Does this sound plausible with regards to weight loss?

Question

They say that you have to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat. This amounts to roughly 500 calories per day under the amount of calories my body needs to sustain itself to lose 1 pound of fat per week. If I were to hop on an eliptical machine and burn 500 calories a day while not taking in more than the 2000 calories per day my body needs to sustain itself, would I lose 1 pound of fat per week? I eat very little and I know I don't consume 2000 calories per day, but I never lose any weight. Why? I don't exercise all that much except for about 20 minutes of walking a day, but I don't consume that many calories. Shouldn't I be losing weight?

Also, is exercise more effective before you eat? I was once told that if you eat before you exercise, your body uses the food as energy and not your body fat, so you end up losing nothing. Is that true?

My plan: Eat healthy and exercise each day for the next two months in order to lose 500 calories a day so I can lose 10-15 lbs. Good plan?

I'm an 18 year old male 5' 11" tall weighing about 175 lbs btw.

Also, is it a good idea to eat before or after I exercise in the morning?

Answer 1

I really think that it varies a lot person to person.

I, for instance, take in waaay more than 2000 calories a day (I once got bored and counted, in a day I was eating how I normally eat, and it was around 5000.), and when I am lazy and do no exercise beyond what I have to do for work, school, and my general activities, I basically maintain my weight as is. If I exercise at all, I lose weight(to a certain point), albeit slowly. (Unfortunately, the 2 times my clumsy *** has broken my ankle and been rendered only semi-mobile for 2 months, I gained 20 + lbs each time.) I also know people who eat very little, and have to exercise a lot, to maintain in the same weight range I'm in.

A lot depends on your individual metabolism. It sounds like you're not gaining any weight at your current level of activity, so then upping it, particularly with lots of cardio-based exercise, would be the healthiest way for you to lose a few lbs. And yes I would say you can probably count on 1 to 2 lbs a week, provided you keep exercising at a decent pace.

As for the idea of losing nothing if you eat before you exercise, that is quite wrong. It is true that the food you eat might be used as your energy while you exercise. But, that just means that said food won't be used to maintain your energy in your regular activities of the day, and your body will burn up some of your body fat instead. However, I would still recommend you eat after you exercise, or several hours before. A lot of vigorous activity on a full stomach can be quite unpleasant.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Yes, you got it exactly right.
The goal should never be more than two pounds per week or you risk losing weight only due to dehydration, which cannot be sustained.
Most weight loss ideas lately involve greatly reducing the caloric intake for rapid weight loss, but they are going to fail because they lose too much weight too quickly.
If you do what you are saying, you will lose weight gradually and will be much more likely to keep it off for the long term.

Answer 3

You're 5'11" 175lbs and you're trying to lose weight? I'm the same height and I got really serious about working out and dieting and couldn't get below 185. But here's some help.

the in/out ratio is correct, 3500 calories to burn 1 pound of fat, but you need to eat the right food to ensure you'll lose weight. If you're serious cut all food that contain sugar. Sugar changes your glucose level which determine how your body metabolizes food, burns fat, and your energy level.
Eat through out the day. take your 3 typical meals and split them up into 5 smaller meals. try to eat more protein rich foods because protein takes more time for your body to metabolize which makes you fuller longer and itself burns more calories.

As far as eating before or after working out. I would recommend after. some people say if you eat before then your body will use the food you ate for energy and not fat. this is true but keep in mind that the food your body used for energy isn't around to give you energy later and you'll feel hungry. you may also get sick from exercising on a full stomach. i eat after i work out because my body will burn more fat during the cardio, granted i will have less energy but it will more effectively use fat for energy than later in the day.

remember diet and exercise is the hardest when you start, i found that after 3 days of dieting my stomach (internal/actual stomach) shrunk which helps make you full when you eat little, and also my body adjusted to what I'm doing so i wasn't hungry at random times because it knew when it's getting fuel.

Answer 4

Sounds like your not eating enough. The body goes into starvation mode and stores your intake.

Answer 5

Replace chips with salad to cut carbs

Answer 6

give your protein extra low calorie flavor by adding a salsa or chutney instead of a gooey cream sauce

Answer 7

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Answer 8

write down what you eat for one week and you will lose weight

Answer 9

yes.
if you dont loose weight, it could be water rention.
to solve this , reduce salt intake

Answer 10

say good bye to carbonated beverages because these are loaded with sugar