What to believe with intake.

nicholasdyoung
nicholasdyoung Posts: 15 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
Good afternoon to everyone.
My question is- What to believe when it comes to calorie intake?
I'm 6 feet 2 tall and 136kg/299 pounds. I work physically in construction and workout 5 times a week with a mixture of running and weights.
I eat less than 2000 calories a day and allow myself beer twice a week. 6 pints twice a week this is ontop of my food calories.
Now I have used many calculators but they recommend between 2800 and 3500 calories a day.
I'm training for a boxing bout so how many calories should I consume?
I want to get stronger, fitter and thinner.

Replies

  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
    I think you need to prioritise one of those goals- maybe to get thinner first, then focus on adding lean muscle when you are at your goal weight. MFP is great for guiding your calories but you'll need to add those 12 pints of beer calories to your daily/weekly calorie total. What does MFP give you as your daily calorie goal for maintenance or weight loss?
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Are you trying to lose weight? From your post I'm not sure...

    If you are trying to lose weight you need to take in less than you burn in a day.

    If you are just getting started, log everything that you normally eat, without making changes to your nutrition/food choices, accurately and honestly for a few weeks. Assess how many calories you are taking in - and if you are losing/maintaining or gaining weight. That is a surefire way to figure out how to change your calorie intake. Judge by current results.
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    Depends on your goals. But your own data over time is the number to use. How much are you losing over what period of time will tell you what your current deficit is and from there you can work out what your current maintenance is.

    Your alcohol consumption is pretty high though. 12 pints a week? That 2500 calories!
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    For me anyway, all the calculators come up with similar TDEE, not the 700kcal spread you cited. Are you sure you're comparing comparable figures? e.g. The calorie goal MFP calculates is TDEE minus intentional exercise , or NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis ), so you could expect that number to be lower than TDEE( total including everything ). The way MFP is set up, you eat more when you intentionally exercise more (on top of you active lifestyle).

    That said, all calculators are estimates. The most accurate answer is the one you observe when you track carefully for several weeks. (Total calories consumed plus weight change * 3500) divided by the duration in days will give you your actual, observed TDEE. Good luck in your bout!
  • nicholasdyoung
    nicholasdyoung Posts: 15 Member
    Thanks for the help. It's a difficult one I guess.
  • rhiawiz57
    rhiawiz57 Posts: 906 Member
    edited March 2017
    i suggest calorie cycling. for your size and activity level, i would guess under 2000 cal/day seems low, and your body will hold on to fat stores stubbornly. shaking it up a bit with your typical lower calorie day mixed in with some higher calorie days on the days you work out could just get the scale to budge. looks up topics like leangains, intermittent fasting, calorie cycling. best of luck.
  • fbchick51
    fbchick51 Posts: 240 Member
    Based on your age height and weight, your BMR is already at 2300. That's what your body needs before the job or workouts or anything else.

    At a minimum, I'd raise your calorie intake to at least that, though I think getting closer to 2500 would be the best place to start. Add in the boxing/wanting to get stronger, I would seriously look at adding as much protein as possible with those extra calories. At your size, you will want to avg about 200 grams of protein per day to minimize any muscle loss while trying to lose weight. Also.. make sure you track those beer calories. They do count!

  • Lpaige89
    Lpaige89 Posts: 22 Member
    you can use any TDEE calculator online, i used the one through bodybuilding.com, and they are at best an estimate. Once you have an idea of a ballpark number you can monitor your weight and make changes to you intake accordingly. If this still doesn't work you can always hire someone like a trainer, coach or nutritionist to give you a starting point
  • LessCookiess
    LessCookiess Posts: 538 Member
    As others mentioned it does depend are you asking what your activity level should be? Thus determining how many calories you should eat.
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