Calorie intake?

Question

I have been working out for a long time now , since feb. I have got down to the pant size I want to be, I just have a little belly flab left . I think thats going to be the last to go . I feel great and am glad I exercise, but I dont know how many calories im suppose to get in a day and still be able to lose the fat in my tummy . I do cardio high intensity sometimes mixed with intensity , I weight train and do the bike .I eat very healthy , no fast foods , no soda. Some days I am not hungry and some days like today , even when I have ate im still hungry , I heard from someone I may not be getting enough calories but if I want to lose the last few pounds I dont want to take in too many calories , doesnt that defeat the purpose because if im eating over my calories im only maintaning my weight . Im 22 , 5'1 , 112 pounds . I have tool on my computer that says if im not working and just sitting like today I shouldnt go over 1300 today . Just want some advice , thanks

Answer 1

With exercise, it's extremely difficult to accurately judge how many calories you're burning in a day. If you still want to loose more weight, then you want a small calorie deficit each day. Rather than trying to calculate the calories you "should" eat, it's probably best to just count the calories you do eat and watch your weight. Say you eat 2,000 calories a day every day for a week and count them carefully. If you lose five pounds, you're eating too little. Go up to 2,200 or cut back on exercise, if you're working out a whole lot. If you stay the same weight, cut back a little, maybe to 1900. If you gain weight, cut back more, try 1700. I don't know how much you're working out or eating now, these are just examples.

Note that a lot of people are trying to achieve unrealistic or unhealthy body types. I have not idea if "lose the fat in my tummy" to you means "look like Nicole Ritchie," or if you really might be healthier or look better if you lost another ten pounds. Don't lose too much weight, you'll be unhealthy, and it makes it really hard not to put it back on, plus more. Bodies hate being starved, and will fight you and make you feel weak, starving, and miserable all the time if you loose too much weight.

There's also more to it than calories. Foods with a high glycemic index cause your blood sugar to spike, and over time this makes you insulin resistant, which will make it harder and harder to loose weight (or not to gain it), and leads to Type 2 Diabetes. Plus, you feel hungry again faster after eating the same number of calories for foods with higher glycemic indexes. So avoid foods with high glycemic response, both for weight loss and general health. I'll link to a chart, but basically this is simple carbs, like sugars, refined grains, and potatoes.

There are also some tricks that might help. Eating low caloric density foods can make you feel full or less hungry for a while without much caloric intake. These include vegetables, fruits, low-calorie liquids, and to a lesser extent airy starches (although watch out for glucose response) like whole grain breads, whole grain rice cakes, and some other things like yogurt (without added sugar), beans, etc.

Best of luck, it's very hard to loose weight and keep it off, most people who diet and loose weight yo-yo back up to a higher weight than before they started dieting, which is very unhealthy. Be careful, don't loose weight too fast, try to find an exercise regimen you can stick to and enjoy. Oh, and avoid quacks, the internet is full of terrible advice on loosing weight, from fat-free diets to all-fat diets to grapefruit diets, starvation, and dangerous drugs. Honestly, this was the wrong place to come for advice, and you probably shouldn't trust me or anyone else here, and should find some good books on diet and nutrition and form your own opinions. Which will happen to coincide with my advice (because I'm right), but you shouldn't trust a stranger with your health and should verify this information yourself.

Answer 2

Reasonable and desirable 1lb a week. Eat only when hungry and not more than thrice a day. Nothing other than water in between. Include plenty of uncooked vegetables and fruits in each meal, preferably 50%. Chew each morsel at least 32 times. Do not touch articles of food or the cutlery in between. This will activate ur body to generate strong signals of hunger/fullness. Obey these signals. Take light exercises and brisk walks (minimum 20 min duration) regularly preferably twice a day. U will achieve what u have not even dreamt and that too in a reasonable time. Do not be in a hurry. It is however to be noted that one cannot change the shape or size of different parts of the body.

Answer 3

I read a lot of diet and excercise books and I believe if you stay under 1500-2000 calories a day (healthy foods of course) then you can loose weight. Since you are working out you should eat more calories because you are going to burn them off. This works for me anyway.

Answer 4

Weight Loss/ Hoodia sample works for me! It's a good alternative. I suddenly stopped binging for more sweets and carbs. So I guess, that only means it's effective. Check out this site http://www.upkb.com/weightloss.php and know more about the product details.