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traineo Community / Diet & Nutrition Tips / under eating over training.
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Barnaby Corbett
traineo Newbie
Posts: 4
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 # Posted: 18 May 2008 16:49


forgive me if this is the wrong area to post in.

I'm aware of the effect of consuming too few calories , my body's metabolism would slow down and resort to burning muscle not fat, but i am confused when it comes to exercising and burning calories. If i need to consume 2000 calories a day and i only eat 1000 calories this is undereating/ stravation.

Is it any different if i need to consume 2000 , only eat 1500 and burn off 500 in exercise becasue i still have a 1000 calorie deficiant or are they both as bad?
Xyba Dog
traineo Regular
Posts: 43
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 # Posted: 18 May 2008 19:27 - Edited by: XybaDog


Don't forget that your body naturally burns calories during the day. Ball park figure for the average man would be 2400 cals per day (not an exact, but close enough for illustrating this example. There is an actual formula but I'd probably use this figure as an average). If you exercise and burn 1000 calories from exercise this means your calories burnt for that day are 3400 (2400+1000). A safe minimum calorie intake for a male, long term, would be say 2000 per day, therefore 3400-2000 = 1400 calories deficit for that day.
You could consume as little as 1500 per day, but this is a definite SHORT-TERM plan, for no longer than say 1 week. Any longer and it can cause more harm than good. Some say 2-3 weeks but I don't agree.

Hopet this helps.
Barnaby Corbett
traineo Newbie
Posts: 4
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 # Posted: 18 May 2008 20:57


Good point i forgot about the calories id be burning regardless of exercise.

Ive calculated i need to consume 3,020 kcal per a day to stay the same weight so i shall aim to eat 2,520 in 3 or 4 meals with 40% of the meal protein, 40% carbs and 20% healthy fats. I know 6 meals is more ideal but i think id find it hard to keep eating them regularly etc.

and i shall exercise everyday on my cycling machine for 30 mins minimum at 70 - 80 % of my max heart rate.

Can anyone see any major flaws in my new heathly plan?
Xyba Dog
traineo Regular
Posts: 43
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 # Posted: 18 May 2008 21:37


I would probably try to increase your carbs and decrease your protein, but only slightly. Maybe 45% carbs and 35% protein. Remeber to eat less carbs later in he day. Try to alternate your exercise, so don't stick to just the cycle machine. It's surprising how quickly your body decides to reject your cal burning exercise if you don't mix it up a bit.

Lean Body Mass (LBM), or muscle, burns more fat than cardio exercise, so try to include some of this every other day.
Barnaby Corbett
traineo Newbie
Posts: 4
Post History
 # Posted: 18 May 2008 22:04


I have a heart rate monitor which i was going to use to measure my calorie burning whilst cycling, i know there not 100% accurate but this way i could see when i adapt to the same exercise. I forgot to mention i play tennis more and more regularly now aswell so thats a different exercise. i'll try to incorporate some others two.

I was sceptical of weight lifting because although i definatly want to increase strength, i was unsure if whislt im cutting calories i would have enougth to recover and build new muscle tissue.

Im not sure if LBM burns more calories, if you mean long term then i agree, as it raises your metabolism and the elavated heart rate after training helps t0o but in the short term i think cardio burns more.

However i am striving for long term goals aswell and i know that theres no quick fix. So on my calorie intake per a day as above is it worth the time spent lifting? If should would a protein supplement be neccesary or L-glutamine?
Angie H
Fitness Guru
Posts: 718
Post History
 # Posted: 19 May 2008 14:37


Yes, 2520 kcal per day, @ 40% protein = 252 g of protein, which would support about 252 pounds LBM with moderate to heavy weight training and moderate aerobic exercise.

Unless you have that much LBM, I'd recommend cutting back just a bit more. I love your ratios, just a bit anxious about your total caloric intake. You might could lose weight a bit more efficiently by cutting back on the calories, to say 2000.

Of course play around with it. Overeating is definitely not going to cause you any harm but will slow your progress. Undereat for your given exercise regime, and you'll lose muscle. The real test is to keep track of your body fat and monitor your LBM.
Shawn W.
Fitness Guru
Posts: 490
Post History
 # Posted: 20 May 2008 04:30


The perk is you can see what happens in a week or two @ 2520 and if no change is made, then drop it down to 2200, try it again then drop again if need be.

I lost fat, gained muscle @ 2500 calories. Wasn't till about 3500-4000 calories that I started gaining fat with muscle while working out hard doing weight lifting.

With alot of cardio, and good protein intake you should slowly lose some weight @ 2520 but thats not a sure thing.
Barnaby Corbett
traineo Newbie
Posts: 4
Post History
 # Posted: 20 May 2008 10:51


I'm going to drop my intake to 2000 calories a day becasue thats enougth protein to cover my LBM. With weight lifting would you reccommend low reppatitions e.g. heavy weights at 8 reps . or slightly lighter at 12 reps? or more?

Should I do more than one set? and how many times a week should i train each muscle? I've read lots of different approaches from every other day, once every three days or just once a week.

Oh i know some times i'll require longer recovery time but as an average amount to train each week.
Dave Nicholson
The Master
Posts: 2094
Post History
 # Posted: 20 May 2008 14:23


Check out the Stronglifts 5X5 beginner program at stronglifts.com - good place to start.
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