Hi All,
Please, can someone please help me understand how many calories do i need to lose weight. Here goes my weight is 160lbs and my calorie intake says it should be 2153 with my age and height.
I want my goal weight to be 125lbs.
I just started back to the gym i do carido 3 to4 times a week for 30min to 45min and do weights 3 times per week. for about 30 min as well.
Like to get to my goal weight by April of this year.( I think i can, I think i can)!!
so any help would be great.
Thanks,
Cheers Lisa

I went to the web MD site. They have a calculator there that will tell you how many calories you should eat to maintain your weight based on age/activity level, etc... Just put your goal weight in and eat that amount. I don't know if it will get you there in the time frame you want, but I think weight loss should be a marathon, not a sprint.

R

Hi Lisa,
The whole calorie counting/calorie deficit idea can be confusing at first. This is how I explain it to my clients:
1. Find our your BMR. This is the number of calories your body needs to maintain itself, at rest, in its current state. From there you can figure out your daily caloric need requirement....this takes into consideration your activity level. Once you have that number, you can figure out how many calories you need to cut from your diet to create a calorie deficit.
2. To lose weight (body fat), you have to create a calorie deficit. You can do this in three ways: By burning calories through exercising, by controlling your calorie intake, or a combination of the two. A combination of the two is the preferred method.
3. One pound of body fat contains 3500 calories. Cut 3500 calories from your intake and you will lose 1 lb. You can cut these calories by eating less, burning the calories via exercise, or a combination of the two.
4. The best way to lose weight is slowly, over time. Most fitness and medical professionals recommend a 1-2lb loss a week.
5. Your daily calorie intake (for females) should not be less than 1200 calories a day unless instructed to do so by a doctor.

Let's illustrate with your example. I am assuming the 2153 calories you mentioned is your daily caloric need after considering your activity level. To lose one pound in a week, you need to cut 3500 calories from your intake. 3500 calories / 7 days = 500 calories to be cut per day. So if you need 2153 a day just to maintain, you should be eating about 1653 calories a day to lose a pound a week.

Of course, if you are exercising, these raw numbers will need adjusting. For example, you might eat 200 calories a day but burn 400 via exercise to arrive at roughly the same number of intake calories, 1600.

On days you exercise a lot, you can eat a little more since you are burning calories through your workout.

On days you don't exercise, you can eat less to still arrive at your goal intake.

I hope this helps.

-K

Well.. I know that 3,500 calories equal one pound. You have to start eating heathy. Fruits and veggies should be the most in your diet. Eat small peices of meat and you'll be at 125 in no time.

I have a question, If you cut your calorie intake to 1200 can you lose weight with out excerising?

I recently cut my calorie intake to 1200 and I lost 20lbs but now i'm just stuck @ the same weight. I recently bought the biggest loser workout video to help me to start to work out. Hopefully it will help me out. I'm not a real active person but i'm trying to be so I can drop some more weight for myself.

If anyone has any advice i'm open to it.

According to TBL, mulitiply your weight by 7 calories if you want to LOSE weight.

I forget what they say for mainting...I think 11....

If you are trying to lose weight without exercise... you are also losing muscle and will gain the weight back quickly once you start eating normal amounts of food again.

Sounds like a good guideline, but it may be a little low depending on your current weight. For instance, I started out at 311 lbs and that multiplied by 7 is probably pretty close to what I was eating calorie-wise to lose weight - about 2200-2300 calories. I'm at 181 now and still want to lose another 30, but I think 8 calories per pound is probably a better target for me, although there are plenty of days that end up closer to the 7. I'm consuming about 1200-1400 calories per day. If you're short and close to your target weight, these numbers may not work for you. For instance, if you weigh 130 and want to lose 10 lbs, this formula would have you eating only 910 calories per day to lose. Most people probably can't go that low in calories without missing some important nutrients.

Marilyn

I only need to lose a little bit of weight but I've learned that without careful calorie counting I just keep putting it on when I am "dieting." I come from a long line of obese family members so I try to be very careful. In the past I've been told to eat 1200 calories and then exercise to lose weight. Recently I was told to never go below 1200 so if I exercise, to eat more to make up the difference so I don't go into starvation mode. Then, I just read the Biggest Loser book and it said to eat 1050 calories which seems REALLY low! The calculators I've tried on this site say my daily calorie need is 1807. I'm 5 ft 3.5 in and about 128 pounds. I'd like to get down to about 120-123. Help please!!
Thanks for any advice.

I'm also confused on this. I'm keeping track of my calories and trying to burn a lot at the gym. If I don't eat some of the calories that I've burned I feel like I'm crashing (really tired or hungry or both).

Not sure if you've checked it out, but Jillian has a book that concentrates on losing the last 10 lbs. She says it's a totaly different approach to losing the large amounts like the contestants on TBL. Maybe it's worth a look...I have no first hand experience on it, so I haven't bothered checking it out since it doesn't apply to me, yet. http://www.amazon.com/Making-Cut-Fitness-S...3323&sr=1-2

I often wonder about this also. It seems to me there should be a direct ratio between how many calories you burn and how many you need to eat on top of what you lost in exercise. Anyway... I haven't been able to find one, so... Here's what I suggest:

First, never eat less than 1200 calories. Second, we all know you have to burn more calories than you eat to lose weight, well... if your daily calorie need is 1807 and you're eating 1200 calories, you already have a 607 calorie deficit. I'm not sure where I read it but I think your maximum deficit should be 500 calories. (I know, that only makes about 1 pound a week but you don't have much to lose.) So say, burn 250 through exercise and another 250 through the food you eat. (You'd be eating 1557 calories.) That may seem like a lot of calories but make sure you're eating foods that are easily digestable by you and full of nutrients that your body can use. Oh and of course, drink plenty of water!

You might check "Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005" for their Adult Energy Needs calculator.

Estimation of an individual's caloric needs either for weight loss or maintenance is notoriously difficult, even for the experts. Two people the same age can have the same body weight and activity level yet one of them burns 1500 calories daily and the other burns 2500 daily, just to maintain a stable weight.

Your body, to some extent, is an experiment with one subject - you. After experimentation, I learned that for me to lose one pound per week I must eat 1900 calories and exercise moderately for 30 minutes four days per week. No one could have accurately predicted this about me. So you have to do a little experimentation on yourself. Don't make drastic changes without your doctor's blessings, and aim for loss of only 1 or 1+1/2 pounds per week (assuming you are overweight).

Best wishes.

Steve Parker, M.D., author of The Advanced Mediterranean Diet: Lose Weight, Feel Better, Live Longer

To find out how many calories you need to eat to lose weight, try the calculator at Shape Up America!

I like the idea of paying attention to calories when trying to lose weight, even though it can be a bit of a hassle. Some of the popular diets have built-in calorie control which might make it easier. For example, on Sonoma diet you use specific-sized plates that you fill with percentages of protein foods, fruits, vegetables, whole grains. You eat that, then stop. Even Atkins has calorie control because you can only eat so much steak, eggs, bacon, and cheese.

Best Wishes.

Steve Parker, M.D., author of The Advanced Mediterranean Diet: Lose Weight, Feel Better, Live Longer

Hey Mom at 40, I too had my one and only daughter at 38, I am now 41...always struggled with my weight. I have always looked for the magic answer. I am 226 lbs and I would love to be 170-180. I hate to excercise and I guess I want to lose weight without excercising, it's probably not possible for long term permanent weight loss, right. Would love to hear someone elses opinion.

suziq41........I had my one and only son at 37....lost that weight, I really did not diet, just was very active, then slowly my weight was back on me.....there is no magic bullet.....TBL and this forum got my rear in gear to eat healthy and start exercising. I hate exercising, trust me on this, I make myself go. Totally changed my eating habits, from what I ate to when I ate.
So do not give up, find a plan to suit you and get started.....picture a skinny you trying to get out...good luck!

Wow, Steve, what a treat to have you post here! I bought your book for my mom for Christmas, and she loved it. Refers to it daily. She only needs to lose a few pounds, but basically she just needed help in choosing the best foods and a good overall eating plan.

She was supposed to give it to me to read after she finished, but she won't give it up for even a day (lives two hours away and she knows she may never get it back).

Nice to "see" you here!

I think the basic rule of thumb is that for healthy weight loss - you don't want to fall below 1200 NET calories per day. This means if you are basically sedentary and not exercising you should eat about 1200 calories - depending on your weight this will probably result in a healthy loss of between 1-2 lbs. of weight loss per week. (Of course everyone is different and if this is a drastic change from previous habits you may see bigger results, quicker).

With that said, if you exercise, you should eat more. So for instance, if you burn 500 calories in your workout, you should eat 1700 calories. This still results in a Net of 1200. This is crucial to keeping your metabolism going. Sometimes weight loss is greatly hindered by people not eating enough - it causes your body to go into starvation mode and it's worse for you. Getting yourself on a consistent diet that keeps your metabolism going and consistent, is crucial. It's also good to spread your meals out so you eat small amounts throughout the day - keeps the metabolism going and keeps you full. Of course every body is different and if someone has a lot to lose, there may be exceptions to this rule during the initial weight loss period. This in response to the person who is currently at about 160 lbs. - I would say stick to the Net 1200 calories per day to see results that will last in the long run.

I would recommend a website: www.myfooddiary.com
it's a 9$ per month membership and that's it - no hidden fees or charges.
It's simply a website that allows you to log everything you eat and your exercise. It's great because you can see exactly how much of EVERYTHING you're consuming - not just calories and fat, but carbs, sodium, sugars, protein, vitamins, etc. - it lets you know if you are having too much of any particular thing (or too little)...it tells you how much you would lose per week based on what you do, etc. It also keeps track and you can get reports and you input all your personal info. There is also a great forum where you can join groups, get support, etc. (a lot like this one). I sound like a commercial - but I love it! This website teaches you not to "diet" but instead to change your way of life. You realize it's ok if you eat that dessert, as long as you balance everything out and PORTION CONTROL.

I am 34 years old, 5'7", 158lbs, 18.5% body fat. I want to be around 145, maybe about 12% body fat.

I have been unable to lose fat for some time now. I have lost weight from 185 down to 157, but the most recent weight lost has been at the expense of some lost lean tissue as well.

I have a desk job, but I get a lot of exercise: 1.5 hours of karate three nights/week, and 1 hour of weight training 4 nights/week, with brisk 30 minute walks every day at work during lunch.

I am eating about 2200 calories per day, and I think I am burning about 2800. My weight and body fat have remained constant for over 3 months now.

I am confused as to the best approach here. I am considering eliminating my calorie deficit (perhaps even overfeeding a little bit) and trying to gain some muscle mass, in hopes that it'll help burn the fat. Or should I drop my calories down to maybe 1600, which would give me a 1200 cal/day deficit? I am worried the first approach will make me gain some fat, and the latter approach will waste muscle.

You are a guy, right? I am assuming you are, because a female wanting to be 12% body weight would be very dangerous.

I think it sounds like a great plan you are on, and the only thing I'd change is to maybe bring your calories down to 1800 or so? Make sure that every single calorie you put in your body is working to help. No empty calories. You really NEED good calories to increase your metabolism, lose fat and increase your lean body mass.

Try to eat pretty constant, with lots of protein throughout the day, to keep from losing muscle. Healthy fats and good carbs.

Just make those calories work for you. Make each one count. You are positive your calories are correct, right?

That's my advice anyway. Sounds like you probably look pretty darn good where you are at though!

Yep, I'm a guy. I am just trying to lose that damn last 10 pounds from my midsection.

I am pretty confident in my diet. I am eating strictly 40/30/30 carbs/protein/fats, with high fibre carbs, lean chicken, a bit of red meat, nuts, eggs, yogurt, cheese, wild rice; basically whole foods. I am a little weak on veggies, so I take antioxidant supplements to help.

My current plan is to try and gain some more muscle, the cut back and lose the fat once my metabolism has revved up again (I suspect it's slowed down from having been in a deficit for about a year now). I think this is what bodybuilder types do.

Part of my confusion over the past while is that I don't understand the relative nature of a calorie "deficit". I've seen this question in other threads but never with a really definitive answer. The thing is, if you eat at or above your base metabolic rate (about 2000 for me) and create a significant deficit through exercise, is this the same as getting little or no exercise and creating the deficit by limiting food intake? I've read stuff that suggests either approach works out the same, but I wonder if that is only true when you have a lot of weight to lose, and if you're only measuring weight and not fat.

It seems to me that my body has adapted to the increased exercise demand by becoming more efficient, but not by gaining muscle, because it doesn't have enough calories to do so. On the flip side, I'm not losing fat because my metabolism has slowed and I'm reluctant to cut my calories as deeply as I'd need to. I guess that's the definition of "plateau".

I'm not an expert, but from what I've read, I understand that it is better to eat more and exercise to create the deficit. Or, eat your 2,000 and exercise. Unless you go much lower than that, you won't slow your metabolism, but you do need to exercise to increase your metabolism.

Wish I or someone else had a good answer to your problem. Your 40/30/30 is basically what I do too. I find it works great and is easy to keep without a lot of monitoring.

It looks like you're eating pretty clean, and you have a relatively high activity level from how you describe your weekly exercise routine. You may actually have too deep a calorie deficit just based on the amount of activity you're doing throughout the week.

Try the BMR calculator at bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ Then apply the figure it gives you to the Harris Benedict equation. That should give you a ball park number that will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight, factoring in the calories you should be burning via activity / exercise. It's from there that you can figure out how many calories to cut from your diet. From how you describe your weekly activities, it sounds like the "very active" multiplier applies to you more than the "moderately active" option.

That figure is a ballpark number since most bodies are going to vary for various reasons. Someone carrying a lot of fat might require less calories per day than that figure says. Those with a lot of lean muscle mass and low fat would require more than the equation suggests. And sometimes just subtle differences in body types will make that vary as well.

I would avoid cutting all the way down to 1600 just yet. It just sounds more like a starvation diet, especially considering your relatively high activity level. Especially if you have three days a week where you have the half hour walk, one hour of weight lifting and 1.5 hours of karate.

I think you mentioned having lost significant lean body mass as a result of your cutting diet. Cutting will cost a bit of muscle mass, but if it's to the point that you're losing too much and not losing the fat, then it definitely sounds like you're not getting the calories you need. Cutting calories even more would make the problem worse, potentially having you even less muscular and ending up with the same amount of fat, or even more once you stop starving yourself.

Maybe experiment with increasing your calories just a little bit at a time and see what that does for your body.

How are your lifting sessions? You mentioned that you lift for an hour. Does that include warm ups and extensive stretching after you are done? Or are you doing a lot of waiting around between exercises due to going to a busy gym? If those aren't factors, I think you can shorten up the time with the weights to a half hour to 45 minutes, unless you're a very advanced bodybuilder doing extensive volume for hypertrophy.

If nothing else, I think it may be as you suspect. You've been cutting for so long that your body has adapted. A short cycle of increasing your calories with a clean diet may be just enough to get your body going in the right direction again.

Those last few pounds are going to be slow and tough in any case. They often are for many people, but that's all right. Trimming down the fat on a body is a marathon. And often, we're the last ones to truly notice the changes in our bodies.

I actually participate in www.thedailyplate.com and for a lazy-bones like me, it works wonders. You keep your food journal on there, whatever "fitness" you are doing for that day, you track your weight and it will tell you how many calories you should be consuming! It has a huge inventory of foods (including restaurant food!) and, if your particular food is not in there, it will let you "copy" the nutritional information from the package itself so you can use it again and again.

It's kept me very much on track of losing the recommended 1-2 lbs. per week. Best of all? No charge!

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I have a question about Milk? In the Biggest loser diet plan it says to eat 24 ounces of protein a day and that includes dairy, lean meats, beans, etc....

On their website and in their TV show they say to drink 3 glass of milk a day...8 ounces each. So 3 X 8= 24. So obviously I am reading this wrong somehow. If I need to drink this much milk I am fine with it as I love milk...however that would be all my protein for the day at three glasses. Is milk really in addition to the protein and just added in as calories and not under the lean protein.

That is about the only thing I am confused on. Well I am also having trouble on some of their cookbooks trying to figure out if something is an extra calorie or a whole grain. I hope when they do another cookbook they do it more like Weight Watchers and tell you what each recipe counts. Like this is 1/4 whole grain and X amt of Xtra calories...That would help

Right now tho, my main question is about how much milk and how much protein a day I should be doing if I follow their guidelines. I'd love to be drinking three glasses of milk a day and 24 ounces of lean protein.

I think they are saying 3, 8 oz glasses of milk. The percentage of protein in milk is about 3% I believe.

Milk has 8 grams of protien per 8 ounces, whether whole milk or low-fat or skim.

Source: Bowes and Churche's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used. 17th edition

-Steve Parker, M.D.
www.AdvancedMediterraneanDiet.com/blog

I am so glad that I came across this website. I was reading the original topic of this thread and had to chuckle because my brother-in-law and I were just discussing the same thing the other day. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in my questions.

Jess

hey all, need some help here...i just started a new diet, and according to my meal plan, from the book..it says with the meals they gave to cook and eat, my total calorie intake for the day will be about 940 a day....how ever the plan says i should be at 1200 or more per day....im 5'7 255 age 39 little workout , hardly none....let me know what im doing wrong..thanks

How did you come up with 940? Maybe you are wrong in your count, or else you are counting serving sizes smaller than the book is suggesting. If you are completely sure your numbers are correct, then simply add in some other healthy foods, or have larger portions. You really do need to eat the 1200 at least, but you also need to make sure your calorie counts are correct.

Even if you are not working out, you still need to eat 1200. Why don't you exercise?

Ah, just read on another thread you are buying a treadmill and eliptical. So, you don't currently work out, but you plan to, right?

Start walking today if possible! You don't need to wait til you get the machines. If you have time off work, like you said on the other thread, then take advantage of that fully!

1200 calories is the absolute lowest you should consider for daily consumption. Anything lower will put your body in a starvation mode and your body will fight back. You have to eat to lose weight!! I know this is a concept that is hard to accept when you need to lose weight, but it is true.

Eat five to six small meals a day to keep your metabolism up. It is a mistake to go on a "diet". Restrictive diets do not work for long term successful weight loss. Adopt a manner of eating today that will work for you the rest of your life.

Good luck!!

I second Babs. No one should ever eat below 1200. You will not be getting enough to fuel your basic functions and your body will start to consume muscle (not fat) in order to meet your needs. What is your everyday activity level and how often do you work out? If your not working out at all, you really have to in order to generate a sufficient deficit even if its just walking regularly. Although technically you could lose weight without exercise its pretty hard and the results will take a long time. By exercising your not only burning calories but your building muscles which will up your metabolism and allow you to burn even more calories.

A really good free site i recommend to everyone is http://caloriecount.about.com/
It has little tools that you just plug in how much your working out or how little and can help guesstimate your calorie needs. It also has a very good online food log/diary and a very good community message board. And like I said its 100% free to sign up for life. I have used the online food diary religiously since I started this journey almost 3 years ago. It really does help.

Good Luck

I have the BL weight loss planner that Prevention puts out. It has a list for daily caloric needs at different weights. For someone at 225, your needs are around 1600 according to this planner.

The food diet that i am going by says its a 1200 calorie diet, but when i add up the dishes in that meal i come up with 940...may im not doing it right..as far as excersize goes...i do get some, i have a 3 yr old that keeps me on my toes alot during the day...but i am gonna start to do more...break out the old wieghts from wayyyyyyy back when..and some more walking at least till i get my other stuff..my wife was thinking the same thing...but i told her, hell she can eat all day and not gain a pound...lucky her...

Hey Brook, why is iot that some say calorie diets DO NOT WORK? i wanna do this very badly, but i wanna do it right, is the calorie diet a good way? or is it just a simple way? and when you started this, how long before you started to feel a difference.not wieght loss per say but felt different..mood, sleep, "bathroom habits" ect....also is it a good idea for me to start taking fiber pills as well as the one a days i already take? help me here please....everyone on here has such good stories of wieght loss and i wanna join that group....what id really love is to get on the show....

Calorie diets ARE the only way any diet works, be it atkins or a balanced nutricious eating plan. You have to consume 500 fewer calories then your burn(combination or resting calorie use and activity level) in order to burn a lb of fat. It is that simple. however doing it is hard. As Jillian always says, what matters is "calories in and calories out"

I know I should not consume less than 1200 calories per day. My plan for today is 1400.
My question...If I work out and burn 400 calories, then do I need to make sure my net caloric intake is at 1200, which means I should actually eat 1600?

Also, what are the thoughts on alternating daily caloric intake so that the overall average is 1400, like, 1200 some days, 1400 others, and 1600 others?

its been awhile since I been here but am getting closer to my of being under 200 now 238 bmi 27.5 fat 69%

Some people come up with a calorie total for the week, and don't necessarily worry about going over or under on a daily basis. However, if you go too low, you could lower your metabolism. If you are trying to stick to 1400 a day, it would be fine to have 1600 on some days and 1200 on others. Personally I would not go below 1200 ever.

In regards your first question, no...keep to your allotted calorie amount and don't eat more because you have burned more calories. Although, if it were me, I'd stick to around 1600-1800 a day no matter what. That's still a very much reduced calorie diet from what you were probably eating before, and then on top of that you are exercising. You should lose very well, so long as you are counting calories correctly and not actually having more than you realize, and are exercising (weight resistance is as important as cardio, so do both).

That's just my opinion though.

I completely devastated my metabolism by sticking to a 800-1200 calorie "diet" for years and years of my life, and then it got worse after gaining 80 with my first child. I practically starved and did lose the weight, but then had an even worse struggle due to the low calorie diets I was on. I pigeonholed myself into not being able to increase my calories without gaining weight. I was just trying to maintain, but yo yo'd constantly because I just could not metabolize my food correctly.

Took about a year to a year and a half of being very patient and making sure I consumed 2000 calories of good quality food a day, to change that around. ( I gained about ten lbs in the process at first, but then lost it eventually. It was scary but I had faith it would eventually work). Now I can eat twice what I used to and I almost have to be careful not to lose weight. I am a very firm believer that anybody can actually turn their metabolism around (barring they have no medical conditions that may make that difficult. In those cases, I don't have any experience).

I'm sure it didn't help me either that out of the 800-1200 calories I was eating daily, NONE of it was healthy. Sometimes it was all sweets.

We really can be our own worst enemies. Calories are important, but even more than that, the quality of our calories is important. Every single calorie should count towards helping our body to burn more efficiently. It really will pay off later, even if it might mean a bit of a slower weight loss for a while (may or may not). In the long run, your body will work harder for you and you won't have such a struggle later.

Just want to clarify when I say that I believe anybody can turn their metabolism around, I mean by continuing to eat healthy, and exercise, and eat often (never get hungry). I can eat a ton of food now, but I eat no sugar at all, other than natural sugars from fruit, and a very small amount from 85% cacao dark chocolate (2.5 grams sugar a day total, for two small squares). If I were to eat junk, I'd gain fat easily. I can only eat this way if it is nothing but fruits, veggies, complex carbs, protein, EFAs, lots of water, etc, etc. Whole foods.

You can do it too. Eat enough and eat good. Exercise. You'll lose it and get healthy at the same time.

Hey Brooke,

What is an 'EFA'....?

It might be obvious others but I'm oblivious rather than obvious!

Way to turn your life around!


Thanks...

I do agree with your advice about not going to low with your caloric intake especially when exercising.

Years ago, I did very well with journaling my food and fat count and caloric counts.. (Back during the height of the low fat craze!) I limited myself to 40 fat grams total or 2,000 calories whichever I hit first.. I lost very steadily and my main exercise was walking. I probably walked 45 minutes a day or approx. 3 miles. Of course if you are really out of shape you might need to work up to that amount of walking.. But with so many different ways of getting workouts and increasing fitness (exercise balls, weights, etc..) it shouldn't be hard to mix up a personal fitness regimen even if you are a novice!

It really should be about making a lifestyle change and not treating it like a 'diet'.... You (the o.p.) want to be able to maintain the habits as you journey to a healthier you!

Big, you are in some serious starvation mode.

Let me tell you a story. It's about a three legged table. Each leg of this table represents a part of your diet. One leg is nutrition. Another is sculpting (lifting), and the last is cardio. When you take away one of these legs the table falls and is doomed to fall over and over again.

Nutrition alone does not cut it. You are selling yourself short then. I read what you thought was a healthy diet in another post of yours, the one with tortillas in it, and I bet your nutrition can be improved too. 940 is pretty low on cals, hell 1200 is low. Scary low man. Honestly.

I can tell you a way to eat about 1500 cals a day and still lose weight. You need to add cardio and lifting to make this work. If you are not willing to then you are not yet serious about your health or your diet.

Post your meals including the amounts. Don't worry about cals and crap like that, I have a fitday account. Then I will look it over and let you know where it can be improved. Try to add three cardio sessions a week. 30 minutes should do it. You want to hit your target heart rate for cardio. Here is a website for that, http://iucar.iu.edu/geninfo/walking/heartrates.htm. For the lifting, beginners should start on the machines and resistence bands. A full body twice a week is good or a two day split, upper then lower is also good. Make sure you have a few days inbetween to rest. The nutrition is the tricky part. I can tell you now if you want to lose the tortilla in favor of adding two meals with the same caloric value I am your girl.

Just so you know I am not blowing smoke up your a$$ here is my profile with my progress. http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/Devisissy/

So let me know if you really want the help and I can even make a menu for you.

Hi, I am 5'7 and weigh about 158. I have lost about 35 pounds so far using a different method. I have hit a plateau for have been investigating some other eating systems. I have just read The Biggest Loser book and I am working out my daily calories using the formula on page 30. Weight in pounds x 7. This gives me 1106 a day. This seems well below a healthy level, the lowest I believe to function is 1200? If I do lose weight and get to 150 for example I would be on about 1050!

What's going on? Has the medical advice changed in recent years or is the book recommending dangerous practices? I would hope the former.

Brigsy.

(Looking to lose a few pounds to get shredded!)

I'm 5'11 and have whittled myself down to 172 pounds from 210 or so. I did it by ignoring the media completely. I didn't worry about calorie counting at all. I experimented over the course of the year with success, but I hit several plateaus. Eventually I arrived at the answer, which was so simple, I felt like a total idiot. I've heard it several times before too.

"If it's made by man, don't eat it!"

There you go. That's it. Nothing more. You can eat it as long as it wasn't made to be what it is. Cookies? Nope. Don't eat them. 100 calorie packs? Avoid them. The biggest culprit in all these foods is High Fructose Corn Syrup. Don't eat or drink anything that has any amount of HFCS in it. This alone will help you lose.

Second is Trans Fat. Don't let any company fool you. Even if it says "0 Trans Fat", it actually has trans fat in it. The federal government allows companies to say they have 0 TF as long as it's actually below half a gram (I think it's half a gram). Think about that a second. If you eat 6 items that say they're 0 trans fat, you just consumed 3 grams! 3 FRICKKEN GRAMS!

Cheers for the reply. Interesting thoughts. Must admit I thought I would get more!

Anyone know the answer to my question?

Thanks again

Brigsy.

I am new here, but not new to getting/staying at a healthy weight. The simple answer is the correct amount of calories and enough exercise. There could be several reasons for your weight loss plateau including not enough calories (i.e. your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto each calorie equaling a plateau). You could also be eating to many calories and need to decrease your caloric intake. The biggest thing is (as you probably know with your current weight loss) there is no quick fix. I have adapted a saying to fit weight loss and healthy weights. "If it were easy everyone would be within their correct weight range." As for the calories, I would not recommend going below 1200 calories a day. Just my personal opinion.

With all this being said, the things that I have found that work for me are to eat approx. 1500 calories a day (this is three meals and a min. of two snacks and I came up with this by finding setting my goal weight and multiplying it by ten), I run at least 5 days a week with no daily mileage goal just a weekly goal and do some sort of weight training/resistance training three days a week. I have a day every week when I will eat at least 2200 calories (basically a cheat day). This keeps me from cheating during the week, because I know I can have the things I want during that cheat day.

I hope this helps you and answers some of your questions. If I can help you more just let me know and good luck.

I've been wondering about this recommendation too. If I'm remembering correctly (and forgive me, I may not be as it has been a long day) Jillian's book mentions no less than 1200 a day as being safe. (Although, in her book, you are supposed to do some HUGE mathematical calculation to determine how many calories you burn each day just "living" by walking around your house, being at work, etc., and then adding in approximately how many calories you would burn by exercising, THEN figuring out how many calories you can take in per week to create a calorie deficit. She then recommended spreading those calories out during the week in different amounts so your body wouldn't get used to receiving a certain number per day. So maybe 1200 one day, 1500 the next, then maybe 1300. As long as the total for the week didn't exceed your allotted amount to create the deficit.)

I don't know what the magic answer is. I am one who DOES have to calorie count. I do try to mix it up so I keep my body guessing. If you find you are interested in Jillian's formula, I would be happy to look it up to share with you.