Import Racer
01-30-2004, 08:11 AM
Good morning everyone I am a noobie to the board just registered today. Basically I came here in search of looking for help in loosing about 40 pounds. Now I have lost a lot of weight over the years, upped my muscle mass and I currently believe I need to shed at least 40 pds still of fat, i still have a gut as well some what. Currently i average about 1200 calories a day. I am a 26 year old male.
Something that boggles my mind as well is do i have to burn more calories than i consume? I mean i read this sometimes all over the internet and think to myself than if you must burn more than you consume, thats like telling somebody you can only eat about 500 calories a day than burn more than 500 by cardio and weight training.
Please help me out i'm looking for some direction in dropping this weight i'm currently 240 pds at 5 11, and i am looking to shed at least 25 pds in 2 months.
thank you all for your time and in advance for any help that anyone can provide
:)
Something that boggles my mind as well is do i have to burn more calories than i consume? I mean i read this sometimes all over the internet and think to myself than if you must burn more than you consume, thats like telling somebody you can only eat about 500 calories a day than burn more than 500 by cardio and weight training.
Please help me out i'm looking for some direction in dropping this weight i'm currently 240 pds at 5 11, and i am looking to shed at least 25 pds in 2 months.
thank you all for your time and in advance for any help that anyone can provide
:)
Sponsor
Lindarella
01-30-2004, 09:30 AM
Hi racer,
Something that boggles my mind as well is do i have to burn more calories than i consume? I mean i read this sometimes all over the internet and think to myself than if you must burn more than you consume, thats like telling somebody you can only eat about 500 calories a day than burn more than 500 by cardio and weight training.
You’re right that to lose weight you need to eat less than burn, but it doesn’t quite work the way you’ve described. :) For example, a person such as yourself, weight 240 pounds, would need to eat about 2400-2800 calories a day to maintain that 240. To lose one pound, you need to lose 3500 calories. This can be done 2 ways, either burning the calories by exercise or by eating fewer calories. Both of those activities result in losing weight.
In your case, to lose a pound a week, you’d need to get rid of 500 calories a day from the 2800 calories a day you’re already eating. (500 calories x 7 days is 3500 calories or 1 pound). You can get rid of those 500 daily calories by either exercising or eating less or a combination of both.
Since you’re looking to lose about 25 pounds in 2 months, you have to get rid of 87,500 calories in those 2 months (3500 calories x 25 pounds). That would be about 1500 calories a day you either have to burn or not eat (87,500 calories divided by 60 days).
The 1200 calories that you’re eating now would likely result in the loss you’re looking for as you’d be getting rid of that extra 1500 calories. The only problem I can see is that you’re going to be starving. For a man, 1200 calories a day is very little. If you exercise on top of this it is really too few calories. I’d suggest you eat about 1800 calories and exercise the other 500 off. That way you wont be starving yourself.
Good luck to you, race. Hope I didn’t confuse you more with all my figuring. :cool:
Something that boggles my mind as well is do i have to burn more calories than i consume? I mean i read this sometimes all over the internet and think to myself than if you must burn more than you consume, thats like telling somebody you can only eat about 500 calories a day than burn more than 500 by cardio and weight training.
You’re right that to lose weight you need to eat less than burn, but it doesn’t quite work the way you’ve described. :) For example, a person such as yourself, weight 240 pounds, would need to eat about 2400-2800 calories a day to maintain that 240. To lose one pound, you need to lose 3500 calories. This can be done 2 ways, either burning the calories by exercise or by eating fewer calories. Both of those activities result in losing weight.
In your case, to lose a pound a week, you’d need to get rid of 500 calories a day from the 2800 calories a day you’re already eating. (500 calories x 7 days is 3500 calories or 1 pound). You can get rid of those 500 daily calories by either exercising or eating less or a combination of both.
Since you’re looking to lose about 25 pounds in 2 months, you have to get rid of 87,500 calories in those 2 months (3500 calories x 25 pounds). That would be about 1500 calories a day you either have to burn or not eat (87,500 calories divided by 60 days).
The 1200 calories that you’re eating now would likely result in the loss you’re looking for as you’d be getting rid of that extra 1500 calories. The only problem I can see is that you’re going to be starving. For a man, 1200 calories a day is very little. If you exercise on top of this it is really too few calories. I’d suggest you eat about 1800 calories and exercise the other 500 off. That way you wont be starving yourself.
Good luck to you, race. Hope I didn’t confuse you more with all my figuring. :cool:
Import Racer
01-30-2004, 12:32 PM
Thank you for that well rounded response and yeah i see what your sayin, heh. Just another thing umm, do you know or anyone for that matter if theres any good "free" sites out there that monitor how many calories a person burns doing a certain physical activity.
Orquidea
01-30-2004, 12:43 PM
Welcome to the board, Racer! :wave:
There is a very good site called fitday. It helps you to monitor your calorie food intake as your activity burn.
I use it to monitor also my carbs, I am on low carb diet. And also you can set your weight goals.. and they have graphics and more.
It is a nice tool. Also, I recommend that you have your own personal journal. You can use whatever is online, or do yours in old fashion way.. in writing. :D
We are here to help to each other, so if you have any questions, just ask. Always there will be someone who knows.
There is a very good site called fitday. It helps you to monitor your calorie food intake as your activity burn.
I use it to monitor also my carbs, I am on low carb diet. And also you can set your weight goals.. and they have graphics and more.
It is a nice tool. Also, I recommend that you have your own personal journal. You can use whatever is online, or do yours in old fashion way.. in writing. :D
We are here to help to each other, so if you have any questions, just ask. Always there will be someone who knows.
Import Racer
01-30-2004, 01:57 PM
Hey thanks, the site looks great so far, so your on a low carb diet you were saying? What kind of foods do you currently eat? See i also do weight training and i am just trying to loose extra body fat as well as a bit of a belly and tone up at the same time. What type of physical activity do you do? And again what type of foods do you import into your daily diet(s).
Orquidea
01-30-2004, 07:19 PM
I used to do quite a bit exercise maybe 3 yrs ago; then I didn't have to worry about what I ate. But I stop doing all the exercise, and I focus on working and studying no time left for anything else. In consequence, I gain quiet a bit weight. I would like to lose at least 40 pounds. I know it will take me time to get to my goal, but I am not in a hurry. I really want to change my lifestyle to be healthier and exercise more. I rather prefer to exercise than be on any diet. I believe that everything is good with moderation. But, now I need kind of watch what I am eating because I need to loose the weight. After that, I plan to maintain myself with exercise.
Lately, I started a low carb diet also it can be called Atkins. I am not too strict to it. Normally, the first two weeks you have to keep a lower carb intake less than 20 grams. That’s why I like fitday because you just input the information and they tell you how many carbs are you taking. Besides, a low carb diet is easy to follow because you don’t count calories (at least I do not do that). I stay away of the refine foods as pastas, bread, sugar, starchy foods. My meals are primarily protein. I think because you are doing weight training you would do well in a diet based on proteins for your muscles.
A typical day:
Breakfast - Low Carb milkshake (vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate) - 2 Carbs
Lunch - Grill Chicken and salad or tuna salad or chicken with veggies
Dinner - Any meat on the oven, it could be salmon, fish, pork chops. Also, I include a salad (no tomato) and as a side dish could be broccoli w/cheese, zucchini or bell peppers (or other peppers called poblano) filled with 3 different cheeses.
Snacks: cheese strings, macadonia nuts, pork skins, celery w/cream cheese, also you can have Jell-O sugar free topped with whip cream (0 carb). Uhmm yummy!
Also you can have chicken wings as a snack or as a meal.
There is not a rule about how much food you can eat. For example, you can have 3 pork chops, or 20 wings; it is about how many carbs. There is not control about your intake as longer is lower in carbs. During weekend, I have eggs with ham, or bacon and salsa. I like this diet because it is very easy to follow as you see.
In order to lose weight you have to do cardio. I recommend that you do at least 30 min cardio five times a week. Normally, I do an hour cardio five times a week; if I do not have time I do at least 30 min. I like different types of exercises as swimming, taebo, Pilates, aerobics and walking. I just started a new routine with walking and I added the elliptical machine workout to my cardio lately and I really like it. It is a good workout.
Coming back to you Racer, I believe if you want to lose the extra fat you have to focus in cardio more, do an hour at least five times. Also, on your diet you have to include a lot of proteins because the weight training routine that you are doing. If you do that you will see the results very soon. ;)
Keep working on your goals,
Orquidea
Lately, I started a low carb diet also it can be called Atkins. I am not too strict to it. Normally, the first two weeks you have to keep a lower carb intake less than 20 grams. That’s why I like fitday because you just input the information and they tell you how many carbs are you taking. Besides, a low carb diet is easy to follow because you don’t count calories (at least I do not do that). I stay away of the refine foods as pastas, bread, sugar, starchy foods. My meals are primarily protein. I think because you are doing weight training you would do well in a diet based on proteins for your muscles.
A typical day:
Breakfast - Low Carb milkshake (vanilla, strawberry, or chocolate) - 2 Carbs
Lunch - Grill Chicken and salad or tuna salad or chicken with veggies
Dinner - Any meat on the oven, it could be salmon, fish, pork chops. Also, I include a salad (no tomato) and as a side dish could be broccoli w/cheese, zucchini or bell peppers (or other peppers called poblano) filled with 3 different cheeses.
Snacks: cheese strings, macadonia nuts, pork skins, celery w/cream cheese, also you can have Jell-O sugar free topped with whip cream (0 carb). Uhmm yummy!
Also you can have chicken wings as a snack or as a meal.
There is not a rule about how much food you can eat. For example, you can have 3 pork chops, or 20 wings; it is about how many carbs. There is not control about your intake as longer is lower in carbs. During weekend, I have eggs with ham, or bacon and salsa. I like this diet because it is very easy to follow as you see.
In order to lose weight you have to do cardio. I recommend that you do at least 30 min cardio five times a week. Normally, I do an hour cardio five times a week; if I do not have time I do at least 30 min. I like different types of exercises as swimming, taebo, Pilates, aerobics and walking. I just started a new routine with walking and I added the elliptical machine workout to my cardio lately and I really like it. It is a good workout.
Coming back to you Racer, I believe if you want to lose the extra fat you have to focus in cardio more, do an hour at least five times. Also, on your diet you have to include a lot of proteins because the weight training routine that you are doing. If you do that you will see the results very soon. ;)
Keep working on your goals,
Orquidea
Shane S
01-30-2004, 07:52 PM
I agree 1200 calories is way too low. That's gotta bump to at least 1500. I'd go 2000 and see what happens. You can actually afford to be higher than that as well.
Fitday gives you a reasonable idea, but it'll be off (still a great tool considering all its features).
Fitday gives you a reasonable idea, but it'll be off (still a great tool considering all its features).
Lindarella
01-30-2004, 08:46 PM
I love fitday for the "keeping track of your food" feature. I think the exercise feature is off also.