1500 cals a day enough??

S

sleemie

0
Not sure if this is more appropriate for the weight lifting section or here, but I put it here because although I've just started lifting I'm more of a dieter trying to lose weight than I am a lifter, although the lifting has to figure in to my calorie count.

The question is is 1500 cals a day too low? That's the number I shoot for, but my girlfriend always tells me it's not enough food. I follow boxing and there's heavyweight boxer who weighs about 250 and wants to lose weight for his next fight and they say he's on a 1500 cal a day diet, and i figure with the extreme amount of exercise he's doing and with his size if he can survive on 1500 day I sure can. Also Ruben Studdard, the american idol winner, who weighed 300 plus was being trained by a personal trainer so I'm sure he was being worked pretty hard and he was also on a 1500 cal diet.

I'm 6 ft and weigh about 231 right now, but with my body type i'm not nearly as overweight as the charts say, they say i'm obese, but if I got down to like 205 it would be to the point where people would tell me I look like i'm starving, so i'm probably only about 15-20 over where I need to be. I was at 242 and was able to get down to about 235 doing 2,000 cals a day, but then I stalled for a couple of weeks so I had to take it down to about 1500 and I got down to 224, but I had to go on travel for work and screwed up for only about a week and gained 7 friggin lbs back that quick.

I'm trying to eat good foods so that I'm getting a good amount of nutrition with those 1500 cals. Low fat, stay away from the bad carbs and limit the good carbs.
 
Yes, 1500 calories is too low. I think you should add about 1000-1200 calories to that for cutting. Just guessing your age and activity level, with your height and weight you should be around 2500-2700 to cut fat.

Also, you need fat to lose fat! You need at least 20-30% of your caloric intake to come from good fats and EFAs, especially if you are low on carbs, you need to up your fat intake to compensate for that.
 
you should listen to john :)

unfortunately he is right about the eating more.

your body does need the cals to do so much, not just maintain your life but your neuro functions, nervous system, etc. and when u depelete it it jsut takes it from somewhere else and you hurt yourself in the long run which is counterintuitive for th reason to workout and be healthy.
 
sleemie said:
Not sure if this is more appropriate for the weight lifting section or here, but I put it here because although I've just started lifting I'm more of a dieter trying to lose weight than I am a lifter, although the lifting has to figure in to my calorie count.

The question is is 1500 cals a day too low? That's the number I shoot for, but my girlfriend always tells me it's not enough food. I follow boxing and there's heavyweight boxer who weighs about 250 and wants to lose weight for his next fight and they say he's on a 1500 cal a day diet, and i figure with the extreme amount of exercise he's doing and with his size if he can survive on 1500 day I sure can. Also Ruben Studdard, the american idol winner, who weighed 300 plus was being trained by a personal trainer so I'm sure he was being worked pretty hard and he was also on a 1500 cal diet.

I'm 6 ft and weigh about 231 right now, but with my body type i'm not nearly as overweight as the charts say, they say i'm obese, but if I got down to like 205 it would be to the point where people would tell me I look like i'm starving, so i'm probably only about 15-20 over where I need to be. I was at 242 and was able to get down to about 235 doing 2,000 cals a day, but then I stalled for a couple of weeks so I had to take it down to about 1500 and I got down to 224, but I had to go on travel for work and screwed up for only about a week and gained 7 friggin lbs back that quick.

I'm trying to eat good foods so that I'm getting a good amount of nutrition with those 1500 cals. Low fat, stay away from the bad carbs and limit the good carbs.
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Yes, 1500 is too low. To lose, I would be eating around 2700 at your height and weight. That's just an estimate though, but 1500 is way to low. Hope that helps :)
 
First of all, I think that's the perfect amount for you to lose, Your basal metabolic rate is probally only 2300 or 2400 calories a day.. you take that DOWN to lose weight, why are people telling u to up it? I think that's what you should stick with if you want to see results quick.
 
lt6string said:
First of all, I think that's the perfect amount for you to lose, Your basal metabolic rate is probally only 2300 or 2400 calories a day.. you take that DOWN to lose weight, why are people telling u to up it? I think that's what you should stick with if you want to see results quick.
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this is inaccurate...because 1500 is too low, especially for a man.
 
i've been wondering the same thing...yet, i'm female, 30 yrs old and 5'5''...aiming to reach 130 (currently fluctuating b/w 140 and 145). i do cardio for an hour 3-4x a week and weight train 5x a week....

cant seem to figure out the 'right' calorie range for me to lose...been stuck at the same range for 5 months now :p :(
 
lt6string said:
First of all, I think that's the perfect amount for you to lose, Your basal metabolic rate is probally only 2300 or 2400 calories a day.. you take that DOWN to lose weight, why are people telling u to up it? I think that's what you should stick with if you want to see results quick.
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Yes he can lose "weight" at 1500 calories however he can say bye bye to his hard earned muscle at that intake. Remember, anyone can drastically drop their caloric intake and lose weight but the key is to hang on to as much lean muscle as possible so that when you have reached your desired weight you dont look like, well, a skinny fat person so to speak. You want to keep a toned look and the only way one can do that is to lose fat, not muscle.
 
lt6string said:
First of all, I think that's the perfect amount for you to lose, Your basal metabolic rate is probally only 2300 or 2400 calories a day.. you take that DOWN to lose weight, why are people telling u to up it? I think that's what you should stick with if you want to see results quick.
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BMR is the calories your body burns without MOVING in a day. Thats the minimum you should give your body no matter what. Add into that 2300 calories for your daily activities and you'll be higher. You clearly dont understand BMR and safe results.
 
I guess I need to up my cals then. I think one sign that it's too low is that I tend to be tired alot, and I feel like I have a hard time waking up in the morning with anything less than 9 hours of sleep. Also, I like to do step class and that runs on a Tuesday and I like to lift on Mondays and I usually don't have anything left for step after working out on Monday, and if I try to lift Monday, step tuesday and then try to lift Wednesday I'm just spent during the workout.

I'm very scared of carbs, though, when it comes to weight loss so I will up my cals from protien sources and see how that works, mainly from lean fish and meat. That of course will increase my fat intake because there are very few protien sources where you don't get some fat with it, so i'll get my needed doses of fat along with my protein. If I was doing cardio I would be concerned about getting more carbs, but think I can keep them to a minimum and be okay. I pretty much just stick to the good carbs.

Thanx for the input.
 
Donuts, sugary carbs, french fries, white rice and white bread and such are evil. Whole grains and veggies are your friend!
 
Yeah, i've been programmed by the south beach diet to believe in the good carbs and when I do eat carbs I try to stick to the good ones. Oatmeal, whole wheat bread, different fruits, etc. However...while trying to lose weight I still limit even the good carbs a lot. On most days it's pretty much either one bowl of shredded wheat or one bowl of oatmeal, one apple, one light yogurt OR banana and MAYBE a slice of wheat bread somewhere during the day. I pretty much leave the brown rice and whole wheat pasta alone cuz those carbs start piling up.
 
There are plenty of good, healthy carb sources. I love whole wheat bread, plain, with sandwiches...whole wheat pasta, delicious. Oats, I have oatmeal for breakfast, put oats in my PWO shakes, also great for you and tasty...they will give you energy for your workouts, and your whole day...

Not to mention fruits and veggies...banana here, salad there...good choices...
 
yes - definitely too low, particularly with all that exercise. Add healthy fats into your diet (milk, nuts, seeds, egg yolks) as these actually improve fat burning
 
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