Important nutrition question:

[ironalex]

On average i burn about 1500 calories a day through exercise alone, but i eat when im on a diet about 1500 calories. I feel weak, light headed etc. How many calories should i eat? do i eat back my burned calories? as my BMR is 2200, so on average im burning like 3700 calories but only eating 1500. Surely that cant be right. Would it be better if i ate say 2500, and then id be at a 1200 deficit instead of a 2200 deficit!

Thanks in advance for the help.

[~AK49~]

If you're trying to lose weight, sure, eating at a deficit is good. Shouldn't be that big of a deficit tho.

Also, when you eat is just as important as far as getting light headed and whatnot, I.e 30-45 min or so before a workout. If you don't eat before your workout, and the workout has any intensity to it at all, then yeah good chance you'll get lightheaded

[ironalex]

Thanks for the reply - but i hear you should have a 500-1000 deficit? so if im burning 3700 calories, do i eat 2700 if i want to lose weight?

[~AK49~]

Thanks for the reply - but i hear you should have a 500-1000 deficit? so if im burning 3700 calories, do i eat 2700 if i want to lose weight?

Depends in what kind of timeframe you are looking at as far as losing weight. Personally, I'd recommend being in the 250-500 range, for either deficits or surpluses.

[ironalex]

I'm 140 and want to lose about 8 pounds in 7 weeks

[~AK49~]

I'm 140 and want to lose about 8 pounds in 7 weeks

A big difference in just losing weight for the sake of being healthier/etc, and losing weigh to compete. Entirely different ballgames.

If you are looking to lose weight for competing and only needing to lose 8 lbs in 7 weeks, you should be preparing/looking into water manipulation. As far as your diet, I'd recommend only having a 250 cal deficit, for a week to two and see where that places you, then reconfigure and adjust, taking out 250 more if necessary. And of course, repeating this process.

As far as being healthier, diet wise the same principal. Start at a 250-500 cal deficit, go a week or two and see how your body reacts, then take out more calories if necessary. If you hit a wall where you aren't losing any more weight, take out more, etc. Starting out, only take out about 250 calories from your diet each time. As time goes on, and you get closer to your deadline/goal, look at taking out more, instead of 250 do 500. You just don't want to do anything to dramatic, your body needs nutrients and fuel.

[ironalex]

Thanks man I appreciate it- so you're saying I should have around 3000 calories? I'm fighting in like 10-11 weeks but I want to be comfortable at 130- so I figure get my weight down slowly to like 133-4 and then take off water

[paulsinghnl]

can i just ask: how do you know you're burning so many calories? 3700 calories is more than an average male's worth of caloric intake in a day (on average from 2000 to max 2800).

a caloric deficit is not just created by exercise, normal regular activity burns calories. even sleeping burns calories. So by definition you need to eat more than you're burning during the workout just for your body to function.

this being said, the easiest way for you to do that is portioning. just eat a little less of what you usually eat, no snacking, no sugary drinks (including juices from cartons), no sugary foods, a whole lot of water (with lemon) and green tea. have a lot of veggies, fruits, meat, nuts and seeds. and just make sure u eat less than usual, so that your body is burning more during the day than ingesting.

remember: your body needs energy, never go into that much of a deficit that you're feeling weak, that way your body burns up proteins (muscle) sooner than fat.

Fat is very valuable source of energy which provides lots of energy if your body deems its necessary to burn, so you need to make sure your body does intense work so your body releases fats for that work.

not enough proteins and calories in your body will cause your body to burn muscle.

[Pony Boy]

If your trying to loose 1 to 2 pounds of body fat per week, you cut your daily calories (maintenance calorie intake) by 20%. You'll most likely loose more but the rest is just water. But this all depends on how long you train, what type of training you do and of course your diet, what you eat. It's really hard to give you an exact answer not knowing your current body composition and other important factors. If your experiencing light headed and feeling weak is because your not eating enough and not getting all the nutrients your body needs. You could be sabotaging yourself to go into starvation mode and possible dehydration. Good luck!

I would like to know what Barry Bonds has ti say about this. Maybe he'll make a video about cutting weight.

[ironalex]

Hi everyone- thank you for your replies so far. Sorry for not providing my details. Ok well I on average train about 3-4 hours a day. I run 4-5 miles, do 2 hour of non stop boxing workout I don't sit and talk I just go and do my work, I also do groundwork and strength workouts. This is mon-sat. I'm 5'8 and weigh 142 pounds right now...