Daily Calorie Intake

[WierdBeard]

Hey all, I'm kinda new to all this fitness and bodybuilding. Well actually, I'm a complete rookie. I started a fitness program largely based on what John was doing and modified it as I read more and more about nutrition and exercise, mostly on bodybuilding.com. I started my program in full exactly a week ago on Jan 14, I'm 5'8" and currently 209lbs. I was 213lbs when I started a week ago, and of course, I'm loving every minute of it. Like everyone I'd love to have the quickest results possible, but more than that, I'd like to do it the right way. I've never been a big eater but I've never EVER exercised before, not including the odd basketball or soccer game. I've never actually been thin before either but since I graduated from high school I've put on almost 40 pounds.

Ok, enough backstory, on to the point. My daily calorie intake has been between 1400 and 1200 a day, with an all time low of 945 calories. I haven't been feeling hungry really and haven't consciously limited my intake, but at the end of the day when I calculate my cal intake, it always comes up low. My question is this; my main goal is to lose weight and my secondary goal is muscle development. I'm doing about 25 - 30 minutes of HIIT cardio everyday and weight training 3 times a week. Most of my cals come from protein and carbs, with almost no fat and no saturated fat.

Should I keep going with this calorie intake or should I add more? If so, what should my calorie goal be?

Jeez! Sorry for the long post! But anyway, any help would be appreciated.

-Mike

[AWD_ENVY]

I'm not sure on your age, but sounds pretty low to me. I found John about 1.5 months into my program, and like him I also Cut my callories to much in the begining. I make sure to eat 5 times a day, and Cut my calories by 500-600 a day based on my daily caloric intake.

Not saying you are to low.. but I know alot of new people to dieting right make the same mistake as I did.

[Jounetsu]

Seems a bit on the low side to me, i'd be looking at more like 1600-1800 given your weight, since your basal metabolic rate increases with weight- you burn more when you're heavier. Eventually you decrease your intake to match your lower weight.

I would say to eat more protein, to facilitate muscle growth, also more complex carbs.

[WierdBeard]

I'm 23, my average is around 6 meals a day. 3 or 4 of them are meals of around 150 to 300 calories and the rest hover around 60 to 120 calories. Mostly yogurt or fruit. Should I increase the calorie content in my in-between meals? And what are some long-term effects of starting out with a too-low calorie diet? For example, does it affect weight loss or lean mass gain later on?

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by WierdBeard

I'm 23, my average is around 6 meals a day. 3 or 4 of them are meals of around 150 to 300 calories and the rest hover around 60 to 120 calories. Mostly yogurt or fruit. Should I increase the calorie content in my in-between meals? And what are some long-term effects of starting out with a too-low calorie diet? For example, does it affect weight loss or lean mass gain later on?

How are you tracking your calories? What does a 60-120 calorie meal consist of? That seems awfully low for a meal (or even a snack).

My lowest calorie snack is usually beef jerky. Or 8oz of plain yogurt at almost 150 calories.

Also - even 1400 calories is way too low for someone working out. You shoul really stick to at least 2000.

[Razor]

I agree with the others. You need to take in more calories. Also... make sure you're getting those calories from the proper foods.

[NME]

Yep, you should be taking in a minimum of just over 2000 calories per day in order to minimize muscle loss while cutting the fat.

You're going to be losing a lot of muscle mass at your current caloric intake.