# FITNESS and NUTRITION FORUM > DIET AND NUTRITION >  what should be my total calorie intake?

## 40plusnewbie

I'm 6'2", 247.5lbs, approaching 44 yrs old, close to 30% bf.

My BMR= 2839, total calorie intake to maintain current weight ~ 3900

My goal is to increase muscle mass while at the same time reducing fat mass. Do I go with the 3900 calories or should I reduce it and if so, by how much? I'm in the gym 4-5 days/week with weights, no cardio. I'm not concerned about dropping the fat mass quickly, gradually is fine with me. Assume I am not going to do cardio. I've got a buddy of mine who owns a nutrition shop and competes in bb'ing contests drawing up a diet for me. Proteins will be fish, chicken, eggs.. no beef.

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## Twist

2,500

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## zaggahamma

dont know how u came to the 3900 figure but if that were the case simple math would say have 3400 a day and you'll lose a pound a week w/o hardly noticing...if i were you i'd try somewhere between 2900 and 3400 for a week, weigh, and then go from there...smart that youre down with losing the fat gradually...will be easier to do AND more chance of it staying off

good luck

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## 40plusnewbie

Thanks for the responses guys, all helpful.

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## Tigershark

When I calculated your BMR I got 2248. You may want to recheck your numbers brother.

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## First6

Ignore the bmr it doesnt matter. 
Your height, your weight, you should aim for 2500 a day. 
cardio cardio cardio and some weights with compound movements to stimulate muscle retention.
Lose the fat, then up the calories and gain muscle. 
You can try it any other way you want (most of us have) but you will be working harder and longer to achieve the same result.

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## 40plusnewbie

> When I calculated your BMR I got 2248. You may want to recheck your numbers brother.


thanks bro, I added the (6.8 x my age) rather than subtracting it lol So using the HB Formula for men I'm coming up with roughly 3,000 cal's to maintain my current weight. There's no way I see myself doing 1,500 cal's a day. Not that I couldn't, I just think it's drastic. (I might have over estimated my bf a little too). 

Does about 2,500-2,700 cal's a day weighted towards lean proteins (then complex carbs, then fats in a ~ 45%, 35%, 20% ratios) seem about right given my goals? 

I'm looking for any critiquing and please don't take offense if I don't jump on board with any particular suggestions, I find all input helpful and am very appreciative of any feedback I get from others on this site.

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## 40plusnewbie

> Ignore the bmr it doesnt matter. 
> Your height, your weight, you should aim for 2500 a day. 
> cardio cardio cardio and some weights with compound movements to stimulate muscle retention.
> Lose the fat, then up the calories and gain muscle. 
> You can try it any other way you want (most of us have) but you will be working harder and longer to achieve the same result.


I know I should be doing cardio, first and foremost for my general health (cardiovascular fitness) and also as it's a fundamental component of wt loss, particularly in bb'ing where we are often shooting for lower fm than many athletes.

My issue with cardio: 1. I don't like it (except for sex so when i convert my prop powder I'll be banging the wife 4x/day and will be getting plenty of cardio). 

My concern with fat loss (after the first 15lbs given my current frame and musculature) before adding in a good ammt of lean muscle is that I am tall and have very broad shoulders and look lanky if I go below like 225lbs given my current physique. When I had a little less muscle I had dropped down to 217.5 and needed to go back up as I was looking too lanky even though I didn't have low bf. This is really why I prefer the gradual loss of fat while adding in lean muscle mass. I can easily diet down to 220 or whatever. I used to be 300lbs and dropped 50lbs pretty quickly with only dietary changes and no exercise at all. If I had the ammt of muscle on my frame that you have on yours I'd be quite happy to drop my bf down to 15% but I start to look sickly, because I am mesomorph with very broad shoulders and not a lot of muscle for my size. If I do things right I'd be able to get up over 300lbs and have low bf because of the size of my frame but until I put on more muscle I don't want to loose too much fat and look sickly/lanky. 

Don't you think I'll be able to put on muscle continuously if I work out consistently and intake enough protein while using some of my fat for fuel but not 'focusing' on weightloss/fat loss? Recently I've been focusing somewhat on growing out my abs and obliques, they are covered by fat but certainly not invisible. I think I'll get there (where I want to be with my physique) and maybe my plan is sub par but I'm not convinced that it is. Will it really make that much difference if I focus on wt loss and go to 225 within the next ~few months as a first priority?

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## baseline_9

At 250 lbs and 30%BF ur LBM is around 175 Lbs

175 x 15 = 2625 cals

That is around ur mtnce cals, i would shoot for around that number to begin with and gradually drop the total calories

At 30% BF you can kind of crash diet a little bit IMO

Do not worrie abou Loosing LBM.

Focus on doing lots of weight lifting and cardio up to 7 days a week for around 30 mins per day

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## 40plusnewbie

> At 250 lbs and 30%BF ur LBM is around 175 Lbs
> 
> 175 x 15 = 2625 cals
> 
> That is around ur mtnce cals, i would shoot for around that number to begin with and gradually drop the total calories
> 
> At 30% BF you can kind of crash diet a little bit IMO
> 
> Do not worrie abou Loosing LBM.
> ...


At 175 your talking pure skin, bones, body organs, and muscle, right? BTW the 30% bf might be a bit of an overestimate.

Cardio, uhhhg. Can't I just use peptides to stimulate my bodies own gh output and then down the road a ways use some pgcl to drop out some fat? I just hate cardio. I love working out with weights but hate cardio, except sex.

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## gbrice75

> At 175 your talking pure skin, bones, body organs, and muscle, right? BTW the 30% bf might be a bit of an overestimate.
> 
> Cardio, uhhhg. Can't I just use peptides to stimulate my bodies own gh output and then down the road a ways use some pgcl to drop out some fat? I just hate cardio. I love working out with weights but hate cardio, except sex.


Sorry i'm late to the party, but my .02 - I wouldn't at all be concerned with adding LBM if I were at 30% bodyfat. I'd be focused 100% on reducing bodyfat and doing my best to maintain current LBM. 

Sorry if this has already been addressed; honestly, I didn't go through every reply, but I did see WHO replied, and you're in good hands. =)

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