Calorie Counting

xgtdec

Lads

Having just hit a bit of a block on the fatloss its high time i got down to counting a few calories, after a bit of a a read on the stickies im nearly ready to go....except..they way i figured it im 92.53kg which gives me a base rate of 1073.348 calories needed just to lie for 24 hours, i then factor activity at 2.0 becasue i reackon im pretty active which gives 2146.696 and now we are looking for the exercise /7 for what to add on for exercise, heres where im coming up stumped because im not quite sure what i should be adding on, my week is like this, mon-Fri, 40min walk to work, brisk

Monday - Circuit training, 16 stations x 60 seconds each, mostly 8 - 10kg dumbells and body resistance
Tuesday - Spinning 45 minutes and a 45 body scuplt class

Wednesday off

Thursday - Spinning 45 minutes and a 15 min abs class

Friday - Circuit training, 16 stations x 60 seconds each, mostly dumbells and body resistance

Saturday - 45 minute spin

Now reading around the net a spin class can do anything from 500 to 1000 calories which is great but if i need to get a daily figure to create a deficit then 500 could be a fairly big gap in whats needed and im lost on what circuit training actually does calorie wise.....btw all this is down to the fact that give my activity level i may not be eating enough and i just wanted to make sure.....anyone any ideas

EileenG

Don't add in your gym work as extra. Your activity figure probably covers most of that, and the idea is that you have a calorie deficit. Most people tend to over-estimate their activity and under-estimate their calories.

If you are male, go for 2000 cals as your cutting level, 1500 if female, and adjust as necessary. If you find you are constantly starving, then increase. If you find you are not losing and are rarely hungry, then go down a bit.

xgtdec

Thanks Eileen....So 2000 a day to lose the fat meaning 2500 ish would be normal intake?

EileenG

I think so. There's a lot of calculators which give sky high figures, but in real life, 2500 is normal calorie intake for a reasonably active man with a desk job but who works out.

xgtdec

2000 a day it is so...which is really a bit of an eye opener once you start counting....i was having a innocent breakfast thickie on the 10am break....yoghurt, berries and oats with a drop of honey.....nearly 300 calories......ouch!!

Khannie

They guy is 92KG. I think 2500 (including exercise) is probably way too low as an estimate myself. Hell, at 92KG the 40 minute brisk walk to work probably covers 200+ calories and that's before he's hit the gym!

xgtdec

battle of the mods opinions:D

ya see how hard it is to get a figure to stick by......i really should go to burger king and have a good long think about it....lol..would it be worth nearly a days calories:rolleyes:

EileenG

Lifestyle is a huge factor. If you sit at work, and sit in the evening (televison or computer) then even a really kick ass workout still doesn't bring your activity level up that high.

Kind of scary how many hours you spend on your arse, compared with how many you spend on your feet.

Try 2000 cals, and see how you feel on them. Ideally, you should be slightly peckish, but not starving. If you are constantly hungry, then 2000 is too low.

kevgaa

Hi,

Like yourself I had difficulty calculating my daily Calorie use with exercise to create a calorie deficit. So in the end I used

http://www.bmi-calculator.net

and multiplied my BMR by 1.55.

This worked for me but the important thing to remember is that as you lose weight you need to recalculate your BMR.

Based on the above I reckon 2000 is too low for you and it should be somewhere in the region of 2500 -2700 but punch in the figures and work from there. After a few weeks you will see if its working for you...

Best of luck.

EileenG

If you know your bodyfat/lean mass, you can use that to calculate calories. A good cutting level is about 14 cals per pound of lean, which should ensure fat loss and allow for an occasional refeed/cheat meal.

If you know you have a fair bit of fat, then go with the 2000 cals.

hug0

Hi Eileen

Im 9 and half stone, 5 foot 7, female. On my feet during the day but not overly active.
Run 3+ times a week with one weights class.
Would 1500 calories be right for me?

EileenG

Use it as a starting point. If you are losing weight at a reasonable weight and not feeling starved, and have enough energy for your workouts and life, it's fine. Adjust if you need to.