"Daily calories based on activity level."

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1973426
1973426 Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi there,

I am a 5.9 feet tall male and weigh 176 pounds. Currently, I am consuming 1900 calories with a macronutrient ratio of 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat. I am following Dr. Jim Stoppani's "Shortcut to Shred" training program, along with a 30-minute treadmill warm-up. However, I am not following the micro cycle and cardio acceleration. Instead, I focus on high reps with moderate weight.

I recently switched from the "Shortcut to Size" program to "Shortcut to Shred," and I've noticed a lack of energy. I'm unsure about which activity level to select when calculating my calorie intake. I work from home managing my business. The program I follow includes 1 hour and 30 minutes of cardio 6 days per week. Should I choose light active, active, or very active?

Thanks in advance.
Seyoum

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  • 1973426
    1973426 Posts: 9 Member
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    Thank you so much; I will give that a try
  • tomcustombuilder
    tomcustombuilder Posts: 1,845 Member
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    That’s a lot of cardio. If that much cardio causes you to have to eat more you’re being counter productive. You’d probably be better off with less cardio and a training program that isn’t so high rep oriented.

    Stoppani and these guys design these programs for YouTube hits and are not always the best way to go so you need to be careful especially as a non steroid trainee as some of these programs can cause a lot of muscle loss with quick Fatloss and high rep training.

    That program I believe has you doing cardio between sets which I would highly question. It doesn’t hurt to do these programs, just be cognizant of how it’s affecting you.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,925 Member
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    Are you trying to lose weight?

    1900 Cal if correctly measured is a weight loss goal for a 5ft 9" male

    MFP expect you to enter exercise separately and eat back your exercise calories.

    1.5 hours of exercise bundled into a day and not accounted for separately would put you in the 1.6 to 1.8 activity factor range (depending on the rest of your day)

    MFP uses 1.6 for active and 1.8 for very active
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,925 Member
    edited March 31 Answer ✓
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    why would MFP use gross calories since that's already included in the given calorie goal?

    A very good question that I assume had to do with extra work required to implement

    Experiment.

    Add an hour's run or brisk walk to a sedentary MFP profile. Remember that the profile includes 1.25x BMR for that hour. Observe the, say, 300 extra calories added for the added exercise.

    Repeat with a very active profile. Observe the same calories added while keeping in mind that 1.8x BMR was included in that hour.

    So the very active person got 0.55x BMR less extra calories for the specific exercise. Which indicates that the number is not "net"

    Also a few values whose wording I could correlate aligned quite well with the compendium of physical activity gross MET numbers when I had looked.

    That was my observation circa 2015🤣 But things do change as the years go by!🤷‍♂️

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  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,104 Member
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    It depends....on many factors...

    Have a read through this, it may help: https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals


    Then - you'll have to run the same experiment all of us do: Try a number, see how you do, if you have enough energy and if you can stick to it AND if your weight does what you expect given the numbers. I'd say 1900 is pretty low for a man with your stats. I'd say 2500 would be more like it - plus maybe a bit more on intense exercise days.

    If you're feeling tired or depleted, eat more.
  • 1973426
    1973426 Posts: 9 Member
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    I simply warm up with a 30-minute treadmill walk and only perform the strength training with a moderate weight. I skip the cardio acceleration program. In any case, I'll check it out this week, up the calorie count a little, and gauge my energy.

    Thanks
  • 1973426
    1973426 Posts: 9 Member
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Are you trying to lose weight?

    1900 Cal if correctly measured is a weight loss goal for a 5ft 9" male

    MFP expect you to enter exercise separately and eat back your exercise calories.

    1.5 hours of exercise bundled into a day and not accounted for separately would put you in the 1.6 to 1.8 activity factor range (depending on the rest of your day)

    MFP uses 1.6 for active and 1.8 for very active



    I used to get advice from my personal trainer not to eat the calories I had burned off.

    Despite my desire to shed some body fat, I am content with my current weight. If I can manage to take in the calories I burned off, I will most certainly feel more energized again.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited March 31
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    1973426 wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Are you trying to lose weight?

    1900 Cal if correctly measured is a weight loss goal for a 5ft 9" male

    MFP expect you to enter exercise separately and eat back your exercise calories.

    1.5 hours of exercise bundled into a day and not accounted for separately would put you in the 1.6 to 1.8 activity factor range (depending on the rest of your day)

    MFP uses 1.6 for active and 1.8 for very active

    I used to get advice from my personal trainer not to eat the calories I had burned off.

    Despite my desire to shed some body fat, I am content with my current weight. If I can manage to take in the calories I burned off, I will most certainly feel more energized again.

    Yes, do up your calories. If you get the calories from the MFP exercise database you will be getting NET calories, which is what you want. Other places give you GROSS calories, which are already included in the calculation so you'd be double dipping to eat those as well.

    Your trainer was probably using the TDEE method to get calories. However, MFP uses NEAT.

    Unlike other sites which use TDEE calculators, MFP uses the NEAT method (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis), and as such this system is designed for exercise calories to be eaten back. However, many consider the burns given by MFP to be inflated for them and only eat a percentage, such as 50%, back. Others are able to lose weight while eating 100% of their exercise calories.

    https://support.myfitnesspal.com/hc/en-us/articles/360032625391-How-does-MyFitnessPal-calculate-my-initial-goals-
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,925 Member
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    @kshama2001 has something changed with MFP exercises?

    You mention MFP database showing NET cals. They used to display as gross calories.

    Not only that but since the base activity level is at least 1.25, it wasn't just 1x RMR that had to be subtracted for actual NET Cal but 1.25x. thus making longer duration lower MET exercise more egregiously overestimated
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,996 Member
    edited March 31
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    PAV8888 wrote: »
    @kshama2001 has something changed with MFP exercises?

    You mention MFP database showing NET cals. They used to display as gross calories.

    Not only that but since the base activity level is at least 1.25, it wasn't just 1x RMR that had to be subtracted for actual NET Cal but 1.25x. thus making longer duration lower MET exercise more egregiously overestimated

    @PAV8888 Hmm, since the calories from MFP database are so much lower than MapMyFitness and other places, I assumed the difference was because MFP was using net and the others gross. Also, why would MFP use gross calories since that's already included in the given calorie goal?

    I can't find anything definitive and have been procrastinating a project so will not be able to resolve this satisfactorily at this time.

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