit, not gender alone. When I first signed up, my Calorie limit was 1480 per day (at Sedentary). After losing 12 pounds in 2 weeks, the web site suggested updating my profile, which I did, and changed my activity level to Lightly Active. Now my Calorie limit is 1570. During the first part of my weight loss journey, I tried to keep my Calories between 1200 and 1450 per day. Now I am exercising more (because I can handle more cardio with an increasing fitness level), so I am keeping my Calories between 1280 and 1530. So far I have lost 21.4 pounds and 10.5 inches in 4 weeks. For food, I am relying on food choices recommended by a dietician I saw several years ago who gave me the guidelines for a diabetic/hypoglycemic diet. I also track everything I eat. Some tips: Salad Dressing is a killer - I just have it served on the side, dip my fork tips in it for each bite, and the Calories are miniscule (usually 2 or less per meal). Desserts - I only have a bite, or a very small serving, or have an alternative, such as a cup of coffee with Equal and 2 creamers (total=60 Calories). Also, I am working with a trainer right now who has been helping to guide me with suggestions for appropriate exercises that can help me reach my goals. Hope this helps some. Good luck!

More on my comments (I am the husband who commented above) - Also try to gradually add fiber to your diet. Most diet plans greatly underestimate the appropriate amount of fiber that the normal person should eat. My doctors have told me to aim for 40 grams of fiber per day (which I seldom hit, but I get close). I use cold-milled flax seed added to yogurt or high fiber cereal, and eat a lot of vegetables. Also, I drink between 25 and 30 cups of water every day. As far as vitamins, I take a multi-vitamin specifically for my age with Selenium, a calcium citrate supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Fish Oil Supplement, and Milk Thistle. I try to eat a very good breakfast, with less for lunch and a moderate dinner, approximately 50%-20%-30% split. Again, however, everyone is different, and it would be a good idea for your husband to speak to a registered dietician to go over meal planning and supplementation, especially if he has health issues.


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I`m 6'3, weigh about 265 now, I exercise 4-5 times a week and eat 2200-2400 calories per day.

That results in 1-2 lbs loss per week.

If I only eat 1800 cals in a day or have lower calories for a couple days, I find it very hard to get through a work out session.

I eat often, 5 or 6 times a day and break my calories down like this:

Breakfast: 500 cal
snack: 300 cals (granola bar + 1 fruit)
lunch: 500 cal
snack: 300 cal (crakers and cheese)
supper: 500 cal
snack: 300 cal (protein shake after my workout)

Tell him dont sweat it, we all loose weight at different paces. I'm at 1820 a day, and I try to stay there no matter what exercise I do. Is he eating back the amount of calories that he worked off? He may want to lower his in or eat different type of foods. Does he lift weights too? You burn more calories with weights. Does he snack or sneak junk food and not log it? Its easy to revert back to old habits if you think that eating it here and there and not note it. I'm sure you're not together 24/7

I'm 5'11" and when I started MFP I weighed in at 250lbs. I think my caloric intake then was around 1600 calories. I work a desk job and didn't figure I'd exercise much. When I filled out my profile, I picked Sedentary lifestyle with 3 - 30 minute exercise sessions a week. As long as I stuck to the calories (or try to end each day with around 100 calories left) I lost weight. The only time I did any exercise was to work calories back off from eating too much at any particular meal. This worked for me for the first 35 pounds, losing around 2-4 pounds a week. Then I hit the proverbial wall and didn't lose anything for three weeks. The only way I got the scale to budge again was to start walking during my morning and afternoon breaks at work. I can get a mile in during my 20 minute break. Since then, the weight has started coming off again. I think now my caloric intake is right around 1350 and my current weight is 206. Not sure any of this information helps but it sounds like we both started from roughly the same place just took different paths.

I'm 5'-10". I started MFP 6 weeks ago at 260lbs, I'm at 235 now.

I work approx 75% office / 25% outdoors. When I filled out my profile, I picked Sedentary lifestyle with 4 - 30 minute exercise sessions a week. I recently revised it to 5 - 40 minute sessions.

My calorie intake is 1540 / day, and I rarely eat that much, and have never ate my banked calories.

On average I consume 200 cal breakfast, 300-400 for lunch & 400-500 for dinner, with a mid afternoon snack of usually 100 calories.

My excercise consists of walking & jogging, and I recently seriously started the C25K program.

My weekly loss has ranged from 1.5lbs to 7 lbs, with no difference in my daily routine.

Tell him to hang in there!