calorie ranges for cutting

[lola]

I have a question about a guy friend of mine. He's always had a totally crap diet - sugar, sugar, and chips. Now a few days ago he decided he wanted to lose some fat, and has adopted the theory of eating 1200 calories a day.

Now obviously this number is way too low - he weight 175 at about 20% bf, lifts four days a week, does cardio a couple times a week. But what would be a decent calorie range for a guy that size to not lose too much muscle? I can help him with ratios and food choices, since that'd be the same as for me, but I'm not sure about calories. 12 * bodyweight would be 2100, & he doesn't think he was eating that much before.

 

[SoreArms]

12 * bodyweight would be 2100

that is what he should be shooting for. He should create a deficit through his workout routine and not his meals. I would think a 40/30/30 would be a safe place to start him.

 

[bran987]

his diet was sugar, sugar, chips and he doesn't think he ate 2100 cals/day?

show him how many calories are in one Big Grab bag of Doritos (it's the 99 cent bag that's a little bigger than the tiny bags) and he may be singing a different tune (I think it's 720 cals).