Heya ^_^

Andras · Tue Jun 03, 2008 3:53 am

Sup guys just happened to stumble across this website seems like allot of the people here are quite nice so thought id ask for your advice. I'm 20 years old male 6 foot Ive lost over 60 pounds already weighing in at about 215ish now and these last few pounds are so hard to lose..... I'm trying to reach my goal of weighting between 175-185 depending on how I look at said weights. Maybe I can get some advice diet tips exercise etc I'm currently working out 5 times a week weight lifting with some cardio prior and keep my calorie intake to about 1500 a day id like to pack on some muscle too but from I see so far I might just be loosing weight and packing on no to very little muscle.

So help anyone pls? :)

BITsie · Tue Jun 03, 2008 10:39 am

Andras... my first reaction is that you're not taking in enough fuel to make muscle. 1500 calories for an active 6 ft tall young man? You must need that much just to keep your body alive day to day. You're not giving your body any extra to make muscle WITH. You need the amino acids in protein to make muscle... What's a typical day's menu look like for you??

RedRox · Tue Jun 03, 2008 1:34 pm

Agreed. You probably aren't eating enough to allow your body to let go of it's extra stored fuel, aka fat.

Are you familiar with the concept of your Basal Metabolic Rate?
Quote: Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) shows the number of calories your body needs to operate. This doesn't account for any activity, it's simply the energy needed to sustain a heartbeat, breathing and normal body temperature. It measures the body at rest, not sleep, at room temperature.

Source: http://html.channel4000.com/sh/health/diettv/calc/bmrcalc.html

That site also provides a calculator to determine what that amount of calories is (roughly) based on age, gender, and weight. If you didn't do anything all day, it says you would need closer to 2200 cals. per day simply to be awake and rest. And I plugged in "Moderately Active" and it comes up with close to 2900 calories to maintain your current weight. Since you want to try and lose weight, you should aim to take in 500-1000 calories per day LESS than that maintenance number, so you might try shooting for something in the 2000-2300 calorie range and see what happens.

This is another calculator that does the same basic calculations but does the subtractions for you, and it comes up with 1800-2400 calories as the range you should be in to lose weight. It also has a good explanation under the calculator section of why you need to "eat to lose" and why it isn't simply reducing the calories to absolute low levels, but instead finding an optimum level to allow your body to lose fat.
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

Also note that as you get closer to your goal weight, those numbers decrease slightly as there is less of you to maintain! ;)

And since you're posting on a SB message board, we'd recommend your diet include lean proteins, whole grains and fruits in moderation, lots and lots of vegetables including beans/legumes, small amounts of nuts, low fat or fat free dairy and healthy fats. Don't skip meals (esp. breakfast!)and try to eat something every 2-3 hours.

Congrats on your progress so far! It sounds like you are taking control and responsibility for your health and weight and that's always a good thing! :)


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