Group: New Members Greet & Meet - Introduce yourself

Created: 2011/12/31, Members: 1537, Messages: 27037

Officially introduce yourself to the community by sharing your goals, obstacles or accomplishments. Don't be shy.. we're all here for the same reason. The more support we share the easier it will be to reach our goals!

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New to site: Calorie Intake Confusion

Squatch
Squatch
Posts: 4
Joined: 2002/02/27
United States
2002/03/01, 02:59 PM
I just signed up on here a couple of days ago and I am getting info to start a program as soon as possible. My confusion is after I did my Nutritional Profile, this is what it told me:

Protein - 280g
Carbs. - 980g
Fat - 68g
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Total Cal 5594

Does this seem right! It seems real high to me.

My body:
Weight: 280-285 lbs
Body Fat: about 28% to 29%
Lean Mass or Fat Free Mass, whichever: 200-202 lbs.
Height: 6'1 1/2 - 6'2"

Should my calorie intake be that high or should it be around 2230. In the range of 2020-2570?

Help, if you can.

Thanks.
Squatch
Squatch
Posts: 4
Joined: 2002/02/27
United States
2002/03/01, 03:04 PM
Sorry, if it is not obvious in my body size. I am wanting to lose weight and tone up. I guess it would be a little bit helpful to state my goal.
mikencharleston
mikencharleston
Posts: 1,585
Joined: 2002/01/09
United States
2002/03/01, 03:48 PM
Try tracking the food that you actually eat for a few days and you might be surprised how many calories you actually take in. If you enrolled in an ft program, put down your choice of wanting to lose weight.
Squatch
Squatch
Posts: 4
Joined: 2002/02/27
United States
2002/03/02, 11:38 AM
I did enroll in the ft program. It is the one that gave me those calorie numbers.
festus1113
festus1113
Posts: 73
Joined: 2002/02/22
United States
2002/03/02, 01:42 PM
Hello squatch and welcome. I am also new to ft but not to weight loss. If you can eat 2500 calories and not be hungry then stick to it, you'll surely lose weight that way. I think the number they give you is the maximum amount recommended for the program that you chose when you signed up.
The key is splitting up the calories between 5 or 6 different meals. I usually eat every 3 hours or so, trying to choose low fat, high protein foods. Even if I am not hungry I still eat at the next meal time. If I skip one of the meals I find that I tend to overeat at the next one. Just find an amount of calories that you are comfortable with and try them for a week or so, tracking everything that you eat and see how it works for you. Every one is different so you can either raise or lower that amount of calories based on your own needs and metabolism.
Using this method I lost over 100 pounds and found that my weight is much more manageable now that this style of eating has become a way of life.
I hope this helps. Good luck!

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Stan
Squatch
Squatch
Posts: 4
Joined: 2002/02/27
United States
2002/03/04, 05:52 PM
festus1113

Yeah I understand the multiple meals a day. I didn't question the calories the plan told me until a few days later. They just seemed like a lot. Maybe I do need to eat a lot of calories for my size. I had just read about factoring your BMR and how you need to cut down 500 calories a day for every pound you want to lose. And that was when I thought the 5600 calories a day was a lot.


I am a very picky eater and do not like fish, except for Tuna (made with mayonaise). I am going to try it with something else though.

Do you know of anywhere I can see example or suggested meal plans. That I would be able to tailor to myself?
yesitsme
yesitsme
Posts: 12
Joined: 2002/03/01
United States
2002/03/02, 05:10 PM
BMR
There are many ways of determining personal daily caloric intake, one of which is called the Harris-Benedict Formula. It is the easiest way to calculate Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). It factors in gender, bodyweight (in kilograms), height (in centimeters), and age. The formula works as follows. I factored in conversions so lbs. and inches can be used.
Male:
66+(6.22x wgt in lbs.)+(12.7x hgt in inches)-(6.8xage)

Activity Multiplier
Finally, you have to factor in an Activity Multiplier. The more active a man is, the more calories he'll need. Take the number from above calculation and multiply by the appropriate activity multiplier below.
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise 1-3 days a week)
Moderately active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
Extremely active = BMR X 1.9 (heavy daily exercise)

The final number you come up with is the basic number of calories needed daily. Subtract from that number to reduce. If say you lower by 500 calories a day, that would equal approximately 1 LB per week loss. These are basic numbers as everybody is different. See how it works for you.

Good Luck.



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