Caloric Intake Calculator, Problem

M

MichaelA

0
Well, I'm not a woman, but there was no "Weight Loss" forum under the "Men's Health" heading.

Anyway, I just used the Calories Per Day calculator at this site: .

5'5, 134 pounds, male, moderately active

The resulting CPD was 2400. This sounds like a lot to me for my height. According to that I should eat 1900 calories a day to lose weight? Is that right? That's about how much I eat anyway.

Then I go to look at my BMI, and it says 22. Is this right? According to this I'm not even close to overweight. I don't know what to think about that. I'm developing a noticeable gut and large buttocks/thighs, which I would prefer to get rid of. I don't do much weight training, but I walk a few miles a day and bike on a rough dirt path for about 25 minutes 6 days a week? Is that moderately active?

All those questions aside, I formulated a diet to help lose weight (or at least get my figure the way I want it) consisting of 6 meals a day (all food amounts are given in dry weight, all food is prepared with water):

9:00 AM: 60g Steel Cut Oats, 1/2 T blackstrap molasses
12:00 PM: 50g soaked lentils
3:00 PM: 60 g Steel Cut Oats, 1/2 T blackstrap molasses
6:00 PM: 50g soaked lentils
9:00 PM: 50g pearled barley, 1 medium orange
12:00 AM: 50g pearled barley, 2 T flaxseed meal

After calculating the calories in that I got 1340, but according to the CPD that is way under what I should be eating. I really don't know what to make of all this, any help is much appreciated.
 
that is an attrocious meal plan - you are asking for trouble.

for your height and weight i doubt you are as overweight as you seem to think. those calculators arent brilliantly accurate but they are close enough to say that you dont have to worry as much as you are.

Eat balanced, eat plenty and eat the right food. That is not just repeat quantities of 'health' foods. you need carbs, protein and fats (more fat than you think).

You probably should be on 2500 kcalories a day, keep just below that and maintain some good exercise and you will lose weight. drastically undereating will cause to to lose muscle and store the fat you want to get rid of.

formulate a good training program, weight train using a good split program (use this http://www.exrx.net/Lists/WorkoutMenu.html) and do a few decent cardio sessions. eat properly and well and dont get too hung up about it.

Your body will find its correct weight and will maintain it - extreme weight loss will only result in you putting it right back on in the near future or cause you severe health problems.

It doesnt take as much work as you'd think to get a decent shape, but it does take common sense, a willingness to ignore everything you've been (wrongly) told up to this point.

good luck and please keep eating!
 
Thanks for the reply. Atrocious... now I feel stupid. I was under the impression that my daily caloric need was 1800, hence the diet I came up with. I guess that number was actually for a sedentary lifestyle. Whoops.
 
you're not stupid, sorry, just a bad choice of word. the generally accepted amount of calories for a male is 2500, you dont need to stray too much either side of that to burn fat or build muscle.

there's no way anyone could just eat what you had planned, just relax and enjoy it you'll find you can eat far more than you think.
 
Well, I have been doing it for the past few days, and I certainly felt hungry. Very hungry. Anyway, this morning I started walking, and after a mile or two I started feeling like I couldn't go on anymore, sort of like my legs were just going to give out under me. I figured I should go back and do a little more research, and here I am.
 
MiachaelA,

All calulators are going to be estimates. The one you tried is pretty on target though (in my experience). You are very small for a guy. So the fact that you assume you are overweight... well that's not good :)

Yes you need to eat 1900 calories a day to LOSE WEIGHT. Anything less than that willput your body into starvation mode and you will eat muscle. I have a feeling you need all the muscleyou can get.

1900 calories divided by 6 meals per day = 317 calories at each meal.

Look at it that way. You eating plan is pretty bad. No where NEAR enough protein and way too much of everything else. I always recommend protein at each meal.

Eating protein and building muscle is the best way to get rid of that "little gut" you are developing. I always post the 5 tips to fat loss on this board. Here they are for you. Follow them and you'll be okay.

- One thing first... BMI is NOT a good indicator of anything. It assumes that because you are low in weight that you are healthy. Body fat percentage is a MUCH better indicator of how much muscle you have compared to fat.

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.


2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.


3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.


4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.


5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over


All of the above things combined will result in fat loss.
 
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