Very intense gym plus cardio

[Bbauto1453]

Hi.  I'm riding bike 7 miles each way to gym ( 400 calories each way)  plus 750 calories in high intensity gum routine 45 second rest us 20k steps aday.   So im.burning 1500 calories for sure with actual activity .  Plus bmr 2200 I'm at 3700 calorie daily needs.    Now my question is how much do I bump up my daily needs with the steps addition ..  I'm eating 3000 caloroes but concerned I'm eating to low and maybe in starvation mode.  If add step calories then maybe I need to add 1000  aories for 20k steps.  ?   I've heard don't add steps calorie needs .  Just do that extra but scale don't move as I'm 100% accurate with food intake.   I eat very clean and weight on point.    If I calculate with steps I have a daily need of   5000 and to eat 4000 calories to be in defict seems alot.    

38 years old 6'5" 225lbs  35" waist 

[Bbauto1453]

38 years old 6'5" 225lbs  35" waist 

[Baltoscott]

@Bbauto1453 -- I find this NIH body weight planner is a good first estimate of how many calories you are burning. The estimate is generally a lower than what fitbit calculates (for me, anyway), but assuming you have a sit-down job but, as you've described, are otherwise very active, you are probably burning 4100-4200 calories.  As a test, you might try eating at that level for two or three weeks and see what impact it has on your weight.

[Heybales]

It is doubtful you are burning 400 calories for a 7 mile ride, sad to say. Takes 30 min one-way, 1 hr for 14 miles?

Formula for calories from watts - Energy (kcal) = Power (watts) * Time (hours) * 3.6

If you really burned 800 = watts * 1 * 3.6 = 222 watts average. That's rather high unless you specifically train for cycling but your description didn't sound like it.

Perhaps that is Fitbit estimate.

If this is the Fitbit giving that 750 estimate for that type of workout - badly inflated too.

HR-based calorie burn formula is ONLY valid usage for steady-state aerobic exercise - same HR for minutes at a time - not intervals, not resistance training, ect. And the extremes of the aerobic range at the bottom walking, and at the top almost anaerobic - are inflated too.

Nature of the beast of the formula.

Eating clean is good - people should always clean their food. But don't fall for any foolishness as to what "clean" means as if it makes a difference in calories overall.

More importantly - do you weigh everything you eat?

Calories is per gram, weight - not per spoon, cup or volume.

You keep referencing steps - steps isn't calories you can't do any math with that. Your Fitbit already has calculated a distance to those steps, and with mass gotten calories added to the daily burn it shows you.

Forget doing anything extra with steps, it's already handled.

Starvation mode as used today as a term is a myth. It used to mean Adaptive Thermogenesis - that is a truth, and the stress to your body and the water weight effects can appear to cause the myths of starvation mode.

How much do you have to lose to a healthy weight?

Doesn't seem like much - 1000 cal deficit is very extreme unless you have over 50 lbs to lose. Under 50 that's bad news.

[charleskn]

For me, personally, I am not a fan of counting calories and trying to figure out this math. Especially since there are so many guesstimates made to get you an answer.

For me, I found that looking at my food intake was part of the key. I was already eating a variety of foods prepared at home (not restaurant or prepared foods). 

• I completely changes the proportions of various foods
• I use intermittent fasting
• Look for good sources of protein, and good snacks
• I also use protein supplements
• I make sure I get good protein and veggies, along with some carbs and fats

I am not saying that you can't over-eat if you only eat healthy foods, but I tin it is unlikely.

[RobP1]

At first I thought you aren't aware about amount of calories and you were eating too much and that's why you couldn't reach your desired body fat percentage, but when I read below that you're 6'5 / 225 lbs I got it haahahha. If seriously, your training program is very decent and I would train further on it. In addition, you can try reducing calories every 2 weeks by about 100 units, and also try using a supplement called ligandrol in combination with your diet - https://purerawz.co/product/ligandrol-lgd-4033/. This is a non-steroidal supplement that will help you reduce body fat while maintaining muscle mass. It's something like L-carnetine, only more powerful.