Worried about exercise/increased calories - fat burning?

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slay0r
slay0r Posts: 669 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Guys,

I'm having some trouble trying to figure out what I need exercise and calorie wise.

I start the day with 1290 as my diet when I lost 9 stone.

I burn 800 a day through 80+ mins of biking a day at a high intensity meaning my fitnesspal puts me up to about 2100 for the day.

Today I've eaten:

2 eggs on brown toast - 369 cals

Chicken salad with rice - 350-400 cals

Banana - 90 cals

And tonight I will eat a steak stirfry which rounds out to about 500 cals the way I make it.

This means I've only consumed 1359 going with the highest values, but I've almost burnt this. Do I need to eat more if I'm wanting to tone up and lose the fat around my stomach? I Want to get fit and look good and I'm worried I'm doing it wrong. Do I need to eat more or less? I keep getting told I need to burn more energy than I eat to burn fat, can someone explain that and how i'd do that?

Replies

  • Johnsweaver
    Johnsweaver Posts: 46 Member
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    What's your current height & weight?
    What's your desired weight?
    What's your current non-workout activity level? Desk job? Walkaround all day?

    My gut tells me you should be eating more.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    i would say you need to eat more. if you are trying to build muscle then you cant eat at a deficit.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    I'm more trying to get a flat stomach to be honest, I don't mean I'm trying to tone one area because I know it doesn't work like that.

    I'm 5ft 10 and I weigh 11 stone 12lb

    I've lost 9 stone in the last year so I don't really have a desired weight more of a what I want my body to look like, my legs are quite toned but my stomach has some fat left at the bottom of it. I'm 23 so the skin will go back I'm told (from seeing other people with similar losses around my age over time)

    I've got a desk job so I don't move around much barring the cycling.

    I guess from the above it's fat burning I Want to do?
  • sleepytexan
    sleepytexan Posts: 3,138 Member
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    Hello -- congrats on your success!

    Yes, now that you have lost a good amount of fat and begun building lean muscle, it is true that you must feed the muscle in order to build more.

    If you eat too few calories when you are in a healthy - athletic body fat range, your body will actually take the energy it needs to function by eating the MUSCLE first, (sadly, leaving you with more fat). Your metabolism will slow in order to compensate, and you will plateau and or gain, as well as lose stamina!

    Here is a great, straightforward explanation as to the way MFP calculates your deficit and how much you must eat:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/196502-for-the-people-who-work-out-like-crazy-and-are-not-losing?hl=for+people+who+work+out+like+crazy

    blessings.
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    Based upon your height and weight, you should be eating at minimum 1800 calories per day, since your BMR would be around 1750. Including non-exercise related activity, you burn approx. 2100 calories per day (so this is your maintenance level). To build lean body mass you should be eating 2200 to 2500 calories per day combines with heavy strength training. I would recommend this approach, given your physique. Yes, you will gain some fat too, but with increased muscle mass you will lose it quickly and will be much more pleased with your results rather than just continuing to focus on losing.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    I think I will try the eating more and I'll try and work out a bit more at night (very tired at the moment with the new cycling and I've got a new job so I'm not sleeping the best!)

    Is building muscle the way to go? I want that bit of stomach to go and I know I can't tone one place alone so is muscles the answer? I do want to get bigger arms and a more toned chest as well so I guess I could just work my upper body, I can't use my legs too much after all the cycling they hurt and I'm training for a triathlon so I need to run quite a bit as well which does my legs in as well!
  • End6ame
    End6ame Posts: 903
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    I think I will try the eating more and I'll try and work out a bit more at night (very tired at the moment with the new cycling and I've got a new job so I'm not sleeping the best!)

    Is building muscle the way to go? I want that bit of stomach to go and I know I can't tone one place alone so is muscles the answer? I do want to get bigger arms and a more toned chest as well so I guess I could just work my upper body, I can't use my legs too much after all the cycling they hurt and I'm training for a triathlon so I need to run quite a bit as well which does my legs in as well!

    Yes, in my opinion, strength training is the way to go, but you need to strengthen your whole body. Strengthening your legs will make your running and cycling easier and you will get faster.
  • Johnsweaver
    Johnsweaver Posts: 46 Member
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    Here's what I get:
    Your BMR = 1830
    With a sedentary desk job call your Harris Benedict multiplier 1.2
    Daily maintenance = 1830 x 1.2 = ~2200
    Cycling calories = 800 (is this every day?)
    So maintenance is now up to 3000.

    If you really want to give the losing the last bit of fat a shot, I'd try eating in the ~2500 to 2600 (or 1800 + exercise cals) calorie range for a month and see if you lose 2-3 lbs and if they're coming from where you want. It sounds like you're fairly lean already so I wouldn't run a huge deficit if I were you. You may just be a really hard loser at the specific spot you're targeting.

    If not, maybe you should bump the calories up and see if you can gain some muscle.

    At this point, I'd certainly say you need to eat more whatever you decide.
  • slay0r
    slay0r Posts: 669 Member
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    That's brilliant, thanks very much for that guys, very helpful. That's just made me realise I need to eat a bit more. I see what they mean now when they say burn off more than you eat. I didn't realise you included the BMR etc. I will factor that in now and try and eat more.

    I'm guessing a good way to go is things like chicken and rice with salad and pasta etc? That way I'm getting my lean protein and my carbs all at once with the goodness of the salad. I think I can do this pretty cheap as well with the offers in supermarkets etc. I think it will work out as a hell of a lot less than eating rubbish to get my cals up!

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