Caloric Intake

[Taleigh21]

I am 5'9 and 150 (or a few under). What is the reccomended caloric intake for me? This is just something I am curious about according to set guidelines. And also how many calories SHOULD i be consuming if I am trying to lose weight?

[lordikon]

Depends on what you eat, how long you work out each day, your metabolic rate, stuff like that.

The more muscle you have, the more calories you need to gain weight.

If you're trying to lose weight, at your current size, I would say around 2000 calories a day ONLY if you're doing exercise. I would do about 2 hours of fat-burn running a week and make sure to do some weight training in there as well. Weight training builds muscle which in turn helps to burn fat, because as I said, the more muscle you have, the more calories you need.

[Puddles]

Taleigh, do you know what your bf% is? There's a way to calculate your calloric needs based on your lbm and activity level.

Read Red's Diet Advice thread:

DIET ADVICE

[Taleigh21]

Actually, I have no idea of my BF%. I do at least 30 min of Cardio/day (5x a week minumum) which consists of running and xtrainer. I also weight train at least four out of my five or six workouts.

I have done cycles of Clen, ECA stacks and such and eat mainly the same foods each day--high protein, low-mod fat and minimal carbs. If you would like I could post the foods I eat to see if they are "OK".

I have actually wanted to test my BF, two summers ago when I was heavier it was at 17%.....Doesnt help me now!

Thanks for the help ladies.

[redsquirrel]

In order to help you to the best of our abilities, we really need to get your BF done. We can correctly calculate the calories you need to reach your goals. Keep in mind, just because the scale said more two summers ago, may not necessarily mean you are less BF. Are you wanting to put on lean muscle, or lose BF?

Take me for example. I am 5'4" 140lbs, and 10.8% BF. But my caloric intake and your caloric intake requirements are going to be totally different. By getting your BF done, we will know how much lean muscle you have, and what is needed to maintain it, and still lose BF.

[Taleigh21]

Where can I get the test done?

My town is really small, and I havent heard of anyone getting their BF tested by the water displacement method here.

Is the caliper test accurate? I think I can surely get that one done at the University gym.

My goal is to lose BF and lean out.

[redsquirrel]

The caliper test is pretty accurate( they are accurate to .5% give or take...as long as the calipers still have good tension in the spring. The best calipers are the ones that have a dial (like a mini weight scale). Either or, you will still get a really good idea about what your LBM is. That is how we are going to determine you caloric intake.

[Taleigh21]

Thanks. I will be getting it done soon at the Univ. here. I will post when I get the results!

For now though...what kind of "diet" do you reccomend to help me become more lean? I have read so much on this site, and followed your journey Red, and it is all so fascinating!

What should my daily diet look like?

[redsquirrel]

Until you get your BF done, keep your calories around 1300-1350.