Thread: Calorie requirements

Hi all,
when calculating your daily calorie intake, when you specify your weight should you really put in your target weight? The reason i ask is because i weigh 210 lbs with about 20%BF if i want to lose the fat surely i would require less calories? If i use 210lb in the equation it works out roughly 3400 cals a day (to bulk) wouldnt this just maintain the fat aswell?

Originally Posted by Boomster

Hi all,
when calculating your daily calorie intake, when you specify your weight should you really put in your target weight? The reason i ask is because i weigh 210 lbs with about 20%BF if i want to lose the fat surely i would require less calories? If i use 210lb in the equation it works out roughly 3400 cals a day (to bulk) wouldnt this just maintain the fat aswell?

Calculate off lean mass (you don't need to feed your fat cells) - then calculate your maintainence and slowly decrease/increase from there.

If you want to lose weight you decrease by ~10% at first, wait and see how you react... then decrease by 10% again if required etc etc. Same for bulking but you increase.

So 210 at 20% you would want to lose weight first (no point in bulking if your BF is that high - that is just asking to turn yourself into a fatty-fat-fat) your maintainence is probably something around 3000 cals/day (if you are moderately active)... More if you are very active... So start at that calorie level and adjust as required.