Weight Loss Formula?

[Zephik]

Okay, I've been to multiple websites that have calorie calculators, but they're all different. Are these things trustworthy?? I'm trying to lose weight but I need to know how many calories I need to maintain current weight so I can know how many calories I need to lose weight.

[Dysturbed]

I been on Medifast for about 2 months now. I have lost 33 lbs. with little to no exercise. The diet for this is like 5 150 calorie meals and one 500 calorie lean & green every night. Which is a 3-6 oz steak or chicken ect. with like 3 cups of salad (not iceburg).

I have not seen any calorie counters or anything but this diet did work for me and my wife both figured i would share.

[Luke122]

I'd rather do a ton of exercise and eat normally. :D But that's just me.

Zephik, check your PM's.

[nevermind1534]

I'd rather do a ton of exercise and eat normally. :D But that's just me.

When I do a ton of exercise, I often eat a ton of food...

[Zephik]

Well right now I'm eating about 1500 calories a day and exercising at least three days a week for at least 45 minutes a day. But these calculators are saying like 2400 calories to like over 3000 calories to lose weight. Just seems really weird to me. Aren't you only supposed to have like 2000 calories a day? I don't think I could even eat more than 2500 calories a day unless the food was small and loaded. lol

[Luke122]

The P90X calculator I just used says that you should be around 3000 cal per day if you are exercising daily.

I would say that if you are working hard at it, and not losing weight on 1500 calories, then you are likely in "starvation mode". Try upping your calories and a bit, and see what happens. :) Are you trying to lose fat, or gain muscle, or both?

[nevermind1534]

And remember that calculators aren't going to be completely accurate for every individual.

[billygoat333]

also remember when you are working out that there is a difference between fat burning and muscle burning when you are running/walking. you actually burn more fat when you are ~65% of your max heart rate. you can find calculators and scales of target heart rates for weight and age and whether you want cardio or aerobic excercise. :)

[crenn]

If I recall, aerobic and cardio are the worst types to do if you want to lose weight. I remember reading it in the news somewhere.

[d_stilgar]

If you keep a diet of good food (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketosis) (no bad carbs or sugar, I mean zero) that is ultra high in protein, then you should be able to eat as much as you like (or can) and still lose weight. Your body needs fuel to do what it needs to do. If you are taking too few calories then your body will try to store everything. You will be more tired and will retain weight. It will drive you mad.

The other option is to go way way down to 800 calories a day (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/08/eveningnews/main514443.shtml). Your body can do it and you will lose weight like crazy, but you will lose a lot of concentration, have headaches, and in general not be a very happy camper.

You could also go the route of burning more than you take in. No matter how bad your body wants to hold onto calories, if you are burning more than you are eating then you will lose weight.

You may want to give up one thing. My mom gave up pop and lost 30lbs. Later she gave up all candy and lost 20lbs. This method usually works even better on men.

Good luck!

We should add a section to the forums and we should all post before and after pictures in a three month time span. Anyone? Anyone? I'm up for it.

[Zephik]

Well I monitor my weight daily, so I think I'm going to continue eating 1500 calories per day with a minimum of 45 minutes exercise a minimum of three days a week. If I don't see any weight loss here within three weeks from now then we'll regroup here and come up with an alternative plan. I'm hoping to lose at least a pound or two a week.

So I'm currently 254 and we'll see where I am in three weeks from now.

[crenn]

You may want to decrease that exercise time but increase the quanity to start out with.

[Zephik]

Why? And what do you mean increase the quantity to start out with?

[billygoat333]

increase intensity I think he means. and I would be down to do an exercise thread. I need the motivation. lol

[Luke122]

Well I monitor my weight daily, so I think I'm going to continue eating 1500 calories per day with a minimum of 45 minutes exercise a minimum of three days a week. If I don't see any weight loss here within three weeks from now then we'll regroup here and come up with an alternative plan. I'm hoping to lose at least a pound or two a week.

So I'm currently 254 and we'll see where I am in three weeks from now.

I dont think a pound a DAY is unreasonable with hard work, proper nutrition and dedication.

[d_stilgar]

A lot of my family is on a Ketosis diet, which is a bit extreme. They have been losing 4-7lbs a week. They all have 100+ lbs to lose.

My wife and I would do it too, but our weight is vanity weight. We technically aren't even overweight on a BMI chart. So for me it is eating better and working out.

Edit: In three days it's the first of March. We should all start weight loss threads (those of us with goals) and post weight updates once a week. We could all start with a before photo and post another one once a month. I think I could even give out prizes for everyone who meets their three month goal. The only qualification to get a prize would be to lose 25lbs or more, or to get down to a BMI of 22 or less.

Any takers?

[Zephik]

I've actually lost a pound and more a day before, when I was like 16/17 or something like that. I went on vacation for ten days, ate a sub sandwhich each day and walked around for like 6 hours minimum each day. I lost like 13 or 14 pounds. Went chubby came back skinny, freaked people out. lol

[d_stilgar]

I went to scout camp one year and lost 20lbs. I had no time to eat really. I ate three meals a day (but the portions were small) and didn't have time to wait around for seconds. My mom was really freaked out when I got back. I was really skinny before, but after that week I was skin and bones.

[Luke122]

Zeph: I did that for 6 months when I went to Russia. Living at MSU, there was a 20 minute walk to the Metro (subway station), so everytime I went anywhere, I would get at least a 20 min walk. (sometimes taxi home..hehe.. it was cheap)

I went in April about 30 lbs overweight, and when I came home in Sept, I was 180 and pretty ripped. I guess that it helps I was doing pushups and situps as much as possible, plus all the walking. I wore out a pair of Nikes just walking around Moscow!

[crenn]

Why? And what do you mean increase the quantity to start out with?
Because unless you're semi fit, you probably won't be able to do the full 45 minutes of exercise. What I'm suggesting is instead of doing 45 minutes 3 times a week, do something like 15 minutes 9 times a week, and if you can handle 15 minutes, do 30 minutes 5 times a week. Initially it's not so much losing weight, but letting your body adjust to the amount of exercise you're planning to do.

[Zephik]

Ah I see. Well I'm not too badly overweight I guess. I can handle 45 minutes relatively easy. I've actually done an hour and a half before but I was pretty sore the next day, lol. Of course, I'm not exerting myself at full throttle, but I'm not taking a liesurely bike ride either. On a scale from 1 to 5, 1 being walking and 5 being running from a bull that has murderous intent, i'd put myself at a non-stop/constant 3. It's enough to get me pretty sweaty anyways. I'll be ramping up my effort once I get used to exercising. After-all, if you aren't breathing hard and sweating then your not truly exercising. But of course you got to stick with it or you'll just gain it all back, but you should anyway and with my families health history I'm going to have to unless I want to due before I'm 50.

[Waynio]

I'm about 30 to 40 lbs overweight right now and it's all on my belly & have developed side bellys over time lol, waist size has stayed the same as what it was in school 36", it was in my early 20's where I became a bit of a regular beer monster couch potatoe, my waist bloated up to 42", but from my mid 20's to now I got back into excercising regular, I just do an excersise session of 30min to an hour every day switching the time of day ranging from 6am to 10pm until I get bored of the routine and then take a week or 2 off.

Trouble is if I excercise hard regular particular any stomach excercises my appetite goes through the roof, junk food I crave chocolate, icecream, crisps :), I know how to lose weight & get in good shape but I'm just not strict enough about what I eat oh and drinking nothing but coffee with milk & 2 sugars (only time I drink good old water is when excercising or feel dehydrated) so even if I just quit sugar in my coffee I'm sure I could lose 10 to 15lbs, maybe even 20lbs making my belly flat.

Cheese on toast with a ton of chillies & crushed peppercorns is my current favourite quick fix snack which won't be helping, well the cheese won't be, I just like quick fix foods too much.

Don't ever want to be skinny or fat again, just want to be inbetween and is a tricky ballance if you don't stick to a diet of any kind & don't get scientific about it all, I'm on the enjoy yourself diet which keeps me happy :), and that to me is more important than being a tad overweight :).

Smoking, I just wish I stopped enjoying it all of a sudden, then I could easily quit, I use rolling tobaco and is much nicer than regular cigarettes that are full of chemicals, I suppose if I switched to cigarettes for a month that might work in making the process somewhat easier, not a bad plan :), I do still have great lungs even after smoking for 20 years (can hold my breath for 3 minutes) can excersise until I get bored so I am being an idiot for polluting them, I really should quit this year as it would be easy to track how long I have been a none smoker and I know I'm just setting myself up for bad breathing problems in the future which I sure don't want, would help if the government inflated the cost by 3 or 4 times all of a sudden rather than making the inflation hardly noticeable :mad:.

[d_stilgar]

Well, my offer is there. Anyone who wants to lose 25lbs or get down to a BMI of 22 can start a weight loss log on Monday. Take pictures on the first of March, April, May, and then the final result on June 1. If you lose at least 25lbs or get down to a BMI of 22 or less I will give you a prize. I haven't figured out the prize yet, but I'll know more when I've figured out how many people are going to participate. Nonetheless I am willing to give out some nice stuff if people are getting healthy.

I'll start mine on Monday. I only have about 20lbs to lose, so it shouldn't be too hard for me, but lack of motivation and accountability have been keeping me at my weight of 200lbs. If I can get down to 180 that would be fantastic.

[billygoat333]

I think its a good idea to do a march starting point for a thread. I have about 20-25lbs before I reach my goal of 175. not too worried about the weight though so much as I am gaining muscle. been lifting heavily the past 3 weeks and have been trying to get 4 days of lifting a week in. usually works out to about 2 hours at the gym after I do my cardio. I think a thread/contest would be a great way for me to stay motivated! I have a hard time not gorging myself on food when I work out and lift heavily. anyone use any good protein shake/supplements? My buddy who is a trainer swears by muscle milk as a post workout drink and meal replacement. might have to go buy a case and try it out.

[d_stilgar]

When I workout I'll use whey protein (any brand will do, although higher concentrations are better). Drink it right after a workout and usually the muscle recovery is faster. Different brands are designed a little differently, but most work best right after the workout.

[Zephik]

Someone told me the first 15 pounds of weight loss is water weight. What is that and is that true?

[d_stilgar]

Water weight depends a lot on your body and size already. I might have 7lbs of water weight. Pro football players are known to drop 20lbs during a game, all water.

If you are losing weight the right way, none of it will be water weight. All these miracle diet drinks you see on TV dehydrate you. Pretty much none of it is fat and that's why they don't work.

That said, fat is made up mostly of water, so you will be losing water anyway.

[Twigsoffury]

I think its a good idea to do a march starting point for a thread. I have about 20-25lbs before I reach my goal of 175. not too worried about the weight though so much as I am gaining muscle. been lifting heavily the past 3 weeks and have been trying to get 4 days of lifting a week in. usually works out to about 2 hours at the gym after I do my cardio. I think a thread/contest would be a great way for me to stay motivated! I have a hard time not gorging myself on food when I work out and lift heavily. anyone use any good protein shake/supplements? My buddy who is a trainer swears by muscle milk as a post workout drink and meal replacement. might have to go buy a case and try it out.


Developing Type I muscle fiber can help you improve your bodies ability to burn fat even when your not exercising and being active. calisthenics are just about the best way to develop Type I muscles, so is swimming,running and bicycling where repeated movements are done.

But type II can really burn up carbohydrates and other sugars (plus fat) while your working out and exercising (lifting weights and stuff), but they tend not to produce as much triphosphates (ATP) when your not. and ATP production requires glycogen, Which comes from glucose.. which often comes from carbohydrates. which people for some reason people hate to eat while on a diet. So my assumption is your body tends to look other places for a source of glucose for muscle production. and pulls it from fluids you intake instead of fat like people want.


now that i think of it. thats probably how those weight gainers work. haha




But i'm no dietitian or physical trainer (not even close) so don't hold that to me as the golden word or something.....

[Zephik]

Update: I'm about a week over a month because I keep forgetting to update. Oops lol

Anyways, I've lost 12 pounds! But I think my initial weighing was inaccurate so I think it's more like 8 pounds. But that's still hitting my goal of losing around 2 pounds a week.

I'm also very suprised at how much 1500 calories last when you eat healthy. I eat, on average, 6 servings worth a day and STILL have calories left over! Amazing!