Thread: How many calories?

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Thank you bro i appreciate your contribution.

What are you doing regarding cardio, or training? Is there any specific program you are following?

lots of answers here: *** READ ME FIRST - Homework #1 for Newbies ***

Good post thank you , appreciate it. Others are also more than welcome to contribute some info.

Don't worry about calories. It's all about adjusting macro-nutrient intake in reducing carbs to take control of insulin if your goal is to drop fat tissue.
I use fitday.com for tracking macro-nutrient intake and try to keep my protein intake up to about a gm per kg and get adequate fats while keeping my carbs low and that seams to work very well for me.

Originally Posted by TooOld

Don't worry about calories. It's all about adjusting macro-nutrient intake in reducing carbs to take control of insulin if your goal is to drop fat tissue.
I use fitday.com for tracking macro-nutrient intake and try to keep my protein intake up to about a gm per kg and get adequate fats while keeping my carbs low and that seams to work very well for me.

It's actually more about calories. You can gain or lose weight on high or low carbs. Unless you have some type of diabetes or insulin resistance to be concerned about, one doesn't need to eat low carb in order to lose fat. Lowering carbs will make you lose water weight, as your body needs water to store and use carbs. Carbs should not be vilified especially if you're doing alot of work. There are several approaches one can use such as different types of carb loading or cycling. But to automatically say "eat low carb" is just inaccurate.

What you need to do is track your intake so you'll know what you're eating and what you need to adjust. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark and doing what everyone else is doing and you can plan on going through what everyone else goes through.

Originally Posted by Merkaba

It's actually more about calories. You can gain or lose weight on high or low carbs. Unless you have some type of diabetes or insulin resistance to be concerned about, one doesn't need to eat low carb in order to lose fat. Lowering carbs will make you lose water weight, as your body needs water to store and use carbs. Carbs should not be vilified especially if you're doing alot of work. There are several approaches one can use such as different types of carb loading or cycling. But to automatically say "eat low carb" is just inaccurate.

What you need to do is track your intake so you'll know what you're eating and what you need to adjust. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark and doing what everyone else is doing and you can plan on going through what everyone else goes through.

Bro you COnfused me, please give some examples and bit more specific. thank you in advance

Originally Posted by Nutcracker

Bro you COnfused me, please give some examples and bit more specific. thank you in advance

The point is low carb diets are overrated. Pretty much any time you drop carbs you will drop weight because your body holds water to store glycogen. When you cut that, you cut the water as well. This is why anyone can guarantee weight loss on any program.

For your calories, shoot for 14 x your body weight if you don't want to track your intake. I'd shoot for 3000. With your bike riding you might be burning what 500 calories. A gram of fat is about 9 calories, a gram of protein and carb is about 4. Protein for individuals can be up for debate but you need a minimum of 150 grams, and you'd probably want to shoot for 200 at least. You want some type of tracking program so you'll be able to do this stuff without paper and pencil unless you just prefer it. I actually use myfitnesspal now on my phone. In general the more carbs you eat the less protein you'll need. I would recommend you get more of your calories from fats and protein and let the remainder fall into good carbs, maybe around your biking. Keep some sat fat in and get some good fats,your hormones will like this. I ate guacamole last night...it doesn't get much better. Great fat and about as much fiber as you can get from a veggie.

If you track your intake many people are surprised by how much they were off or how bad that favorite meal or two was, or how lopsided their eating was, getting 100 grams of protein in a day and the rest in fat and carbs and other various weaksauces.

in lieu of the usual $299 I charge, just hit the "rep button " below. j/k.... you can mail the check to me!

Bro, i appreciate your help thank you very much

Originally Posted by Merkaba

It's actually more about calories. You can gain or lose weight on high or low carbs. Unless you have some type of diabetes or insulin resistance to be concerned about, one doesn't need to eat low carb in order to lose fat. Lowering carbs will make you lose water weight, as your body needs water to store and use carbs. Carbs should not be vilified especially if you're doing alot of work. There are several approaches one can use such as different types of carb loading or cycling. But to automatically say "eat low carb" is just inaccurate.

What you need to do is track your intake so you'll know what you're eating and what you need to adjust. Otherwise you're just shooting in the dark and doing what everyone else is doing and you can plan on going through what everyone else goes through.

Yes but you are speaking in generalization, specifically in the OP's case he's riding a bike as far a activity "that's about it" as he stated it with no resistance training. I can see the need for higher carb intake for an athlete doing allot of resistance training. In this case he's not so that is why I suggested adjusting macro's.

Originally Posted by TooOld

Yes but you are speaking in generalization, specifically in the OP's case he's riding a bike as far a activity "that's about it" as he stated it with no resistance training. I can see the need for higher carb intake for an athlete doing allot of resistance training. In this case he's not so that is why I suggested adjusting macro's.

I think you're speaking in generalization. ANYONE can cut carbs in general and lose weight. Pretty much guaranteed. That's general to me. Thermodynamics is a general concept though it works the same way in just about every human barring a malfunction or disease. You need to eat less than you need but not too low. The first thing so many people think of is drop carbs. This can be a waste of time and confusion as your water weight fluctuates. The next thing you know it's been a month and you can't understand what you need to do next because your weight loss slowed up. Well it's because you didnt' really lose much fat, just weight, i.e. water. To me this is one of the biggest mistakes for most people. Cause when they cheat or eat that cake or go out for the weekend and gain 5 lbs of water back they think they blew their diet and then get weaker mentally or go out and try to kill themselves doing unsustainable cardio.

Now I will attest that carbs make some people hungry, like myself! Some people aren't that sensitive to them. So it might be more comfortable to keep them low. If you do your numbers, you're not going to have alot of room left for alot of carbs anyways but, sure, I wouldn't cram them in if I don't need to. Also, I meant to mention that yes if I were you, OP I would start doing some good resistance training.

For cutting I prefer to go low carb and or intermittent fasting until later in the day...then get my calories and carbs later in the day around the workout or ckd style and carb up on the weekend. I'm a carb junkie so I have to keep them low or I'll nibble all day. I'm currently doing a mix of Intermittent fasting, TKD and CKD.

I must repectfully disagree that thermodymanics do change. Otherwise a calorie would be a calorie no matter what the source.

Originally Posted by TooOld

I must repectfully disagree that thermodymanics do change. Otherwise a calorie would be a calorie no matter what the source.

When is a calorie not a calorie barring disease and malfunction?

Originally Posted by TooOld

I must repectfully disagree that thermodymanics do change. Otherwise a calorie would be a calorie no matter what the source.

It is. It's the energy needed to increase the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1° C. or about 4.2 kilojoules.

Originally Posted by returnofthdragon

It is. It's the energy needed to increase the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1° C. or about 4.2 kilojoules.

Indeed...people just don't understand the nature behind making the body burn fat on a routine or prolonged basis.

So let us say that i am 5,7 weight is 220 lbs. with approx. 171 lean mass. for now biking is the only activity i am on. i approx. take 2,500 calories a day, 177 g of it is fat, 138 g carbs. and 105g. is protein. according to this what type of precautions i should be taking in order to increase the productivity.
Thank you in advance

Originally Posted by returnofthdragon

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nice thx man

Originally Posted by Merkaba

When is a calorie not a calorie barring disease and malfunction?

Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-.../dp/1400040787

If a calorie was just a calorie no matter what the source then why would someone consuming X calories of high quality protein not gain the same weight as someone consuming X calories of refined carbs?

Overrated? What about reduced oxidative stress & inflammation associated with low carb diets? Would air and water be overated too?

Oh and "Generazations", no actually I made assumptions.

Originally Posted by Nutcracker

So let us say that i am 5,7 weight is 220 lbs. with approx. 171 lean mass. for now biking is the only activity i am on. i approx. take 2,500 calories a day, 177 g of it is fat, 138 g carbs. and 105g. is protein. according to this what type of precautions i should be taking in order to increase the productivity.
Thank you in advance

Add a 100g to the protein and take away from the carbs keeping Calories the same.

Originally Posted by TooOld

Check it out: http://www.amazon.com/Good-Calories-.../dp/1400040787

If a calorie was just a calorie no matter what the source then why would someone consuming X calories of high quality protein not gain the same weight as someone consuming X calories of refined carbs?

Overrated? What about reduced oxidative stress & inflammation associated with low carb diets? Would air and water be overated too?

Oh and "Generazations", no actually I made assumptions.

^ Awesome + Awesome ^ 'nuff said.

Originally Posted by Nutcracker

So let us say that i am 5,7 weight is 220 lbs. with approx. 171 lean mass. for now biking is the only activity i am on. i approx. take 2,500 calories a day, 177 g of it is fat, 138 g carbs. and 105g. is protein. according to this what type of precautions i should be taking in order to increase the productivity.
Thank you in advance

Shoot for 2200 or 2300 cals total. Cut the fat, keep the carbs the same or lower and aim high on the protein. 1 gram of your goal weight. If you want to be 180lbs. eat 180 grams.

And bro, you need to workout if you want to lose weight. 80% is the diet but you have to create a demand for the protein you are eating. Lift weight's so you can fuel your muscles and low cals to burn the fat.

I'm the same height as you and eat between 2,000-2,200 cals each day 200 grams of protein. I workout 5 day's a week and am 10% bodyfat by doing this.

Losing weight is simple. People make it so hard. You body needs x amount of energy and burns x amount of energy each day. Lower the amount of energy you give to your body and it will start using fat reserves (and muslce, but if protein is kept high you can ward this off) as energy.

That is the basic's. If you want to get less than 10% bf it get's a lot harder as your body starts doing weird stuff and shut'sdown because it thinks it's starving, etc. Then you do stuff like refeeds, carb cycling, etc. etc, But that is advanced you only need to find your TDEE and create a cal. deficit. 2000 cals and 180 grams of protein would be fine to start.

Originally Posted by TooOld

Check it out: Amazon.com: Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on Diet, Weight Control, and Disease (9781400040780): Gary Taubes: Books

If a calorie was just a calorie no matter what the source then why would someone consuming X calories of high quality protein not gain the same weight as someone consuming X calories of refined carbs?

Overrated? What about reduced oxidative stress & inflammation associated with low carb diets? Would air and water be overated too?

Oh and "Generazations", no actually I made assumptions.

Ok well that's at least a reference so you've got me beat. A book on amazon. I haven't read it and don't plan on reading it. I'm sure I can find a book on amazon to support eating a decent deficit. I don't get it. People like to make this stuff so complicated. But like I said, barring disease and malfunction. Everyone may have some inflammation, which may lead to water weight, and oxidative stress, etc. A prolonged workout can lead to shifts in all three.

Differences between eating protein vs refined carbs?? That's simple. Glycogen. Any carb will help you hold water weight, again. Hell you could throw in salt and potassium as factors too then! So if you're talking about just sheer gaining weight, then yea. I can gain 6 lbs in a day eating at maintenance depending on what went on before and what I eat. Weight gain and fat loss are two different things. Again, long term, barring disease and malfunction...Most people eat or exercise their way into a malfunction, because that's what they learn from typical books and t.v.

We only have three main sources of energy. Barring disease and malfunction, i.e., "all else is equal" humans use fatty acids as a major or prolonged energy source for only a few reasons. At least that's my stance. But you can disagree.

Actually, you probably should read those books (since they are both good reads imo). And yes, in the end - its really simple.

I'm a fan of Taubes' reverse-causalities and cholesterol/heart disease debunking, but he is way off base saying that insulin is what makes us fat, he cherry-picked and doesn't deny it, in fact his most recent blog post said that obesity research is so "off the rails" that cherry-picking is the only way to go...

There is whole literature he's left out in GCBC including the hypothalamic regulation of weight, leptin, etc. - there is no one cause or cure for obesity, but he makes it out like a low carb diet is the only one that works- how does he explain the 80/10/10 diet? I doubt they reduced carbs.

Holy shit. I figured this might turn into something fun.

First off - Arra, did you read Taube's new book?

http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Get-Fat...0017597&sr=8-1

It goes into more detail and just an awesome read.

I laugh how most people get WAY to anal about specifics.

Look, I'm sorry, but when you go strictly to one side or the other on your "diet" its not really a good thing for very long. So that 80/10/10 can shove it. I'll keep my meat and healthy fats with a bit of carbs any day over some vegan bullshit.

BTW - Most people are overweight because of shitty eating habits mind you. Can we say processed carbs/sugars? Also, the fructose levels in sodas and other goodies is off the charts considering if you just had a couple of pieces of fruit a day.

Most crappy carbs MAKE your body want to eat more because your body isn't getting what it wants! (Also from the way food companies want you to keep buying more of the product)

Another example - Take iodized salt for instance.

Most salts you buy in the store these days DON'T have iodine in it. Hmmm, odd right?

Well, ever wonder why you have mega salt cravings and can't ever fight it off no matter how much salt you take in?

Buy some iodized salt and you may see a difference.

When your body wants something, it will tell you. When will you listen to it?

Sorry guys. I'm in rampage mode and I'll stop now.

Originally Posted by af92

Holy shit. I figured this might turn into something fun.

First off - Arra, did you read Taube's new book?

Amazon.com: Why We Get Fat: And What to Do About It (9780307272706): Gary Taubes: Books

It goes into more detail and just an awesome read.

I laugh how most people get WAY to anal about specifics.

Look, I'm sorry, but when you go strictly to one side or the other on your "diet" its not really a good thing for very long. So that 80/10/10 can shove it. I'll keep my meat and healthy fats with a bit of carbs any day over some vegan bullshit.

BTW - Most people are overweight because of shitty eating habits mind you. Can we say processed carbs/sugars? Also, the fructose levels in sodas and other goodies is off the charts considering if you just had a couple of pieces of fruit a day.

Most crappy carbs MAKE your body want to eat more because your body isn't getting what it wants! (Also from the way food companies want you to keep buying more of the product)

Yes, I read it.

Gluttony and sloth are side effects of obesity, I believe Taubes said "we eat more because we're getting fat, not getting fat because we're eating more" - which I agree with. But if you're going to pinpoint insulin as the reason, you're wrong. He also failed to mention that protein also releases insulin, and that some protein-based meals have more insulin secreted in response to them than say rolled oats. Not to mention that anti-insulin drugs have been shown to be futile in reducing fat. Leptin drugs however such as that of Robert Lustig's seem more promising.