am I not eating enough?

[rangers97]

I;ve read some diet tips in various places that tell you a 195 lb person should be eating around 3200 calories to begin a "cutting diet". They break it down into phases, and say by phase 4 you should be at around 2700 calories. I think I eat that many calories now and I am not specifically cutting or bulking.

I know activity levels need to be taken into consideration, but is this somewhat accurate? I mean I think like I said I don't even eat 2700 calories in a day sometimes, yet i find myself not getting any leaner and not really gaining weight either. You could say that for me this is my maintenance, but I guess my question is if you eat too few calories for your size and activity level, will your metabolism slow? How is it possible to be a 200 lb guy and eat 2700 calories and not lose any weight when it seems a lot of other people my size are eating a lot more?

 

[Jodi]

Have you read this yet? http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/showthread.php?t=21113

It's true that you need to start a cut higher in cals so that you can modify when progress slows down and not go into starvation mode but finding that caloric range is the hardest part.

 

[rangers97]

thanks for the link

 

[bulletproof1]

the more muscle you have the more cals it takes to maintain.

 

[BronzeGuy]

If you're starting from a fairly sedentary lifestyle... (desk job + night school) and just really getting back to the gym, and your first goal is losing fat, shouldn't you start with a much lower calorie intake?

I weigh just under 220, am 5'10" and have been averaging 1800 calories per day and am not dropping much weight. (damnit!) I don't have much time to work out and I don't have a thyroid (anymore) so I know I'm not slowing it down because of some starvation mode. Anyway, I do notice that when I'm able to get into the gym several times in a week, I feel ravenously hungry.

Any suggestions for me?