should I increase calories?

JustAPenNameForMe
JustAPenNameForMe Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok, so I am new to this whole loose weight thing. At first I figured all I had to do is eat less and exercise more - easy right?

I went to the gym today and this guy was saying that at first I should limit calories ( about 1200) and exercise . Then after a month or so I should increase calories to 1800 to make muscle. BTW, I do not want to bulk up, I want to loose about 15 lbs, and tone my core and butt.

Is that right? Does that make any sense?
Would weight be a factor in this. I am 5'2'' and 142 lbs.

Replies

  • suziepoo1984
    suziepoo1984 Posts: 915 Member
    From what I have learnt through this forum, its very hard to build muscle.. So y lose what you have in the first place? Eating low calories will reduce muscle along with fat.. So better way would be to eat at your tdee-15/20 and lift heavy to lose fat and retain muscle :)
  • sub10orbust
    sub10orbust Posts: 706 Member
    find ur maintenence cals first then subtract 500 and u should lose about a pound a week
  • raulafanador
    raulafanador Posts: 18 Member
    Weight loss is simple. The hard part is committing to your lifestyle changes for good. There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat so in order to lose a pound of fat in a week you would have to burn that many more calories than what you ingest that week. Now as to how many calories you should eat per day is dependent on many factors, height and weight included, but also how much exercise you are willing to do per day and how many pounds you want to lose per week. If you are not fond of exercise I would not suggest more than a pound a week because otherwise you would be depriving yourself of food to reach your goal. First thing you will want to do is calculate your basal metabolic rate which is how many calories your body would burn if you just vegged out all day. Then from there you can figure out how many calories you should ingest. For example if your basal metabolic rate is 2000 calories per day, and your diet is 1500 calories per day, you are burning 500 calories more than you are taking in per day. Now if you do the math and multiply that by 7 days in a week, you will have burned 3500 calories more than you ingested that week. Voila! 1 pound lost! Now notice I didn't mention exercise there. If you include exercise in that example you will have lost another 1 to 2 lbs depending on your level of activity! Hope this helps and good luck!
  • JustAPenNameForMe
    JustAPenNameForMe Posts: 7
    Wow - thank you. I think this is the best explanation I have read!

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