Maintenance & Training Calories

i need to determine the amount of calories i need to take for maintenance (for both non workout days, and workout days)

someone else on the site said 12xbodyweight is fine for maintenance but that doesnt cover the workout days…i know i should eat more on workout days, just not sure how much…and i know i have to eat the most on leg days…but what about cardio? if it helps at all this is a broad example of my workout week

(rest days vary depending on work schedule but i get 1-2 a week. my job also involves a lot of lifting and manual labor which probaly will factor in)

Day 1 - Arms (Muay Thai)
Day2 - Chest (Ju Jitsu)
Day3- Cardio (Boxing/MuayThai)
Day4- Shoulders/Traps (Ju Jitsu)
Day5- Legs (Muay Thai)

How do you feel with the diet you’re currently on? Is your weight stable or going up and down? If you’re dropping weight and feeling bad, eat more. If you are getting too fat, eat less.

What is your primary fitness goal? Are you trying to compete in MMA or is it for getting in shape? Only reason I ask is because with all your lifting you may be hindering your performance in fight practice. Prioritizing your training could have the same effect as adding or subracting calories.

www.johnberardi.com/calc.htm

Those formulas/calculators are a great starting point, but when it comes down to it, you need to experience with yourself and find out what your own maintenance is.

No one can tell you nor can you really just predict it. You might need a couple hundred more/less.

[quote]sloh wrote:
Those formulas/calculators are a great starting point, but when it comes down to it, you need to experience with yourself and find out what your own maintenance is.

No one can tell you nor can you really just predict it. You might need a couple hundred more/less.

[/quote]

This man speaks the truth :slight_smile:

Instead of how much I eat, I focus on the frequency of my meals.

All-in-all, I eat 3 meals, and drink 3 protein shakes per day. I think that is a good place to START, then just monitor your progress.

As has already been stated, if you are gaining fat, you’ll need to adjust for that. If you aren’t getting stronger/gaining muscle/have enough energy, you’ll have to adjust for that.

Just eat every 2.5-3 hours, and go from there, but don’t cut out mealtimes…

-james

no im not gaining any fat, infact ive been losing it…not taht i was ever “fat” to start with, i just mean my BF% is going down.

i dont think my lifting is affecting my performance in a negative way either, if anything it helps me. i just started getting into MMA about a month 1/2 ago, so id like to do it competitivley (my goal is professionally)

right now im not calorie counting or anything, i just kinda get a feel for it in my head/how hungry i am so its more what i think/feel is right. i just try to make sure im getting 30-40grams protein per meal (i weigh 170lbs now)

the only thing is i need to start determining how many grams of fat ill be needing. im on a low carb+HF+HP diet and i think ill be trying the AD soon, i just wanna spend a little more time on this Atkins like diet so ill have enough experience to compare the two.