I am 5'5 and weigh about 130-I eat about 1200-1400 calories a day and exercise 6 days a week for an hour.?

Question

I do yoga/weights and cardio. I have never been able to lose ten pounds thatt I have always wanted to. I fear if i eat less by the time I am 40 I will be eating like 1000 calories just to maintain my weight. Any advice?

Answer 1

how did you decide onf the 1200-1400 Calories/day? Did someone simply tell you that is what you should consume or did a trainer or nutritionist calculate that is what you should be eating?

If you do not consume ENOUGH Calories, your body will tear apart muscle to support vital life functions. This will cause you to lose muscle mass, resulting in a low metabolism. A low metabolism will make it more difficult to lose fat, keep doing this and it will snow-balls.

It is typical for women who are trying to lose weight to concentrate on cardio and look at weight-training as something extra - not as important. This, along with not eating enough, are the main reasons why determined women do not lose fat.

You shoudl weight-train with the mind-set of trying to build as much muscle as possible. You should be performing repetitions in the range of 6-15, but mostly 6-12. More muscle mass results in a higher metabolism that means your body will be burning more Calories all the time, even while you sleep.

Weight-training is the only thing that will help bone-density. Yoga and cardio are useless for bone-density. You need to be training every muscle group in your body. DO NOT concentrate on "belly" or "inner tighs" or other "problem areas" that so many women are obsessed with. You should be performing "compound" exercises - big exercises that work multiple muscle at one time: squat, bench press, barbell rows....

I highly recommend Dr. Hatfield's "zig zag" diet - it will help you lose fat while burning muscle.

HERE ARE THE BASICS:

1. you lose weight by consuming fewer Calories than you burn
2. you gain weight by consuming more Calories than you burn.
3. you should be concerned with losing FAT, not weight. There are 3500 Calories/Lbs of fat. To lost one pound of fat/week you have to burn 3500 Calories/week more than you consumed. there are 2500 Calories in a pound of muscle.
4. You should be more concerned with your percent body fat, not your weight.
5. the best, most effective way or burning fat is by combining weight-training and cardio exercise. The more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be. You will burn more calories all day long, including while you sleep. A health body fat percentage for males is 7-18%, females 18-24% (approximate numbers).
6. you should eat 6-8 small meals each day - this will prevent you from eating 3 large meal which will slow your metabolism while your body works to digest the large quantity of food.

As a general rule of thumb, you should be weight-training 3-4 times per week and performing cardio 3-5 times per week.

Consider hiring a personal trainer (ISSA certified) and a nutritionist. The money spent on these services is worth more than spending money on pills and potions.

Answer 2

http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_BMI/english_bmi_calculator/results_normal.htm?pounds=130&inches=65

Here is information regarding your Body Mass Index. This tells you what your weight should be for your height. You do not need to loose weight. You are healthy.

Perhaps, rather than losing weight, if you don't like certain body parts, maybe you should try toning them instead. Work on those parts a little more intensely.

In my opinion, you are eating way too little, especially for all of the excerise you're doing. And sometimes, when you do that your body is trying so hard to conserve energy, that it packs in on in the form of fat. So sometimes, eating too little calories can actually cause you to gain weight.

Your best bet is to talk your doctor or a dietician. They will know best what you need to do with your goals. Or they can tell you if your goals are unrealistic.

Answer 3

With the exercising you are gaining muscle thereby gaining the weight (or maintaining) as muscle weighs more than fat. Stop exercising so much. Do 4 days instead of 6, or eat less calories. But to waste your life on diet and exercise like you are is not healthy either, nor is all the worrying you are putting into it.

Answer 4

I don't see a problem, but then I can't see you either. Are you skipping meals? Don't. That will kill your metabolism. Also don't do the same excercises every day. Mix it up. That will keep your body "guessing" and will help you lose weight. What are you eating? 1200 to 1400 calories could be a balanced meal or could be junk food. You don't say what you are eating. A balance of protein, vegetables and carbs will help.

Answer 5

You sound like you are in great shape...
As you seem to know, the only way to lose weight is
to burn more calories than you eat...
It is a simple law of physics...eat less, burn more, lose weight.
Cut back to 1000 calories or increase your exercise and you
will lose weight...
It takes about 10 calories per pound of body weight to maintain
that weight at a normal activity level...

Answer 6

Maybe you need to let this idea go.

You sound healthy & your weight is good for your height.

Maybe you are counting your muscle weight as an excess weight.
Which is much healthier to have than excess fat.

If you are uncomfortable get a BMI test done.

Answer 7

Weight loss Answers

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060813190950AA4SVKy

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060814083021AANSJKC

Answer 8

why do you want to lose weight in the first place?? Your BMI (I just checked it) is very healthy. You shouldn't be worrying about your weight, just keep doing what you're doing now.

Answer 9

120 is under the ideal weight for someone who is 5'5". I would stop worrying about it so much.

Answer 10

u have to get over this 10 pound thing. the main idea is to be healthy and u r!