Have a question about fitness

[RiddalinJunkie08]

I was working out the other day and then went and ate a protien bar. I was looking on the nutrition facts on the back and it said "all percentages based on 2000 calorie diet". My question is how many calories shout i be taking in on a daily basis. I am 17 and play hockey about 4 times a week for about an hour and a half each session.
-Mark

[thump]

a 2000 calorie diet is very good for an active person.
there are many different things to consider when creating a proper diet,,,current weight,,activity level,your goal...ect
i use to work at a gym and i would see many people making very big mistakes when it came to eating.
they would say that "i'm staying under 2000 calories a day" all the time,,but they were eating foods with no nutrients.
when trying to loose weigt and add muscle you best friend is PROTEIN,PROTEIN AND MORE PROTINE. it is the best thing for you,its low fat,low carbs ,repairs muscle damage and helps give energy.
if your highly active ,stick to a 2000 calorie a day diet and make sure you eat lots of protein,but before doing any type of diet or a new work out always consult a doctor/professional !!!!!!

[Mango]

While thump has good intentions his information is not entirely correct.



2,000 calories a day is what the government said the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for caloric intake for a 7 to 10 year old child was. If you actually research this and look, the RDA for someone in YOUR age group is 3,000 k/Cals. a day. Now, that being said, lets look at what your caloric intake SHOULD be.



To properly find out how many calories you should intake in a day, you want to convert your body weight into kilograms and multiply that number by the BMR factor of 1.0. The BMR is your Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the energy your body uses if you JUST SAT STILL all day. If you didnt lift a finger and sat completely still, this is the energy your body needs to survive. Think about it, muscles are moving all over your body even if you sit still, these are cardiac muscles, muscles that aid in digestion, move your diaphram, and that simply contract all day to keep you upright. Not to mention the chemcial reactions that take place, millions upon trillions of them inside your body at any given MOMENT.

Ok, so you convert your body weight into kg's and multiply this by the BMR factor of 1.0. Lets do me:

I weight 200lbs. 200 divided by 2.2 = 91kg's
91kg's times 1.0 = 91 cal/hr (calories PER hour) (you would use 0.9 for women)
91 times 24 (hours in a day) = 2184 cal/day

That is roughly what my body needs to simply operate in a day. If I sat completely still. Now this number does not vary greatly since it represents what my Basal Metabolic Rate requiers. What I CAN change is my voluntary caloric expediture. This means, my activity level. I am quite active so I use the "Heavy Activity" formula, which means I multiply my BMR value of 2184 by .90 and 1.2 to attain the values 1965 and 2620. These represent the # of calories I would take in on my HEAVY activity days. Now these numbers will all be VERY different for you, mine are an example of a very active person (workout 3+ hours a day). So, in the end, I do the following:

2184 + 1965= 4149 cal/day




That is about my average intake per day. It has my BMR plus the amount of calories I need to fuel my activites every day. If I have a VERY strenous day, I may intake some more, may not.

Since you said you workout and play hockey 4 times a week, I would use the Moderate activity percentage which is 65 to 80% . So multiply your BMR by .65 and .80 respectively to figure out your high and low. I would just stick with the low % but if you feel that you are not getting enough, then you know you can increase it.

Now, on the topic that actually made me reply to this post in the first place: PROTEIN. This topic and the myths associated with it drive me up a WALL. I swear I really get over the myths people have about this.

First of all, to find out how much protein you REALLY should be getting in your diet, take your weight in kg's that we figured out earlier, and multiply that by .8

For me, its 91 time .8 = 72.8 grams of protein



That is what I should intake in a day in terms of grams of protein. I should say, that is the minimum my body needs in terms of protein/amino acids in a day. This number also varies based on activity levels of the person. I actually use .9 as my number just because of how active I am. Most professional athletes use similar figures. A registered dietician would tell you exactly what I am telling you. How do I know? Because that is one of the many certifications I am going to get

Eating the protein bar after your workout is not a good idea and is most likely doing little for you. For a post workout meal, you should either A.) eat REAL food or B.) use something in liquid form that has moderate complex and simple carbs, rich in glycogen or glucose (sugar, about 30 grams) and moderate protein (around 15 to 20 grams or whey). There are a few post workout drinks you can buy that have these ratios sort of figured out. If your on a budget just drink a glass of apple juice or some fruit juice and eat some cottage cheese or something to that effect. Or just make one of your daily meals right after your workout.

Protein bars are such a waste since they are extremely high in protein, lack the carbohydrates neccessary for thier own ABSORPTION to begin with, they completely throw off your digestive tract and dehydrate you.

Chew on that for a while, no pun intended.

[PyRo]

I knew you couldn't resist this thread mango

[Mango]

I knew you couldn't resist this thread mango

I could only hold out so long, I actually put my head in my hands and rubbed my head whilst making one of those "pfffffffff whewwwwwww" sounds. The fitness threads always make me come back.

[thump]

i was just telling him what worked for me.
i use to weigh 360 pounds.i started going to a gym and got on a program to help me loose weight.
the instructer first had me doing a lot of cardio (at least an hour a day ) to start,then i would do light weight resistace weight training....light weights and a lot of reps.4 sets of 25 reps.
my daily calorie intake was 2000 or less.
when i got down to 200 pounds he changed my program.i stayed doing at least an hour of cardio my calorie intake was put up to 2500-3000 and i started doing heavy weights and low reps,,,4 sets 8 reps.
i kept my fat intake below 20 grams a day and my protein intake was 400-500 (2-2.5 grams per pound) grams a day.
while doing this i became lean and was in great shape,,my bench press went from 185 to 310 and my running was a lot better.

this is what worked for me,,,,this does not mean it will work for you or for anyone else .

[WicKeD_WaYz]

I try to take around 4000-5000(or more) calories every day in the offseason. It helps me gain solid muscle when taken at the right time of day and after I lift/run. If you dont wanna gain, then take in less calories its really simple.