How many calories ?

Discussion in 'Health and Fitness' started by philliphall, Dec 14, 2005.

  1. philliphall

    philliphall Valued Member

    I am trying to pack a bit of muscle on at present. I weight train three times a week and train (hard) in Thai Boxing for around five hours a week. I weigh in at around 12' 7. I am eating all the right foods but not sure if I am eating enough of them. How many calories should I be trying to consume each day ?.Thanks for any advice in advance.
     
  2. Combatant

    Combatant Monsiour Fitness himself.

    If you are trying to pack on muscle then thai boxing is about the worse martial art you can do for it. :D

    Get your self on a basic lifting routine and eat 5/6 healthy meals a day and you will not have to have the ballache of counting calories.
     
  3. philliphall

    philliphall Valued Member

    I think that answers my question in a different way. It is not so much the amount of calories as such, just the amount of food I suppose. I am knocking down four meals a day, plus snacks (fruit, nuts, seeds etc), at the moment. I am sure I can find out by trial and error but I just wanted some idea how much I should be trying to get down my neck.
     
  4. Combatant

    Combatant Monsiour Fitness himself.

    That sounds like quite a bit but if you are not gaining weight then just keep adding. The weights are what will give your muscle the stimulus to grow though so get training! :)

    I know that a lot of people count calories but I have never liked it myself. When you get into a proper eating routine for a period of time you will know how much you need and when. When you are dieting strictly (for competition or whatever) then counting calories will be more necessary but until then, don't overcomplicate things- EAT.
     
  5. blessed_samurai

    blessed_samurai Valued Member

  6. Blake_AE

    Blake_AE Valued Member

    A nutritionist I consulted with (free with gym membership!) told me the following as a rough guide:

    #1. 10kcals/lb bodyweight
    if my conversion was correct, you are 178lbs - 1780kcals

    #2. add in your lifestyle activity level on a scale of 1-100%
    Using my example, I have a desk job but walk as much as possible, always take stairs, etc... I'd be 20%. Someone on their feet all day would be higher.
    1780 * 20% = 356 + 1780 = 2136kcals

    #3. add in your specific activities
    2h muay thai - 600kcals (guessing - 1h conditioning, 1h technique/sparring)
    2136 + 600 = 2736kcals.

    That would be a decent rough estimate for your MAINTENANCE level on a Muay Thai night. To put on mass, you need to eat about 500kcals over that/day. Your kcal requirement for weight training days will be a little lower, maybe 2450 MAINTENANCE + 500kcals over.

    Try to keep your macronutrient ratio at about 50%-30%-20% carbs/pro/fat.

    So there is a quick rough guide.
     
  7. Unisonus

    Unisonus Bloody Rare, Please

    Blake,

    I think that yours is a very conservative estimate.
     
  8. Blake_AE

    Blake_AE Valued Member

    That could be.

    But 3200kcals a day shouldn't be too low if they are good calories, spread out through the day, and in the proper ratios.

    It depends on the body type for one thing, and on his specific metabolism. And what HE does all day. If he's more active all day, he'll be needing more - the formula accounts for that.

    He could either start higher and see if you are gaining fat or muscle and then adjust, or start at a baseline and increase intake if necessary.

    I'm following the same guidelines, I'm an ectomorph by nature, and I'm growing now. Maybe I could grow more if I ate more, but maybe I'd put on more fat. I don't need to grow faster, so its working for me.
     
  9. Shrukin89

    Shrukin89 Valued Member

    That's amazing Blake :eek: :cry:

    I was about to do some calculations myself, so now you got that covered I wouldn't have to. But very nice estimate. :D
     
  10. Blake_AE

    Blake_AE Valued Member

    Thanks. Keep what Unisonus said in mind. If you are in a hurry to bulk, it might be a little conservative. If you aren't in a great hurry, its probably a safe baseline to work with.
     
  11. Colucci

    Colucci My buddies call me Chris.

    That's funny. I'm Human by nature, and I personally try to keep math as far away from working out as possible. ;)

    Eat a whole bunch of food. If you're getting too chubby, eat a bit less. If you're still not growing, eat a bit more. Protein is great, healthy fats are very good, complex carbs can be tricky, but they're still important.

    As for "amounts of food", I'd suggest making sure you're getting, everyday:
    - 1 protein shake
    - 1 post-workout shake
    - At least 3 or 4 servings (about the size of you hand) of something that used to be an animal (fish, beef, turkey, chicken, eggs)
    - All that other good stuff, like nuts, fruits, veggies, wheat bread, etc.
     
  12. Blake_AE

    Blake_AE Valued Member

    Me too. But outsde of the gym, math helps. Hell I've seen people miscount plates on the bar and crumble in the squat rack too so I'm not going to knock math too hard. :D

    A whole bunch of food means different things to different people. Some people feel sick after 2400 calories... but most others would say 2400 is not "a whole bunch."

    The whole point of counting calories is just to make "a whole bunch" become relative to where they currently are. I don't count every meal. But for two weeks I did and it taught me a LOT. Now I don't really need to.
     

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