minimum calories for ~160cm male

[rahxephon]

Whats the minimum calories a 160cm 25yo overweight male should take, in order to lose fat?

Hmm, I can't seem to find one solid answer to this. some say don't go below 1600calories, other places i've read don't go below 2000 calories. at the same time, ive seen 1000 calories plans, etc etc.

I did some of formula working out etc, the ones where you put in your height, weight, activity level etc, and apparantly, for a diet where I want to lose weight, i should be eating 1500 calories a day or so.

I'm 160cm tall. age 25, weight like 91kg (yeah heaps obese aye, but thats why im planning).

anyway, all advices would be much appreciated. I've invested $1000+ and got myself a home gym (power rack, bench, olympic bb, 150kg weights). am planning on following the Starting strength program.

PS anyone seen the meal plans included in the "The truth about building muscle" (sean nalewanyj) program? any thoughts? ill try and attach day 1 of the 2000 calorie cheap plan.
here: http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/298/day1j.png

 

[Fadi]

I’m willing to bet that you’re not overweight because you’ve over eaten but rather because you’ve under exercised. Would you agree to some extent?


Fadi.

 

[MaxBrenner]

A fast calculation you can use is your bodyweight x 30 calories. Start off at that intake for 2 weeks and adjust as needed (by 10%).

All the generalization calorie suggestions are just that, a generalization which takes nothing into consideration for your personal requirements and needs etc. Don't even bother with that shit.

You also need to ensure your macro's (protein and fats are the essentials) are in the correct amounts to meet physiological, biological and exercise requirements.

 

[rahxephon]

well, its a combination of both i think. got married early, getting all the good foods while leading a fairly sedentary life.

in any case, it doesn't really matter at this point, i think. in a couple of hours, will go for my weight resistance training session. =D

I just want advice sorting out my diet.

STEP 1 - Find out your Lean Body Mass.
Total Weight - (% Bodyfat X Total Weight) 202.8-(29%*202.8) = 143.988

STEP 2 - Find your BMR
BMR (men/women) = 370 + (9.8 X lean body mass in lbs) 370+(9.8*136.9) = 1781.082

STEP 3 - Apply the 'Activity Modifier' 1711.62*1.2 = 2137.299

now i take off 500 to 1000 calories, and stick with it, to lose weight. at the same time, I do resistance training with cardio, and i should get fit.

So does 1600 calories, for a 160cm (5' 3") 90g male sound ok? Or is there some minimum calorie limit I should be aware of.
thats my question, really.

 

[Bazza20]

So does 1600 calories, for a 160cm (5' 3") 90g male sound ok? Or is there some minimum calorie limit I should be aware of.
thats my question, really.

No 1600 is too low.

Like max said start of at 30cal times body weight and adjust after a few weeks if needed.

 

[dave]

What's your energy expenditure like?

 

[rahxephon]

barely any physical activity. i've started daily walks in evenings, + the workouts, but apart from that, not much.

 

[kal-el]

To give you an example of what Max said about those estimates being just that and not taking into account any personal information.

I tested my RMR 3 times at Uni, the first time was 24hrs after doing a sprint session and I had been training consistently with no injuries/breaks for a while and my RMR was just over 2200.

I took it was about 4 weeks (cant remember) off training and my RMR had gone down to 1760. I then re-tested another week later and it was 1670 or so.

During the time off I lost about 2kg of muscle, obviously my height stayed the same which is 170cm Im 26 years old.

All tests were done under the same conditions, fasted, same time etc. So it just goes to show that RMR can change whether it was from decreased LBM, decreased physical activity or other factors I dont know.

Just dont think that the figures you get from an equation are set in stone.