My calculations for my calorie needs

[djhaycock]

Here are my stats:

weight 219lbs
age 27
workout 3x/ week

So I came up with two calculations.

1. 219 x 11 x 1.3 for 3131 maintenance calories

2. 219 x 11 x 1.4 for 3372 maintenance calories.

I work in outside sales and spend a lot of time in my car and a few hours in the office, that's why I used the two different activity factors in the calculations.

Which one of these two do the diet and nutrition experts think would work best for me? I plan on knocking this down by 750 - 1000 cals for fat loss.

Thanks.

[Terry Monk]

Do you know what your current body fat % is?

[Lost Dog]

Even the best calculation is just a guestimate (or as I prefer, an esti-guess). Everyone's metabolism is different, activity levels are never exact, plus who knows how much your workouts do for you.

Pick a number to start, take off 500-1000, then start tracking your progress. Most people look for 2 lbs per week, approximately. After a couple of weeks, you can go up or down, depending on what happens.

Most people would prefer to aim lower. After a few weeks, you'll "catch up" to that calorie point, anyway.

[BFG]

Yep agree 2500 would be a good starting point, think I mentioned elsewhere try not to go for a static figure tho the body easily adjusts to its knew calorific intake. So change it aropund weekly: calorie cycle 200 down 100 up tends to keep the body on its toes and should help you achieve a consistant loss

[djhaycock]

Originally Posted by gymrat

Do you know what your current body fat % is?

No idea. I would guess high teens to low 20's. From past measurements and where I'm at now I'd say 20 is about right.

I do need to get it tested however. I just don't particularly trust the trainers at my gym.

Everyone's metabolism is different, activity levels are never exact, plus who knows how much your workouts do for you

.

This I know is true. I'm sure a lot of people think this only to be proven wrong by a professional, but my workouts are intense. I try my very best to keep my rest periods spot on to the protocol as well as the tempo. My shirt is regularly soaked through and by the middle of my workout I'm sucking wind. I also regularly up my weights and challenge myself as much as humanly possible. I'd like to think my workout is intense. Now, if I could manage to do HIIT on my off days as well, I would be completely comfortable staying with the 40% activity level. Maybe I should just split the difference for now???

Thanks for all the responses.

[Jason B]

I wouldn't sweat the couple hundred calorie difference in those calculations, if you can count your cals that exact I'd be impressed anyway, and it varies every day like the others said. I'd say just round it off to 3200 and take 500 off that. Then eat a little more on higher activity days.