How Many Calories Should Be Eaten for Intense Cardio?

[DirtyWilly]

Hello, I am currently 225 ~25% BF. How many calories should I be eating daily given my routine?

I lift for an hour 4-5 days a week.
I play racket sports competitively for 4 hours a day 5 days a week.
I run for an hour on the weekend 1 day a week.

I'm active ~25 hours a week and I rarely miss a day, but I'm not losing weight at all. It's possible my body has just gotten used to this routine as I don't really get sore in any activity, but the weightloss has stopped even gone up a little.

I eat about 2500 calories a day on average. Closer to 2k during the week, sometimes but rarer, 3k on the weekends.
I eat 6 meals a day, 50% or more from supplements.
I don't sleep enough, but I don't buy into that.

How many calories should I be eating at 25 active hours a week to lose fat?

 

[hvactech]

Google "how to determine TDEE"

 

[DirtyWilly]

Thanks, this is where part of my issue is. It says my BMR is 1900 and my TDEE is 3300-3700. There's no way I'm eating 3700 calories day, just no way.

 

[organometal]

I used to be a big guy and constantly made two mistakes: over estimating how active I was and under estimating how much I ate. You are doing one of these.

I would track every calorie that goes in your body for a couple weeks (at least). Yes it's a pain, but you get used to it and there are a ton of apps to help.

Once you get a baseline, drop your calories until you are losing at a rate you are comfortable with. I would go for a pound a week (-500 calories a day). Eventually you'll stop losing weight - then rinse and repeat.

 

[love2liftkat]

What are your calories made up of? (#protein, fat, and carbs per day) How long have you been loosing weight? Do you track your calories?

 

[PILL]

You could be not getting enough calories. Too many calories or not enough can cause weight loss to stall.

The others are probably right though. It's real easy to eat more than you think.

 

[DirtyWilly]

I think organometal is right. I've inconsistently logged in the past, lost 50lbs, but then stalled and started going back up. I'll need to really look at my calories, macros, and how much exercise I'm getting now. There are weeks I'll hit over 25 hours of high intensity activity, but maybe a few weeks in there I haven't.

Is it possible to not lose weight eating too little though? Sometimes I only do 2000 calories on very active days.

 

[DB1219]

It is possible to increase body fat while eating too little if you are eating primarily carbs. Third world countries are full of obesity because of this. I suggest reading Gary Taubes " Why we get Fat". Or take one hour, google Taubes and the book title and listen to his lecture.

 

[frankz2]

It is possible to increase body fat while eating too little if you are eating primarily carbs. Third world countries are full of obesity because of this. I suggest reading Gary Taubes " Why we get Fat". Or take one hour, google Taubes and the book title and listen to his lecture.

Carbs aren't the enemy in these situations, negative nitrogen balance and low activity levels likely lead to reductions in muscle mass and higher body fat percentages.

 

[EatMoar]

CarbZ

 

[DB1219]

I am clueless about nitrogen and I am no expert on weight loss. But Taubes book/lecture will make you realize that there is more to fat accumliation than "calories in and calories out" theory of weight loss. Control insulin and you control fat. But we need insulin to build muscle, don't we? Aye, there's the rub.

 

[frankz2]

There are added variables, but in the end those variables play back in to the calories in vs. Calories out argument. I'm not diminishing insulin' role in fat storage and accumulation, but altering its responsiveness or our bodies sensitive then effects our metabolic rate and ability to utilize/burn what we eat.

 

[DirtyWilly]

I'm watching a video by Taubes, very good stuff so far, thanks. I'm a huge supporter of low-carb, it's how I've lost so much in the past, but breaking the "calories in calories out" theory is what I'm interested in. Almost everyone in fitness will say a calorie is a calorie, use TDEE, etc. But I think there's more to it than that, and my weight stalling is proof.

I read a great article recently that found insulin doesn't actually bind to protein and transport it to muscle, it's a myth. So the process isn't fully understood.

 

[DB1219]

That's why we are here. To share our experiences, bounce ideas and learn. A lot of very smart people on this site. Even though I strongly agree with Taubes and eating low carb/high protein-good fats, I still incorporate intermittent fasting at times. It is a form of "calorie restriction" and seems hypocritical to what I stated above. It helps some break through plateaus. Just another tool you may want to research/ try.

 

[JudoJosh]

Unlike many of my friends in the fitness realm, I actually like Taubes but calorie in vs out is technically a reality. It is just not practical

 

[EatMoar]

Unlike many of my friends in the fitness realm, I actually like Taubes but calorie in vs out is technically a reality. It is just not practical

That was preached for awhile, until you realize you can eat in a surplus and get leaner. Efficacy vs. efficiency.

 

[David147]

That is about right. 1200-1500 Calories a day. You can eat more and still lose belly fat. Eat almonds and fruits and vegetables will help cut down stomach fat.

 

[jaces]

its because people think a calorie is a calorie but it depends on more than just calories