-
Calories Intake for Intermediate lifters
Hello, I am a 20 year old male weighing 97kg(214 lbs) at 6ft tall. My strength level is that of an intermediate (or so I believe so I will share my lifts with you for validation). I have milked the hell out of NLP and gained weight to gain strength without counting macros and calories and just lifted. I have to admit that I gained more weight than I wanted to and shoot me in the head if you want but... I want to cut. I have been trying to estimate my maintenance calories for the past 3 weeks and the number has been disappointing as I feel this is much less than I used to eat and it worries me about whether I will be able to cut while maintaining strength and size. I came up with 2500-2700 calories for maintenance while training 3-4 times a week AND working as a nurse which requires a fair bit of walking and hours on my feet.
I wanna ask you @Robert Santana and other lifters who measure calories/macros, what would your calories be for each scenario (cut/maintain/bulk)? Is my intake abnormally low or fine?
Disclaimer: I dont feel like having huge hunger pangs or cravings, just psychologically feel that they are too low and from what I've read, people eat a lot more usually (unless it's fake news)?
-
How strong did you get on all lifts? List all available RMs. Your calories are not outside of what I've seen in the past no.
-
220kg deadlift, 165kg squat, 130 kg bench, 95kg press, 100kg power clean (rarely trained), 20kg weighted chins x5
Everything except chins is a 1RM.
-
Good good. You are in a good place for your bodyweight and I think those calories are good starting points for a cut. I'd divide them up 50% carb, 30% protein, 20% fat and then just titrate down from there. If you are maintaining I'd go 3000-4500 and if you are gaining I'd go 3500-4000. Then adjust those numbers depending on response.
-
Problem with my cuisine is that fat accidentally adds on, for example with every conscious effort of only having carbs and protein, I end up with 30-35% fat. For this reason I wanna know if adding +500 carbs on workout days and supposedly a bit of cardio is a good idea
-
Where is the fat coming from?
-
Mostly oil that I have to take into account, my cuisine is Mediterranean so there will always be olive oil, I just convince them to use a bit less
-
Less is ideal. The calories add up quickly.
-
Yea I know. I feel like an extra 500 calories of carbs really helps me on training days, should I add cardio so I keep the same deficit or not? If yes, what kind and how much?
-
No that would be a band aide. Best learn to clean up your diet. If you are sedentary some cardio is beneficial though.
Posting Permissions
- You may not post new threads
- You may not post replies
- You may not post attachments
- You may not edit your posts
-
Forum Rules