confused

Just getting started on this website. I set up my goals. I am currently 24 yo; 6 feet tall; and approx. 250 lbs. My goal is to get to between 195-200 lbs.

I am working out 3 days/week and doing cardio 2 days/week. According to DB it says I need to consume at least 2700 calories/day? I am been tracking for a few days and I’m only hitting ~1800 calories. How am I supposed to hit that much per day when I’m not hungry. I eat about 5 times/day.

Will it be bad if I keep continuing eating what I’m eating and working out and doing cardio? Advice???

1800 isn’t that bad – what did you put down for your activity level?

I’m not a fan of overeating just to make a calorie goal and 1800 is within a normal, safe eating range. It will all show up on the scale and how you feel. If you are losing weight at a rate of 1-2lbs a week and are feeling fine, then that’s a good calorie rate.

If you feel listless and tired all the time, you might need more calories. Once you get a good few weeks going it’s easier to tell what your calories needs will be.

1800 calories is recommended for females if I remember rightly. And I think it’s 2500 for males.

Just stick to that unless you start to feel tired all the time like TheAng said. If you feel a bit worn down, eat more.

By the way, eating 5 times a day is a great way to boost you metabolism. Keep doing that :-)

Actually @zango, 1800 is the minimum recommended calorie intake for males. It’s 1200 for females.

@jbmccaslin, Daily Burn’s recommended intake might be a bit high for you – what DID you enter as your activity level? But 1800 is probably low to be healthy long-term, with your activity level.

How sure are you of your 1800 calories? I noticed that you never include things like cooking oil, butter or salad dressings, etc in your nutrition log. Do you not eat any of these things? They are very calorie dense, so don’t forget to include them if you do.

You also seem to be eating a LOT of bars. Please don’t confuse them with real food. They can be a supplement, not a meal. And preferably not the basis of two meals. They are high in sugar and fat, and don’t provide the kind of nutrition you’d get from whole foods.

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate it. According to the scales I lost ~5 lbs. my first week of dieting/exercise/cardio (that was the week I didn’t count calories). I do realize most of that is water weight but still a good start.

I’ll just continue with the exercise and diet for a few weeks and see how it goes. I haven’t felt tired during the day so far. My eyes get a little heavy but I think that has a lot of do with me staring at a computer all day. Thanks again and any future advice is appreciated in advance.

How do you count your calories? Is there an easy way> Should I start Jenny or Weight Watchers so I know I am getting exactly the right amount?? I was hoping to do slim fast all dat and eat a dinner.

Songbirdz, if you eat something, enter it in the nutrition log here. It will keep track of how many calories you ate all together, and compare it against what you should have eaten. All you have to do is keep track of how much of what you ate, then type it in.

Forget the Slim Fast. You won’t get proper nutrition from it, and do you really think one of them will make you full enough that you won’t feel tempted to eat between lunch and dinner??

songbirdz, SlimFast isn’t real food! Go for smart protein choices – chicken, eggs (just don’t over do the yolks) lots of veggies, fruit, and smart fats. Weight everything – a digital kitchen scale is great. And make sure that you eat enough, don’t starve yourself!

Thanks guys! I guys I need to get organized with meal planning. Any sample ideas for me for a day???

I’m a big fan of chicken, so I broil a couple of breasts (always skinless) once or twice a week – very easy, and already cooked when you’re short on time. Toss 4 oz. of chopped chicken with 3 cups (83 grams) of pre-washed bagged spring greens or baby spinach, 1/2 oz of pecans (toasted and chopped fine), half of an apple, cut up, and 1/2 oz. of raisins. For dressing, mix 1/2 oz. of extra-virgin olive oil, a dash or two of red wine vinegar, 3/4 of a teaspoon of honey, and a tablespoon of finely chopped sweet onion, mix well and then toss to coat the salad. I like to add goat cheese – 1/2 to 1 ounce. Quick and easy, you’ve got protein, veggies, healthy fat, and a little fruit, dairy as well if you add the cheese – it ups the not-so-great fat but gives you some calcium and tastes great with the dressing.

Here’s a sample day, that you could play around with. My day is typically around 1500 calories, and I do some variation of this every day, so it should work for you. There is enough leeway, calorie wise, for you to add a bit of butter or salad dressing, or other condiments to the meals.

Breakfast could be a serving of oatmeal and raisins, or an egg white omelette, or a piece of toast with peanut butter or cheese. I usually have a coffee with 1 tsp of sugar too

A mid morning snack could be some cottage cheese or yogurt, and a banana.

Lunch could be a portion of chicken breast, fish, or other lean meat, a veggie, and maybe a bit of rice.

Afternoon snack would be some cut up veggies and hummus as a dip. Or maybe an ounce of nuts. Sometimes I have a small square of dark chocolate too. A small piece of really good chocolate satisfies the craving while being pretty low in calories

Dinner would be two portions of veggies, another portion of lean protein, and a side serving of whole wheat pasta or bread.

If you want a bed time snack, my favorite is a bit of yogurt and some thawed berries.

Eat lots of veggies. They help fill you up and give you lots of nutrients, while being low on calories. Try to eat a piece of fruit or veggie with every meal and snack.