Calorie Counting

So I'm back into serious training and beginning the voyage of getting the weight back down to a reasonable level. I've decided that calorie counting is the way to go about it. I reckon i burn approx 1800 calories a day doing 2 thai sessions or 1 thai session and a run. So i'm taking in around 1000 calories a day so hopefully the weight should come off at a nice rate. Any of you guys use this method?

Don't forget that you burn off calories all the time, even when you're asleep. A normal male adult gets through about 2500 a day just through basic living. 1000 calories is far too low and you'll probably end up passing out if you keep it up for too long. The usual recommendation is to take in about 500 calories less than you use per day in order to lose 1 - 2 lbs/0.5 - 1 kg a week. How much weight do you want to lose and how quickly?

Im with mh, far to low on the calories IMO.
Your body NEEDS its fats, proteins ect... just to function properly

I might have worked my calories out wrong then because im definately not close to passing out. I'm having 3 meals a day so im not starving myself.

What are you eating and drinking? 1000 calories is the amount you get through on a crash diet with tiny meals so you will know if that's all you're getting. Supplements, energy drinks and fruit juices all contain calories, often quite a lot. A glass of orange juice contains about 110 calories and a scoop of protein shake powder contains about 120. I think it might be best if you ask your GP to refer you to a dietician for some proper advice as there's a lot of nonsense out there, a lot of which gets posted on internet forums.

No I don't take any supplement's at all.

Breakfast - Poached eggs on toast.

Lunch - Tuna with either noodles, salad or jacket potatoe.

Tea - Chicken, Turkey or Pork with veg or something similar.

Drink plenty of water and maybe 1 or 2 energy drinks per day.

Everyone processes foods differently and calories are based on burning food in a machine and measuring heat etc This machine (not the human body) is called a bomb calorimeter.

http://www.oxygenbombcalorimeter.com/pdfs/literature/Measuring-Calories-in-Food.pdf

Counting calories makes as little sense to me as determining muscle mass by weighing one's self and taking off 50% for bones, fat, water etc

"(′bäm kal·ə′rim·əd·ər)

(engineering) A calorimeter designed with a strong-walled container constructed of a corrosion-resistant alloy, called the bomb, immersed in about 2.5 liters of water in a metal container; the sample, usually an organic compound, is ignited by electricity, and the heat generated is measured."

"A thick-walled container for measuring the energy content of food. The food is placed in a bomb calorimeter filled with oxygen. An electric spark ignites the food which is completely burned in the oxygen-rich atmosphere. The heat liberated from the burning food changes the temperature of water surrounding the chamber. Measurements of the temperature changes are used to calculate the energy content of the food"
http://www.answers.com/topic/bomb-calorimeter-engineering

burnable energy burned with heat and oxygen is not quite exactly how the body processes food or derives energy from it - also everyone "burns" food differently (never mind none "burn" like this machine does.

Sorry that's all too in depth for me, really i just have a look at how many calories are in what i eat and make sure there is nothing ridiculous in there. Been able to lose weight is not an issue for me nor is it something i need help with or need to consult a gp about as i went from 85kg to walking around at 69/70kg and fighting at 64kg before so i will do it again. Just merely wondering if anybody else out there was addicted to reading food labels! haha :-)

im a calorie counter too and 1000 cals is what i cut down to on the run up to a fight and im no were near passing out or always hungary but i suppose everyone is different.

same here I always go back to counting calories when I want to shift some weight

Suppose it's just a way of taking your mind off the boring food your eating! I was strict last week so i treat meself to a whopper meal on the way home from Mike Tobin's show but i reckon i burned a million calories jumping around while Loz was fighting!! :-)

I tend to be calorie aware rather than counting every single calorie I eat. It must work as I lost 50 kg that way. I think the main thing is maintaining self-discipline and making sure you don't eat too much. As long as you do that it doesn't really matter what you eat, although there are some very strange diets out there that seem to think eating less food is not a key part of losing weight.

For me personally it's a proven method, eat less + train hard = lose weight.

looking at some of the information out there its ridiculous how complicated things get!

take in less calories than your body burns, per day = calorie deficit = weight loss....so simple!

if you're burning 3000 calories a day, take in 1500.
if you're burning 4000 calories a day, take in 2000.

then just make sure the calories you are taking in are worthwhile calories that are gonna help you get through the day and that they contain protein/carb/healthy fat(as oppose to junk food) and keep an eye the fat content...simple!

your average couch potato would loose weight that way, let alone someone who trains 3-4 times a week too. someone training for a fight, training 6 days per week doing it is gonna loose weight real fast!

also metabolism comes into it...the daily calories you are taking in should be spread out throughout the day so that you are eating small amounts every few hours in order to make the most of your metabolism, as this is a huge factor in how quickly you loose weight!

Perfectly put marianne, could have finished this thread if you had put they last 2 posts in earlier LOL

The thread doesn't need to be finished, it wasn't posted to see if calorie counting works, or how to lose weight, i have no problem with that. It was just to see if there were any other peeps out there using the same method.

To successfully lose and maintain a weight loss of 1-2lb per week, you cut your daily calorie intake by 500kcal. Obviously to lose more you can adjust it accordingly, I would say 1000kcal per day is fine, I am eating that at the moment and I feel fine.
If you know in advance what weight you need to be and what sort of time scale your looking at, and reduce the calorie intake accordingly you should be fine. Reducing it past 1000 though and still training relatively hard would be another matter I think; this would result in reduced recovery and fatigue.
You could be even more anal and work out your exact amounts of carbs/proteins/fat intake etc relative to your calorie intake in relation to your exercise expenditure and body weight..

But yeah, calorie counting definately works! It must do, otherwise whats the point in there being calorie counts on food packets etc, obviously being careful about your calorie intake/or reducing it will result in weight loss- and is not a crash diet. I would have thought a crash diet would constitute starvation techniques. Adam- carry on calorie counting!!

I will, I have faith! haha