Upping calorie intake?
Discussion
So I've got all my calories worked out each day, but I know sometimes I'm not getting enough. Can anyone recommend sensible ways of adding calories without ruining my diet or it costing me a fortune? Especially since putting a lot more fish and vegetables in my diet (and cutting out potatoes), my calorie intake is much lower, which can't be good!
To give you an idea, today if I eat my regular 5 meals, I will only take in about 1100 calories - WAY too low! Normally I have 1500 calories. I'm also doing light exercise on top of this - walking for an hour a day, and on alternate days doing some light weights, so burning some calories elsewhere, too.
To give you an idea, today if I eat my regular 5 meals, I will only take in about 1100 calories - WAY too low! Normally I have 1500 calories. I'm also doing light exercise on top of this - walking for an hour a day, and on alternate days doing some light weights, so burning some calories elsewhere, too.
Ordinary_Chap said:
Is there a reason why you want to eat more? Are you under-weight? Lacking energy or something else?
Nope, the opposite. Overweight (about 5'11" and 13 stone) and BUNDLES of energy. Just worried that I may screw up my metabolism and/or start losing muscle by going too far under.Pulse said:
Ordinary_Chap said:
Is there a reason why you want to eat more? Are you under-weight? Lacking energy or something else?
Nope, the opposite. Overweight (about 5'11" and 13 stone) and BUNDLES of energy. Just worried that I may screw up my metabolism and/or start losing muscle by going too far under.Why don't you put a usual day's diet in this thread so folk can make some suggestions about it?
All the best,
Lee
What calorie intake should I (roughly) be aiming for? I'm trying to lose weight, and it's been working (albeit, even at 1500 calories, with a few 'cheat' days, very slowly). I thought 1500 was fairly sensible, and haven't got a lot of muscle mass (read: none) anyway, so it's not as if I'm too worried about losing any looks in that department, if that makes sense.
I use nuts quite a lot when using calorie surplus - they're loaded with calories as well as providing protein. This said they are also very high in fat so if you are sensitive to fat it may not be a great thing.
Value range chicken breast from most of the big chains I find works too - Cook a whole bag then freeze, taking it out when you need it. Works out fairly cheap but becomes boring after about four weeks if eaten every day. Same applies to frozen fish, again the value range is good value for money IMO.
5 meals and 1100 calories sounds rather low though, I'd be interested in knowing what exactly constitutes these 'meals'?
Value range chicken breast from most of the big chains I find works too - Cook a whole bag then freeze, taking it out when you need it. Works out fairly cheap but becomes boring after about four weeks if eaten every day. Same applies to frozen fish, again the value range is good value for money IMO.
5 meals and 1100 calories sounds rather low though, I'd be interested in knowing what exactly constitutes these 'meals'?
Pulse said:
What calorie intake should I (roughly) be aiming for? I'm trying to lose weight, and it's been working (albeit, even at 1500 calories, with a few 'cheat' days, very slowly). I thought 1500 was fairly sensible, and haven't got a lot of muscle mass (read: none) anyway, so it's not as if I'm too worried about losing any looks in that department, if that makes sense.
Have a look at this buddy.http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/
Then take the answer from the green bar and go here
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/harri...
I reckon you need at least 2,600 to stay where you are so reducing 500 cals is a good place to start so still over 2,100.
And if you exercise more then up to say 2,500 calories a day.
I've never really taken much notice of calories in food but am currently wanting to lose 14 pounds. I've calculated that my BMR is 2053 and then by multiplying by 1.2 based on the fact that I do little exercise, this takes my daily intake to stay as I am to 2463 calories.
If i drop by say 15% to begin to lose weight safely it would mean I would need to consume 2100 calories a day.
What quantities of food should I be eating to deliver these calories and to ensure that my calorific deficit is maintained enough to shed the excess few pounds?
If i drop by say 15% to begin to lose weight safely it would mean I would need to consume 2100 calories a day.
What quantities of food should I be eating to deliver these calories and to ensure that my calorific deficit is maintained enough to shed the excess few pounds?
It's actually a little more complex than that as not all calories are equal in how the body processing them.
For me I find if I remove all sugars and most carbs from my diet I can still lose weight at over 3,000 calories and have recently run a thread on it 'Lee's challenge'
So for me it meant something like below although there are many ways to achieve this;
Breakfast - scrambled eggs on toast OR myprotein shake + oats OR boiled eggs OR Omlette
10am Snack - Protein shake OR fruit OR lean meat like a small can of tuna or similar
Dinner - Chicken + green salad
3pm snack - Similar to morning snack
After 6pm training - Protein shake
Tea - lean meat + green salad
Before bed - Eggs combo OR cheese (zero carb) OR protein shake
I aim for high protein, medium/high fats and low/zero carbs.
Like I said though, there are different ways but the mine is a long-time tried and tested approach that always works for me and most others who do it too.
For me I find if I remove all sugars and most carbs from my diet I can still lose weight at over 3,000 calories and have recently run a thread on it 'Lee's challenge'
So for me it meant something like below although there are many ways to achieve this;
Breakfast - scrambled eggs on toast OR myprotein shake + oats OR boiled eggs OR Omlette
10am Snack - Protein shake OR fruit OR lean meat like a small can of tuna or similar
Dinner - Chicken + green salad
3pm snack - Similar to morning snack
After 6pm training - Protein shake
Tea - lean meat + green salad
Before bed - Eggs combo OR cheese (zero carb) OR protein shake
I aim for high protein, medium/high fats and low/zero carbs.
Like I said though, there are different ways but the mine is a long-time tried and tested approach that always works for me and most others who do it too.
goldblum said:
Pulse said:
Just worried that I may screw up my metabolism and/or start losing muscle by going too far under.
Are you serious? Why would you start losing muscle?When you cut calories by a big margin, studies show that the body interprets this as a period of food shortage such as famine and begins to make itself more efficient so it requires fewer calories. Studies show that it does this by catabolizing muscle as fuel, causing muscle entropy and hence losing muscle mass since muscle requires far more energy to be sustained than fat cells do. A proposed way to avoid this is to restrict calories but not too dramatically, say by 500, whilst doing heavy resistance training and consuming high protein. It does make sense and I've experienced both sides of the effects, leading me to believe that it's a very valid explanation.
Havent yet read the replys, but i have been doing this myself recently. And i can not recommend enough, adding oats to your protien shakes.
Just oats, slow release blenty of carbs, and you can get them in "ultra fine" form.
http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/instant_oats
Edit. The above, slowly work your way back up to something more sensible. my oats idea above is decent idea in your case, but i would recomend just putting potatos back into your diet...
Just oats, slow release blenty of carbs, and you can get them in "ultra fine" form.
http://www.myprotein.com/uk/products/instant_oats
Edit. The above, slowly work your way back up to something more sensible. my oats idea above is decent idea in your case, but i would recomend just putting potatos back into your diet...
Edited by Or888t on Friday 8th July 00:44
I'm current 5'7 and around 13 stone, so I have a bit of a podge. I eat 1400-1800 calories a day at 24 years old, and it's more than enough. Anything more and I would feel bloated, I do not understand how you could consume 3000+ calories a day and feel comfortable unless you want to build series muscle. I've replaced most foods with healthy stuff, but the calorie intake is roughly the same.
A typical days eating for me:
Breakfast 7am: 2 Wheatabix plus a Bannana, or Scotts Porridge and a bannana and sometimes some toast (brown bread, low fat butter)
Snack 10am: Fruit
Lunch 12-1pm : Tub of chicken+sweetcorn or tuna and sweetcorn with salad such as cucumber tomato and lettuce plus a low fat yogurt
Snack 3 pm: Fruit
Tea 6-7 pm: Spag bog or Roast chicken and lots of veg etc etc.
I don't eat anything after tea, I drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, lay off fizzy drinks and have recently cut out chocolate, crisps and bread from my diet. I am losing 1-2 lbs a week on the above combined with cardio and some weight training at 45 minutes to 1 hour, 3 times a week, and the occasional 14 mile round cycle to work if I don't drive. I have absolutely no desire to build big muscles, just to slim down a tone up. The above diet is a long term one for me, obviously I have to reach my ideal weight (11.7 stone) and strike a good balance between diet and exercise when I get there so I can remain around that weight, but thats something I'll have to figure out. Anyone who says I don't eat enough.... well I don't think they can justify that with a proper answer, or maybe they believe everyone should be aiming to be a Rocky Balboa lookalike. I sure as s
t never go to bed feeling hungry or feel as if I'm "wasting away"
A typical days eating for me:
Breakfast 7am: 2 Wheatabix plus a Bannana, or Scotts Porridge and a bannana and sometimes some toast (brown bread, low fat butter)
Snack 10am: Fruit
Lunch 12-1pm : Tub of chicken+sweetcorn or tuna and sweetcorn with salad such as cucumber tomato and lettuce plus a low fat yogurt
Snack 3 pm: Fruit
Tea 6-7 pm: Spag bog or Roast chicken and lots of veg etc etc.
I don't eat anything after tea, I drink 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, lay off fizzy drinks and have recently cut out chocolate, crisps and bread from my diet. I am losing 1-2 lbs a week on the above combined with cardio and some weight training at 45 minutes to 1 hour, 3 times a week, and the occasional 14 mile round cycle to work if I don't drive. I have absolutely no desire to build big muscles, just to slim down a tone up. The above diet is a long term one for me, obviously I have to reach my ideal weight (11.7 stone) and strike a good balance between diet and exercise when I get there so I can remain around that weight, but thats something I'll have to figure out. Anyone who says I don't eat enough.... well I don't think they can justify that with a proper answer, or maybe they believe everyone should be aiming to be a Rocky Balboa lookalike. I sure as s
t never go to bed feeling hungry or feel as if I'm "wasting away"Edited by sparks_E39 on Friday 8th July 01:02
Edited by sparks_E39 on Friday 8th July 01:09
B3njamin said:
goldblum said:
Pulse said:
Just worried that I may screw up my metabolism and/or start losing muscle by going too far under.
Are you serious? Why would you start losing muscle?When you cut calories by a big margin, studies show that the body interprets this as a period of food shortage such as famine and begins to make itself more efficient so it requires fewer calories. Studies show that it does this by catabolizing muscle as fuel, causing muscle entropy and hence losing muscle mass since muscle requires far more energy to be sustained than fat cells do. A proposed way to avoid this is to restrict calories but not too dramatically, say by 500, whilst doing heavy resistance training and consuming high protein. It does make sense and I've experienced both sides of the effects, leading me to believe that it's a very valid explanation.
For the body to go into starvation mode and start eating itself it would need less than 1000 cals a day,which is considered a safe level,
and it's what the OP is doing.
So at the moment the OP is in no danger of going catabolic,whatsoever.
The OP will neither 'screw up his metabolism' nor 'start losing muscle'.In fact he's miles away from it,hence 'are you serious?'
Perhaps you would like to tell us what you mean by 'I've experienced both sides of the effects'?
Do you mean you've gone catabolic twice? By two different methods?? Did you have to try or was this an accident?
Edited by goldblum on Friday 8th July 01:51
Such conflicting information means you're never quite sure if you're doing the right thing... Interesting points from Goldblum though. Do you mean 1000 calories intake, or 1000 calories less than what you've worked out on your BMR (for which mine was 2600). Either way, I'm basically around that anyway, at 1500 calories per day.
As per Sparks' post, I (now) couldn't really eat much more than that, especially whilst I'm barely doing any exercise. I do plan to start doing some more intensive stuff, like running, but can't do that until I've had my knee seen to. At the moment, I typically walk 5 miles a day. Yesterday was my main concern day, where I consumed 1100 calories, walked 5.4 miles, then cycled about 6 miles. I did then eat half of a honeydew melon though, because I was worried about my calorie intake for the day.
As per Sparks' post, I (now) couldn't really eat much more than that, especially whilst I'm barely doing any exercise. I do plan to start doing some more intensive stuff, like running, but can't do that until I've had my knee seen to. At the moment, I typically walk 5 miles a day. Yesterday was my main concern day, where I consumed 1100 calories, walked 5.4 miles, then cycled about 6 miles. I did then eat half of a honeydew melon though, because I was worried about my calorie intake for the day.
goldblum said:
He hasn't cut calories by a big margin.In fact 500 cals is considered a safe starting point for many diets.
For the body to go into starvation mode and start eating itself it would need less than 1000 cals a day,which is considered a safe level,
and it's what the OP is doing.
So at the moment the OP is in no danger of going catabolic,whatsoever.
The OP will neither 'screw up his metabolism' nor 'start losing muscle'.In fact he's miles away from it,hence 'are you serious?'
Perhaps you would like to tell us what you mean by 'I've experienced both sides of the effects'?
Do you mean you've gone catabolic twice? By two different methods?? Did you have to try or was this an accident?[/footnote]
He says he needs 2600 calories and is consuming 1500 - that's a cut of 1000 calories, not what I'd consider an insignificant cut. I have no qualification in this area except the conclusions I've come to after reading plenty of studies and my own anecdotal experience so I'd hate to argue with a more qualified input.For the body to go into starvation mode and start eating itself it would need less than 1000 cals a day,which is considered a safe level,
and it's what the OP is doing.
So at the moment the OP is in no danger of going catabolic,whatsoever.
The OP will neither 'screw up his metabolism' nor 'start losing muscle'.In fact he's miles away from it,hence 'are you serious?'
Perhaps you would like to tell us what you mean by 'I've experienced both sides of the effects'?
Do you mean you've gone catabolic twice? By two different methods?? Did you have to try or was this an accident?
[/footnote]Certainly, I'll do my best to explain. Having gone through various detrimental experiences I found myself overweight-although with muscle mass to be fair-and decided to lose it by cutting calories a lot. Due to the lack of energy from food restriction and what may well have been depression I did not perform any resistance or strenuous exercise, but still found myself unquestionably losing weight although when I finally pushed through and dropped down to a weight I was happy with, I found that I had very little muscle mass to speak of and still somehow looked flabby. The consequence of this was a very silly continued binge which undid all of that work and led me back in the wrong direction. As a result of this I scoured the internet for answers and came upon the idea of more gradual restriction along with resistance training and a high protein diet. This did work and at the end of it, I actually looked good as opposed to the previous approach to dieting with which I lost weight but ended up in many ways worse.
To be honest I agree the OP seems to be overthinking this and I'm not disagreeing really. I just didn't want somebody to look at this thread and get the idea that drastically cutting calories is a good thing and will have no detrimental impact on muscle mass. Hopefully no ill feelings, it wasn't my intention.
B3njamin said:
To be honest I agree the OP seems to be overthinking this and I'm not disagreeing really.
This is what I was hoping. You read so much on the net in the search for losing weight, increasing muscle, and doing so healthily, and it's NOT easy. There's so much conflicting advice! At the moment I am simply working by the mantra of 'eat less and move more' to lose the weight, and it is working, slowly.Thanks!
Pulse said:
B3njamin said:
To be honest I agree the OP seems to be overthinking this and I'm not disagreeing really.
This is what I was hoping. You read so much on the net in the search for losing weight, increasing muscle, and doing so healthily, and it's NOT easy. There's so much conflicting advice! At the moment I am simply working by the mantra of 'eat less and move more' to lose the weight, and it is working, slowly.Thanks!
It's an enlightening piece of work that will open your eyes about weight loss and how to control you weight as you will. He's one of the folk that trains movie stars for their films and is one of the most well known nutritional experts out there.
Read this and you'll know all you'll ever need to know about weight loss!
Lee
B3njamin
As long as you are well enough informed then drastically cutting calories is no problem at all.Sensible dieting is the key.You will NOT lose muscle mass.
If you cut it too fine you will experience an energy drop and listlessness/depression,these are symptoms of low blood sugar and (consequently training harder than
you should with this condition)overtraining.If you somehow keep dieting and exercising you may verge on catabolism,but the next major physical symptom to
manifest itself will be excessive hunger.I mean really,REALLY hungry..like an obsession.A VERY clear indicator of a catabolic reaction.
There is one other main reason for excessive weightloss and that is hormonal.This can occur for a variety of reasons, obviously.
I would like to put to bed the whole 'muscle catabolism' internet/gym virtual-myth..in a number of years I have seen it,conclusively,perhaps twice and both these
cases have been national level bodybuilders close to competition who have tried to cut and maintain a very low bodyfat percentage,around 4%.
As long as you are well enough informed then drastically cutting calories is no problem at all.Sensible dieting is the key.You will NOT lose muscle mass.
If you cut it too fine you will experience an energy drop and listlessness/depression,these are symptoms of low blood sugar and (consequently training harder than
you should with this condition)overtraining.If you somehow keep dieting and exercising you may verge on catabolism,but the next major physical symptom to
manifest itself will be excessive hunger.I mean really,REALLY hungry..like an obsession.A VERY clear indicator of a catabolic reaction.
There is one other main reason for excessive weightloss and that is hormonal.This can occur for a variety of reasons, obviously.
I would like to put to bed the whole 'muscle catabolism' internet/gym virtual-myth..in a number of years I have seen it,conclusively,perhaps twice and both these
cases have been national level bodybuilders close to competition who have tried to cut and maintain a very low bodyfat percentage,around 4%.
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