Hi,

I have been in to my transformation for 11 weeks now, and think everything is going according to plan!

However, I started out with a low-carb diet and not counting any calories or macros. And naturally (I see now) when I got a little stronger and better at my cardio, I simply could not go on and feel good eating nearly none carbs...

So, last week I decided to start counting my kcals, a simple version without macros. I do think about the macros, 40/40/20 carb/prot/fat, but I do not count them exactly.

Now my concern.

I have tried eaten as I wish for a few days, and ended up at 1550kcals a day. That is I have not calculated my energy needs from weight and heigt and so on, but simply "felt" what should be my level.

Now I am concerned this i s way to low. I am 6'1" (186cm) tall, and I don't know my weight, not overweight though (see details below).

When I read here at the forum, everyone seems to suggest alot more than 1550kcals a day. But I do feel good, and training feels fun. Am I heading for trouble??

Please look at a lot more details of my workouts and current level at http://ahrman.se/transform Login in with: guest / welcome

Perhaps I am to early to have these thoughts, I have only gone on strict 1550kcals for a week...? But I surely was on a deflict earlier as I have cut fat during these 10 weeks.

Any help appreciated!

How do you track your progress? Whats your activity level?
(How many times and how long do you train with weights/cardio?)

1500calories seem low but if you very sedetary it could be o.k.
Without tracking your progress (Weight, waist measurments, some bf% testing) Its going to be hard to know how big a defecit you currently have.

If you are active (cardio/weights) It looks low, but again its hard
to tell without more data.

Shahar.

How do you track your progress? Whats your activity level?
(How many times and how long do you train with weights/cardio?)

1500calories seem low but if you very sedetary it could be o.k.
Without tracking your progress (Weight, waist measurments, some bf% testing) Its going to be hard to know how big a defecit you currently have.

If you are active (cardio/weights) It looks low, but again its hard
to tell without more data.

Shahar.

Hi!

Please check out my website, there I have put up detailed info on my training, times and amounts. I think I am pretty active with ~2h effective cardio and ~1-2h effective weight traning per week.

How do you track your progress? Whats your activity level?
(How many times and how long do you train with weights/cardio?)

1500calories seem low but if you very sedetary it could be o.k.
Without tracking your progress (Weight, waist measurments, some bf% testing) Its going to be hard to know how big a defecit you currently have.

If you are active (cardio/weights) It looks low, but again its hard
to tell without more data.

Shahar.

I am tracking progress with photos mainly (see my site), and off course how I feel and nr of reps I do with my weights. Allthough I dont write down reps, they have slowly increased during these 11 weeks, not much, but a slow gain.

Awesome week 9 and week 10 photos. Looking very happy.:) Nice triceps! :claplow:

I'm not sure about estimating your weight. How big is your waist and chest? It's not usually a good idea to go below 10 times your weight in calories, and it looks like you are probably a little bit heavier than 160 pounds.

On the other hand, I personally really love the idea of intuitive eating, and that's what I follow myself. What kinds of foods are you eating? If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and get a great deal of fibre, it's sometimes hard to get very many calories in. I find myself usually eating at a bit of a deficit during the week, then making it up on the weekend with a big slice of cake or a couple of cookies.:o If you'd like to try to eat more calories, you might want to increase your intake of chicken breast, fish, and nuts, olive oil, flax seeds, and dried fruits.

I also think it's sometimes advantageous to "eat how you'd like to end up", so you could take a goal weight, multiply by 15 to determine approximate maintenance calories, then eat that much. A good goal weight for you at 6'1" might be 175 pounds, and you look like you might actually be lighter than that already. You could probably eat at a calorie surplus and still lose fat if you keep up a good weight training program. (As you said, you really don't need to lose weight.) I think you should find some more calorie dense foods as I suggested above, and try to eat a little more.
:gl:

I also had a comment about your weight training program. You mentioned at one point lifting three days in a row. I know you're not doing this anymore, but I just wanted to chime in that your muscles need at least 24 hours in order to grow. It's okay to lift every day if you are alternating muscle groups, but you shouldn't be overloading the same muscle for two days in a row.

I too love how his progress pictures get happier and happier each week :)

1550 Calories for you is too low I think. guava's advice is really good.

I too love how his progress pictures get happier and happier each week

I just saw them and its really nice how j_ahrman's smile gets wider and wider every week.

j_ahrman

Looks like you are making steady progress, but not starving yourself to the point of skinny fatness. :)
Maybe you can try adding one higher cal day during
the weekend, I actually found this to be helpfull in maintining fatloss over time.

You might also want to try getting a tape and measuring your waist/tummy/chest once a week.
You can pickup changes with the tape before they can be spotted easily in photos.

Good luck.

Shahar.

1500 is not low at all. I would be concerned with under 1200, but he's fine.

IMHO, I would say that you should probably only lose another 5lbs, eat at maintenance for a few weeks, and start seriously thinking about changing lifting routines and eating at a surplus. I fear you might get a little too skinny if you keep going, since you don't have much mass on you to begin with. You will probably plateau pretty soon anyway, and you'll be spinning your wheels and trying to drop calories and exercise more without any weight loss. Waste of time, really.

But good progress!



I too love how his progress pictures get happier and happier each week :)

1550 Calories for you is too low I think. guava's advice is really good.

1500 is not low at all. I would be concerned with under 1200, but he's fine.

I

At 6'1'' I would have guessed a 'true' 1550 (no cheat days - or that being your weekly average) would be too low.

However, it is clear from your picks that whatever you are doing is working just fine. The things to be concerned with (IMO) on low calorie diets are nutrition and loosing muscle. I haven't looked at you diet, but assuming you are eating veg (and generally clean), you can certainly get enough nutrition on 1550Kcal.

Also, you look like you probably put on a bit of muscle, if anything.

I say go for it, keep taking pics and if you start slowing and/or feeling like 1550Kcal is not enough, don't be afraid to increase for a bit, then drop back down if desired.

Awesome week 9 and week 10 photos. Looking very happy.:) Nice triceps! :claplow:

I'm not sure about estimating your weight. How big is your waist and chest? It's not usually a good idea to go below 10 times your weight in calories, and it looks like you are probably a little bit heavier than 160 pounds.

On the other hand, I personally really love the idea of intuitive eating, and that's what I follow myself. What kinds of foods are you eating? If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and get a great deal of fibre, it's sometimes hard to get very many calories in. I find myself usually eating at a bit of a deficit during the week, then making it up on the weekend with a big slice of cake or a couple of cookies.:o If you'd like to try to eat more calories, you might want to increase your intake of chicken breast, fish, and nuts, olive oil, flax seeds, and dried fruits.

I also think it's sometimes advantageous to "eat how you'd like to end up", so you could take a goal weight, multiply by 15 to determine approximate maintenance calories, then eat that much. A good goal weight for you at 6'1" might be 175 pounds, and you look like you might actually be lighter than that already. You could probably eat at a calorie surplus and still lose fat if you keep up a good weight training program. (As you said, you really don't need to lose weight.) I think you should find some more calorie dense foods as I suggested above, and try to eat a little more.
:gl:

I try to eat balanced, I always have vegs to every major meal, I try to have fish once a day, and some dairies. The things I avoid completely are all pure sugars, as candy and soda, and white bread.

I did before avoid all carbs week 1-9, being not far from ketosis I assume. But I no longer think carbs are anyting you need to avoid.

My gf is, lucky for me, very concerned with the overall balance of what we eat in our house, so I think I have a fair chance of getting all the nutrition I need. I also take one multi-vitamin pill every day.

"Eat how you'd like to end up", that sound fair, I will keep that in mind! :)

I also had a comment about your weight training program. You mentioned at one point lifting three days in a row. I know you're not doing this anymore, but I just wanted to chime in that your muscles need at least 24 hours in order to grow. It's okay to lift every day if you are alternating muscle groups, but you shouldn't be overloading the same muscle for two days in a row.

Yes, I agree with you! And although I knew this before as well I went ahead and trained to dense, and I really felt that it didn't work out.

I just saw them and its really nice how j_ahrman's smile gets wider and wider every week.

j_ahrman

Looks like you are making steady progress, but not starving yourself to the point of skinny fatness. :)
Maybe you can try adding one higher cal day during
the weekend, I actually found this to be helpfull in maintining fatloss over time.

You might also want to try getting a tape and measuring your waist/tummy/chest once a week.
You can pickup changes with the tape before they can be spotted easily in photos.

Good luck.

Shahar.

We'll see for how long that smile will last! :)

Yes, measuring with a tape could be a good idea. I will do that.

1500 is not low at all. I would be concerned with under 1200, but he's fine.

IMHO, I would say that you should probably only lose another 5lbs, eat at maintenance for a few weeks, and start seriously thinking about changing lifting routines and eating at a surplus. I fear you might get a little too skinny if you keep going, since you don't have much mass on you to begin with. You will probably plateau pretty soon anyway, and you'll be spinning your wheels and trying to drop calories and exercise more without any weight loss. Waste of time, really.

But good progress!

Yes, I realise I really do need som muscle mass, and that will be my next major goal after this "cut".

I have had a little bit to much fat on me for my hole life, and now that I manage to take some off it feels very rewarding. So right now I feel that I will try to loose some more before going on a higher diet.

So you are head on, I will continue this for perhaps two more month, then reading up and starting more heavy on the lifting!

Thanks all for your input!

I think I'll stay on this level of cals as long as it feels good, and my workouts show progress...

Please to not hesitate to give any thoughts regarding the doings of my change of life style. I am a beginner at this...

Perhaps I should add a sort of motivational gallery on my site, so you guys could see what I have in my head as a goal or vision.

Hi again,

I have now been going on ~1550kcals for a week+, and it still feels enough, so I will try to keep this level through out this first cut.

I do feel good, and training feels good to...

Add some healthy, unsaturated fats to bump up your calories a little. A little olive oil, peanut butter, walnuts, etc... can go a long way. Very good for you too.