Caloric Intake

[Celtic Jedi]

Just a little background first.... November 2006 I was severly (nearly fately) electricuted while working as a crane operator. After almost a year of recovery sitting at home on the couch my weight ballooned to 98 Kg (I am only roughly 165 cm tall). This led me to buy The Biggest Loser weight loss books and follow their plan which has managed to help me lose 16 kilos to date. My problem now is that my weight has not changed in the past little while leading me to believe I need to change my routine. I am concerned that I am burning more muscle than fat and am starting to think I need to become less concerned with the weight and focus on body fat. I currently consume 1500-1800 calories a day and alternate days between weight training and cardio. Please help me out with any info on how many calories I should be consuming to shed bodyfat. I currently weight 82 kg and have a body fat rating of around 20%. I would love to get to single digits in bodyfat someday

[Mehdi]

Single digits is not necessary. 2 digits, around 10-12% looks very good already.

• get stronger, squat squat squat. stronglifts5x5 will fit.


• start eating body-weight in lbs x 18 kcal. 1500kcal is undereating, body will hold on fat instead of burning it, you'll also lack energy needed for weightlifting & life in general


• make sure the kcals you eat are from clean food


• wait 3 months, you'll see the difference (track progress using fat caliper)

[Celtic Jedi]

I know you mentioned a clean diet (I am assuming you are considering clean to be oatmeal, whole grains, lean meats, low fat dairy, etc.)and have read your thoughts on adjusting caloric intake by starting at body weight x 18 kcal and then one week at a time adjusting by 500 kcal accordingly depending on if you are gaining or losing weight and what your goals are. Is there a specific kind of diet that you recommend for my situation (low carb, low fat, etc.) or do you recommend that I just eat a balanced diet of clean foods???? I am already using Fit Day's online software to track my nutrition as you recommended

[Mehdi]

Whispers are only viewable by you & me, only use it for private matters.
Clean is unprocessed food, buy food in their original, unprepared state, so you prepare meals yourself.
No need for specific diet. 82kg with 20% body fat is not that bad. Just get stronger & eat clean, that will lower the body fat. Check other's people's log doing the same approach (tony for example went from 30 to 18% eating clean & getting stronger).