A question about calorie intake/expenditure.

[burnin_vernon]

I'm trying to lose 15-20 lbs and figure that will take about 2 months if I stick to it. I don't need to gain a lot of muscle but I don't want to lose any either.

I'm using fitday.com to log my food and activities, and I'm wondering how much I should be eating.

I walk about 3 hours each day at work, carrying 20-40lbs up a lot of hills and stairs. I then biked to and from the gym, which is only about 8km total. I did about 20 minutes of weights and 2 miles on the treadmill in 20 minutes. Fitday says I burned 1700 calories without doing any of those activities and an another 2000 with them.

So far I've eaten 2400 calories or so and that was a lot for me. That leaves me with a defecit of around 1300 calories.

Do I really have to eat more? Is fitday accurate with it's caloric expenditure ratings? Would a person burn 1700 calories just sitting around for 13 hours or 400 in 6 hours of sleep? Does my job really count as normal calories burned when I am so used to it and it's not overly difficult to me anymore?

I may be too anal about all this, but I like tracking stats and the precision of it seems as though it should leave less room for error/failure.

[tenyardrambo]

I lost 50 lbs just by changing my eating habits while I burned and gained muscle at work. It happened in 2 months.

[DownhillGoat]

I generally don't count anything at work as a caloric expenditure. I just consider them a bonus. Eating 2400 calories and still being 1300 deficient sounds off...

- - - edit - - -
Maybe not. I realized that I have my tracker goals set up +/- target calories, not total.

[SHOGUN]

http://www.calorieking.com/interacti...es-calculator/

Use this to find out your calorie maintenance (the amount of calories to maintain your current weight at rest), then subtract 10-20% of that to find how much you need to eat in order to lose weight. Generally it's more efficient to weight at a slow, consistent rate since you retain your lean body mass, and prevents you from going hungry easily. I said this bunch of times on these forums that you exercise isn't a requirement to lose weight but obviously helps.

[skudr248]

If your trying to lose weight/gain muscle, 80% of it will come from your eating habits, eat smart, at right times, for example start of with a mod/high intake of protein/ low carb/ high fat intakes day 1-3, day 4 would be your re feed with high carb and frequent feedings then repeat the cycle, Try to eliminate breads, fluor, grain and vegetable oils instead cook with animal fats or coconut oils and eat more animal protein (chicken/beef/fish etc). Try doing this for 2 months with your current routine and you will lose that 15-20 pounds

[TheSutterDynasty]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

Do I really have to eat more?

You tell us. Does it feel sustainable?

3500 calories = 1 lb. For every 3500 you're deficient, you lose 1 pound.

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

Is fitday accurate with it's caloric expenditure ratings? Would a person burn 1700 calories just sitting around for 13 hours or 400 in 6 hours of sleep?

Resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the amount of calories you burn sedentary.

I like the Harris-Benedict. Calories burned in a day for men = 66.5 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.76 x age in years)

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

Does my job really count as normal calories burned when I am so used to it and it's not overly difficult to me anymore?

Yes, calories burned are calories burned. Although you probably burn less than when you started, simply given your technique / efficiency / etc would be better now.

[Nage Waza]

I always recommend a major squat workout as part of this type of plan. Do three squat workouts a week, a heavy workout with low reps, medium workout with ten reps, and a light workout with a bunch of reps. Your legs will get bigger and you will burn more calories at rest. The workout can be done in minutes and has a big payoff. In two months you will certainly have bigger legs and the extra burn will be worth it.

[3 Justin 3]

I'm the opposite, I'm putting on the pounds. I'm taking 5000+ calories a day. Bring on the fat!

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

I'm the opposite, I'm putting on the pounds. I'm taking 5000+ calories a day. Bring on the fat!

What the hell are you eating and what's your monthly food budget lol?

[pylon]

There is a poster on here pimping body by Vi. It's awesome!

Not only will you lose thousand of pounds, with no exercise (only stupid idiots exercise) you will get a garage full of low end BMW's! FREE!

As an added bonus for your unnaturally rapid weight loss, will will get a beautiful neck vagina to show your friends and nipples the size of pancakes hanging from you saggy chest because your skin didn't have a chance to shrink! BEST. PLAN. EVER.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by burnin_vernon

I'm trying to lose 15-20 lbs and figure that will take about 2 months if I stick to it.

You carry around 20lb weights for 3 hours a day? If that is true, then you could be burning 3700 calories per day. As for the 1700+400, actually the average male in his 30s burns 2400 calories per day just from sitting around, watching TV, sleeping, reading CP. So those could be close.

When I was losing weight, I didn't count any walking around work, taking the stairs (two at a time!!). But I have an office job... if your job, like you say, requires walking around with heavy weights, then not recording it would throw off your calculations.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I'm going to try to lose 10 pounds myself, but have set a 2 month target. Which is only 1 pound per week. But slow and steady is more likely to lead to a sustained weight loss. Those that try a quick-fix typically end up gaining the weight right back as soon as their "diet" is over.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Nage Waza

I always recommend a major squat workout as part of this type of plan. Do three squat workouts a week, a heavy workout with low reps, medium workout with ten reps, and a light workout with a bunch of reps. Your legs will get bigger and you will burn more calories at rest. The workout can be done in minutes and has a big payoff. In two months you will certainly have bigger legs and the extra burn will be worth it.

Squats, and leg work in general, are great for building up muscle and in turn boosting metabolism. Just be mindful of using proper form, especially with squats. Throwing out your back or buckling a knee because you aren't using proper form is going to derail any type of fitness program.

[blankall]

OP,

How tall/much do you weigh to begin with. If you are 50+ pounds overweight, dropping 15-20 lbs should be very easy. Just lift heavy at the gym to maintain and build muscle mass. The squat workouts are a great idea. I'd also look into the 20 squat workout program.

As far as diet, I'd try and keep it simple. A lot of stuff about needing to eat a certain amount of meals at certain times is crap invented by protein drink manufacturers. As long as you aren't going multiple days without eating anything substantial, you aren't going to see your metabolism slow down. Just keep it simple. Calories in must be less than calories out.

If you're trying to lose that last 15 pounds to get a six pack, things are more complicated. You're going to need to essentially count every calorie and work out like crazy. You'll probably also have to experiment with a few different workout/diet routines until you find the perfect one for you.

[burnin_vernon]

I'm 5'8, 180 lbs. I usually eat pretty clean and am fairly active but this seems to be a range that my body is "comfortable" at staying at and I think it is going to take some real effort to go to the next stage. That's why I want to be so spot on with with the calorie counting.