# [Guide] To losing weight



## Nutnutnut (Jun 2, 2007)

I thought I'd make a little guide to share my knowledge on this subject.

To lose weight, you need two things.
Great diet, and exercise. Surprised?
You need to do both or it will not work.
*

Calories*

For diet, first you must calculate the amount of calories your body burns naturally, without exercise, it's called the Basal Metabolic Rate;
A: [weight] x [11 for women, 12 for men]
B: [number of hours you don't sleep] x [third of your weight]
A + B = [number of calories you burn everyday, by being inactive]

Example;
A: 130 x 12 = 1560
B: 15 x 43 = 645
A + B = 2205
So this means I burn 2205 everyday, without counting the excersise. I could eat 2205 calories a day, and not lose, or gain any weight.

You must choose how many pounds you want to lose per week.

The maximum amount of calories you can cut from your Basal Metabolic Rate is 500, never cut more than that, cutting more than that will result in the body going into a "panic mode", and once you stop dieting, he will transform everything you eat into fat to store for the next starvation. That's what causes yoyo diets.

Example; my BMR is 2205, I want to lose weight thus I will cut 500 calories from my BMR, which means I will eat 1705 calories a day.

After that, you must decide how many calories you will burn by exercise every day. One pound = 3500 calories, which means if I burn 250 calories a day, and eat 500 calories of less, thus 750 calories of loss every day, I will eat 5250 calories of less per week, resulting in a loss of 1.5 lbs/weekly. If I want to lose more, I can burn 500 calories a day, eat 500 calories of less a day, which will result in a loss of 2 lbs each week. 

*Food*

And food, well, eat good foods. It's complicated to explain, you must look at the etiquettes, and use your common sense. Never listen to commercials who say that their product are healthy, 90% of the time is it a lie. Buy products with; less than 2 g of fat a portion, less than 5 g of sugar a portion, the most protein and fiber possible. Take skim milk, whole wheat bread(make sure it's not made with enriched flour), don't eat corn(it is what we call a fat-trapper) or bananas(Bananes are the healthiest bad snack you can eat, if you're desperate, eat it instead of something worse, but no, bananas are not good for you, they contain high sugar, high calories, and trap fat, if you want a source of potassium, take something else). Eat fruits, and vegetables, avoid eating to much processed products, try to cook instead.

*Exercise*

Exercise, now this is tricky, there is many ways to do exercise and not lose weight, that's right. Maybe you noticed a neighbour who does a walk every night, but he doesn't seem to lose any weight. Well, I can tell you a few guidelines.

Exercising in the morning, before you have eaten, burns 2x more calories than during it at any other moment in the day.

When you walk, you will start burning fat only after 15 mins of continuous walking, so it pays off to do long walks, since every minute after the 15 minutes you lose weight.

When doing cardio, monitor your heart rate, if your rate is to high, your body will use his carbs reserve and you will not lose any fat, if it's too low, you will not burn anything. The trick is to find the correct heart rate, then gradually increasing the toughness as your body adapts to that rate.

For ladies afraid to do strength training because they're afraid to get big muscles, do not fear, gaining muscle size is very difficult, for gaining big arms by example, you would need to have a whole 1 hour routine of increasing difficulty every two days, for 1 to 1 year and a haft. There's no reason to be afraid to gain muscle, muscles burn fat even when you don't do anything because they increase the metabolism. There's a couple of ways to gain muscle strength without increasing the muscle volume too much, but I'm not expert on that subject so I cannot help you.

Never exercise after eating, because you will burn the food that is in your stomach/intestines, instead of burning fat. Wait at least an hour after having eaten to exercise. ¸

As for what type of exercise you should do, it depends what you want. But having a mix of cardio and strength training is very good, yoga can also be interesting to insure good energy circulation and agility.

Don't be surprised if the first times you do exercise, your joints hurt a lot, that's because being inactive causes water to go onto the joints, when you do exercise, the water goes away, therefore the more you exercise, the more the pain goes away.


----------



## Lisa (Jul 8, 2006)

This is by far the best account of how to lose weight I have read (and I have read many). Thanks!!


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

I hated counting calories. I had to do it tho for weight gain, not weight loss. If you are serious tho and need a place to keep your daily food intake measured out you shoud use fitday. i used to use it. You cna make a free account and keep track.

http://www.fitday.com/

Also a good site for finding out how many calories and whatnjot are in all types of foods is calorie king.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/


----------



## FairleighCalm (May 20, 2007)

3Nut, 
Thank you! This is really helpful. I have been over-exercising and not eating enough. Today Ihad to leave work because of heart palps and they went away after I ate a meal of comfort food. I appreciate the info and will use it.


----------



## R4ph4el (Sep 20, 2005)

> When you walk, you will start burning calories only after 15 mins of continuous walking, so it pays off to do long walks, since every minute after the 15 minutes you lose weight.


I think you mean fat instead of calories, cause I'm even burning calories just sitting here typing this message 

Well written article! Good job


----------



## Nutnutnut (Jun 2, 2007)

R4ph4el said:


> > When you walk, you will start burning calories only after 15 mins of continuous walking, so it pays off to do long walks, since every minute after the 15 minutes you lose weight.
> 
> 
> I think you mean fat instead of calories, cause I'm even burning calories just sitting here typing this message
> ...


Yes that's what I meant, going to fix it. 
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.


----------



## SpesVitae (Oct 20, 2005)

Nutnutnut said:


> Basal Metabolic Rate;
> A: [weight] x [11 for women, 12 for men]
> B: [number of hours you don't sleep] x [third of your weight]
> A + B = [number of calories you burn everyday, by being inactive]


Wow really?!?! I thought the BMR already incorporated B. If it's indeed A+B, I can eat so much more than I think lol. Gosh I'm so confused. If I google BMR, most sources say just to multiply your weight by some factor like 10 or 12. This is driving me crazy, as I've been trying hard to lose weight for so long. Now my concern is that I'm eating so little that I'm actually slowing down the rate of my progress.


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

bananas are great for you tho right after a strenuous workout blended in with a whey protein shake, thats how i always have one.

"During activities that last longer than one hour, it is possible to drain the muscles of their fuel (glycogen) and begin to use the limited sugars in the bloodstream to feed muscles. To prevent low blood sugar during exercise (a condition that makes you feel very tired), it is wise to drink a sports drink that is high in glucose. This will replenish the sugars that are used. Glucose enters the bloodstream very rapidly. A banana or two blended into a quart of water will provide glucose to act as fuel for energy during sports or hard work, and digest easily enough so that you do not experience stomach problems.

After exercise it is important to refill the muscle glycogen or you will remain tired. Bananas are excellent for this role as well. The fructose of bananas enters the bloodstream more slowly than glucose, yet both are easily converted to muscle glycogen. The "glycemic index" tells us how quickly the carbohydrates in foods get into our system. Bananas are grouped with foods that have the highest glycemic index"


----------



## SpesVitae (Oct 20, 2005)

That sounds good. Maybe I should try Whey protein myself. I've always just blended some banana, tofu and flaxseed in some soy milk lol. It's actually pretty yummy.  like that


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

UGH! speaking of tofu you know whats sick tho? some hardcore bodybuilders actually make "tuna shakes" Thats dedication!


----------



## 0rchid (Aug 19, 2006)

When I'm jogging outside, I have reallly no means of calculating my HR but I do think it's higher than it should be. When I'm on the treadmill at the gym, the machine tracks my HR, and it turns out to be much higher than it should be for my age, weight and height. What kind of cardio exercises should I do to keep my HR at around 130-140 rather than 180 when I run on the treadmill at 5.4 miles/hr for like 40 min?


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

orchid, stick to what you are doing. If your HR is too high and you feel like you're over doing it don't jogfor the whole time. Change pace while your on the treadmill or jogging, like for a few minutes walk, then Jog, then speed jog, then slow down, then walk again. it's actually better then just full blown running/jogging for the whole time and actually burns more calories that way believe it or not.


----------



## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

Nutnutnut said:


> To lose weight, you need two things.
> Great diet, and exercise. Surprised?
> You need to do both or it will not work.


I'm surprised since I lost significant weight (272 down to 185) mainly by just eating less.

There seems to be an endless supply of diet books telling you the "secret" in a few hundred pages. I can fit the no-so-secret on an index card: eat less, but I'm never going to get rich as an author with that.


----------



## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

UltraShy said:


> I'm surprised since I lost significant weight (272 down to 185) mainly by just eating less.
> 
> There seems to be an endless supply of diet books telling you the "secret" in a few hundred pages. I can fit the no-so-secret on an index card: eat less, but I'm never going to get rich as an author with that.


Pretty much. In almost all cases it is quite simple. Calorie intake minus calories burned. You can achieve this with only making changes to your diet.


----------



## IronMan (May 20, 2007)

Here are some no-bull**** articles on fat loss. FYI interval training is 9 times as effective for fat loss as steady state cardio. Don't fall into that fat burning zone myth, it's total nonsense.

The Hierarchy of Fat Loss
by Alwyn Cosgrove

"Fat loss is an all-out war. Give it 28 days - only 28 days. Attack it with all you have. It's not a lifestyle choice; it's a battle. Lose fat and then get back into moderation. There's another one for you: moderation. Revelation says it best: 'You are lukewarm and I shall spit you out.' Moderation is for sissies."

- Dan John, legend

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1526539

Real Fast Fat Loss
by Alwyn Cosgrove and Chad Waterbury

This is a no bull**** fat loss article. There will be no motivational tips, no psychological analysis, no complicated nutritional plan, and no puny-*** exercises. In fact, just one of the exercises in this plan is probably more demanding than your entire, out-dated fat loss training program. And that's a good thing.

Listen, your goal with each workout during any effective fat loss plan should be to rev up your metabolism and keep it revved up after you leave the gym. You need a tough workout to do that. Therefore, to lose fat and transform your body you must eradicate single-joint isolation exercises because they'll do nothing for fat loss. But there's more that you need to know.

Let's break down fat loss into its five most important components....

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1589833


----------



## Nutnutnut (Jun 2, 2007)

Prodigal Son said:


> UltraShy said:
> 
> 
> > I'm surprised since I lost significant weight (272 down to 185) mainly by just eating less.
> ...


Well, the more you weight, the easier it is to lose weight. 272 is a lot, it's plausible to lose weight only cutting calories at that weight. However, the muscles are the first thing to go away when you diet, so unless you have trained them during that weight loss, you lost some muscle volume, resulting in a slower metabolism. And when you get under a certain % of fat, ~20-25% of fat, it becomes impossible to slim down any further without doing some serious excercise. But as I said previously, you need to exercise or you lose a lot of muscle mass, it's very bad.


----------



## Prodigal Son (Dec 11, 2005)

That's not true. You can be under 20-25% BF and if you have a calorie deficit you will continue to lose weight. Your body does try to preserve your skeletal muscle. Strength training and doing a slow cut is the way to minimize muscle catabolism. Maintaining glycogen levels in your muscle is crucial as well, allows for fat loss while limiting muscle loss.


----------



## Nutnutnut (Jun 2, 2007)

> That's not true. You can be under 20-25% BF and if you have a calorie deficit you will continue to lose weight.


The less you have of BF, the harder it becomes to lose the particular fat. You would still lose a little weight by relying of dieting alone, but if you're totally inactive, you will lose your muscle mass, slowing the metabolism, and long term chances are it won't work at all. 


> Your body does try to preserve your skeletal muscle.


Yup, but that's the strict minimum. Point is, physical activity + good diet is the way to go.


----------



## workman (Mar 5, 2004)

I've lost 13 pounds since the beginning of may by eating around 1900-2200 calories a day and exercising 20 minutes a day. By the calculations in here I should be eating around 2800 calories a day. Am I going to low on calories?


----------



## Nutnutnut (Jun 2, 2007)

The BMR calculations are only a guideline. Each individual has different caloric needs. Usually, one feels it if they don't eat enough calories.


----------



## SpesVitae (Oct 20, 2005)

*Re: re: [Guide] To losing weight*



workman said:


> I've lost 13 pounds since the beginning of may by eating around 1900-2200 calories a day and exercising 20 minutes a day. By the calculations in here I should be eating around 2800 calories a day. Am I going to low on calories?


Wow good job, workman. Congratulations!

I'm a bit confused by the BMR calculations, too. According to some equations, such as the one cited here, I should eat just under 3000C. But according to other equations, I should consume around 1300C if I don't workout, or around 1800C if I do. It's frustrating because I'm not sure what to do, so pretty much I just try to stick with healthful foods and avoid the bad ones, and eat many small meals in a day so I don't go hungry. It seems like the right thing to do, but lately I've really been wondering whether or not I'm eating too few Calories. Anyway, good luck to us all.


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

I lost two pounds  i'm at 150 now! yea it's probably just water weight but so what! getting my 6-pack back slowly!


----------



## WineKitty (Nov 26, 2004)

I am not a fan of calorie reduction only as a weight loss method. Yeah it can work (karl is living proof) but exercise gives your metabolism a boost, strengthens your body overall, builds muscle which uses more calories, there are endless benefits to even moderate exercise, which I read on MSN sometime recently (dont have the link sorry too lazy to look it up right now) a high percentage of American adults DO NOT DO..a high percentage does almost nothing in the way of exercise, despite the vast benefits from it.
Its not all about cutting back on food....you have to stop riding the couch and start getting active...

I have gotten back into power walking after a knee injury earlier this year....I love how I feel after a good heart pumping power walk....now I just have to dust off my weights and do some simple lifting.....


----------



## korendir (Jul 6, 2007)

I've heard every weight loss theory you can read on the internet, tv, newspapers, magazines and on the side of a serial box. The fact is science is a tool and like any tool you can use it for a number of different purposes, 1 of which is selling serial.

I know what works for me, I've lost 3 stone using my own brain - I recently dropped a post about it, I'm currently waiting for someone to tell me I'm dead wrong and why - it won't make any difference to the way I eat, work out and stay healthy, because I'm responsible for that - not someone whom I've never met.


----------



## IronMan (May 20, 2007)

Clean low carb diet (including nutrient timing)
Heavy resistance training
Interval training

...not that complicated.


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

155 now! something isn't right lol


----------



## SilentProphet (Jun 1, 2007)

Instead of trying to just lose some fat by weight training alone i might have to start up some interval training. :hug


----------



## pyramidsong (Apr 17, 2005)

Edit. Wrong thread. D'oi.


----------

