How many calories do I need to eat? HELP!

Hello I am just confused about how many calories I should eat per day. My goal is to be at 12% body fat, as of now I am at 16% which is very bad, I have lots of fat specially in the love handles area and belly. Goal is to get cut ( get to 12%) and then do a clean bulk. I am 33 5’9 160 pounds. Can I get suggestions on how many calories I should eat per day so that I can get to 12% bf in a healthy manner? I am lucky enough to be able to get any food that I need and supplements. I go to the gym and do weight training and cardio 5 times per week for about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Thanks so much! :-)

Set your weight goal to 150.
The nutrition suggestions should be pretty right-on.
If you lose 10lbs of fat you should be around 11%.

I did make that change to 150, however the suggestion did not change. Can you tell me how many calories I should eat per day to go down to 12%

Did you go

Nutrition->Update Nutrition Goals ?

Thanks, that worked according to Gyminee I need to eat 2200 calories per day which is inaccurate because that is what I have been eating for a month and I have not losing weight, but I guess maybe it is working because my bf went down?...so even thoug I am suppose to lose weight, I didn’t because I gained muscle?

If your BF went down but your weight didn’t change then, yes, you built some muscle which offset your BF loss. That is stellar. Those are the type of results everyone looks for.

If 2200 calories nets no results then drop to 2100 for a week or two and reevaluate from there.

well my goal is not to lose weight…my goal is to lose body fat…i don’t care what my weight is as long as I am at 12% body fat….my weight 2 months ago was 160 at 20% body fat. Now my weight is 160 but my bf is now 16% ....according to gyminee because of the amount of calories that i have been eating i should have been losing a pound per week…but i havent.

My weight is the same as 2 months ago but my body fat is lower...so I guess to continue to lower my bf I need to eat the same right? (2200 calories)

Coolmarine,

If you’re goal is to simply lose bodyfat (irrespective of muscle mass), it really does boil down to creating a calorie deficit.

If you feel your diet is appropriate (calorie wise as well as your macronutrient choices such as removing processed carbs from the mix) you need to take a close look at your exercise plan.

You mention above that you do cardio 5x per week for 45 min to 1 hour/workout.

My suggestion is to lose the ‘steady state’ cardio and focus on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). While interval training burns fewer calories during the actual workout, it leads to greater overall fat loss because it generates a much larger EPOC (after-burn) effect.

You can also couple HIIT with steady-state cardio by first doing your HIIT workout, taking a 5 minute rest period, and then adding 30 – 45 minutes of steady state cardio at a moderate to moderatly high intensity (this is Lyle McDonald’s recommendation in The Stubborn Fat Loss Solution).

The theory behind this, in Lyle’s words: “To get stubborn fat mobilized, you have to overcome a fairly severe resistance in terms of both blood flow and lipolysis, this requires very high concentrations of catecholamines (adrenaline/noradrenaline). Sadly, jacking up levels of catecholamines (necessary for mobilization) limits burning in the muscle which is why you follow the high intensity with low intensity. Basically, you jack up levels to get the fat mobilized, and then let them fall so that the fatty acid can be burned in the muscle.”

Susan
www.catapultfitnessblog.com

Thanks Susan I did not know that, very valuable information !

Great post Susan! I must add Lyle McDonald to my list of must reads! Cheers!

Lyle is a terrific resource. He has 2 pretty exhaustive forums as well.

Be warned, he can be very blunt as can some of the regular posters on his forum if you decide to go there.

Hey guys I just uploaded a new picture that I just took today, again, please take a look, this is weird I am still 160 pounds, which is what my weight was 2 months ago and you can see the pic there i look different i think! WTF?

Also can anyone tell me what my body fat% is (estimate of course), here you can see a pic of me 2 months ago and apic of me form last night, I weight the same on both pics:

http://clip2net.com/clip/m6256/1227241651-clip-...

Well, you look GREAT in that picture. You’re making fantastic progress. Weight is just weight. It isn’t a great measure of progress when you’re adding muscle as well as losing fat. You may have lost several pounds of fat and gained several pounds of muscle. Since muscle is denser than fat, it takes up less space and you take up less physical space as well (look “thinner”) without being any lighter.

If your weight hasn’t changed, but you can see progress, then you’re doing well. I’d guess your body fat has declined.

Have you checked your waist measurement? Looks like it’s gotten smaller, and that’s a rough but good indication of improvement.

No matter! Keep up the great work. Maybe come up with another progress measurement other than weight.

Hi Liza, I have not taken waist measurements but I can tell you this: I am going to the mall this weekend to get new pants because the ones I have are way too lose on me, so I think for sure I did lost some waist

That proves it then! Now take some body measurements so you can evaluate your future progress using something other than weight! I recommend doing all the ones Gyminee has on the list. If you don’t have a tape measure, get a decent cloth one (from a craft or sewing/fabric store) while you’re at the mall.

ok great I will do that , I guess I shouldn’t worry about weight, what I should worry about is body fat percentage which is why I just bought this, what do u think?

http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HBF-306-Body-Fat-An…

Coolmarine,

These scales rely on a technology called bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The way this works is that a low-level electrical signal is passed through the body. Based on the resistance to that signal, total body water is calculated and the value can be used to estimate body fat %.

When using a BIA scale you want to ensure that you’ve maintained a normal level of hydration and it is recommended that you refrain from vigorous exercise for 12 – 24 hours prior to using and that you refrain from eating within 4 hours of measuring. The reason being is that these factors may affect total body water and thus the composition reading.

With that said, if you’re consistent in following these “rules”, the Omron should provide you with a good baseline measurement. Is it 100% accurate? No, but it will enable you to monitor your progress over time.

The two “gold standards” in regards to body fat measurement are DEXA and Air Displacement Plethysmography (APD).

DEXA uses a whole body scanner thta has two low dose x-rays that read bone and soft tissue mass simultaneously. Because the machines are expensive, they are usually found in hospitals or radiology facilities. I’ve been searching for a facility where I can have a DEXA scan in New York and haven’t yet been successful in finding a place that does the body fat analysis (most facilities use DEXA for bone density testing).

APD is used by Bod Pod. It’s similar to underwater weighing except that you don’t have to actually dunk yourself. This service is becoming more widely available and if you’re interested, you can ask for local testing facilities by contacting the company – http://www.bodpod.com/contactlmi/%23locations

Susan
www.catapultfitnessblog.com

Thanks very much Susan I will look into it, I would like to know what my body fat percentage is, based on my pics and your epxerience what percentage do u think I am around?

Coolmarine – there is no way that I can tell from looking at your pictures what your body fat percentage is. Sorry.

not even an estimate? Thanks anyway Susan you always give awesome advice :-)

Thanks Coolmarine, I appreciate that. No, I really can’t even try to hit a ballpark number for you. I agree with Liz however … you can definitely see improvement in your overall definition and if your weight is the same, it’s safe to assume that you’re putting on lean muscle mass and lowering your body fat.

Those are great news, now I feel like all the hard work at the gym and the clean eating 6 timer per day is beginning to pay off, it is inspiring, my goal is to look like this, dont laugh :

http://clip2net.com/clip/m6256/1227299939-clip-...

Checked your before and after pics out and you’re making some fantastic progress! Keep up the good work. While it’s taking a lot longer for me, I also have a lot more to lose! :-)

Thanks Mateo, keep working hard, if you put your mind to it, you will make great progress, that is what I will do as well.