weight loss for dummies
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hurricanekaty
Posts: 33
This seriously may sound like the dumbest question ever, but can someone tell me exactly what I need to do to lose weight? I recently learned that there is so much more to it than simply counting calories and exercise. If someone could give me an exact diet plan, THAT would rock! I am 20 years old. Female. 5'1". 192 lbs. I have a desk job. I would really like to lose at least 2lbs per week. So if there is ANYONE out there that would like to do the math for me and instruct me on what to change my carbs, fat, protein to. And how many calories to eat. And etc. You would seriously be saving my life. (Figuratively and Literally)
And please, no rude or mean comments...
And please, no rude or mean comments...
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Replies
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there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.0 -
Bump0
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You didn't mention working out but I estimated you exercising 3 times a week...your BMR is approx 1580...your TDEE is 2130 according to online calculators. if no exercise at all your TDEE is around 1860.
e.g to lose 1 to 2lbs per week you would eat at 20% deficit of 2130 which would be approx 1770 cals, or if 1860 then you could eat approx 1540.
hope this helps..others i'm sure will jump in with suggested macros. I'm of the opinion if you eat at deficit and you will lose regardless of how those cals are made up ☺0 -
there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
^ this pretty much sums it up0 -
there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
+10 -
If there was a like button, I'd push it...a lotthere really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.0 -
However it really is as simple as calorie counting
Macro settings vary depending on who you ask, I do 45 carb 25 protein and 30 fat others do it differently, often depending on the style of the deficit they are applying and what helps them stick to it better.
Calorie deficit is weight loss, macro and micro nutrient split is for health
Exercise can be used for increasing your deficit but is really for health as well
Put your numbers into MFP set your activity level based on your lifestyle without exercise and use a realistic weight loss setting (do't automatically go for 2 lb per week)
Weigh every solid you eat and measure every liquid you drink, eat back about 70% of calories burnt by exercise outside your daily activity and you should be pretty much there
Weekly calories can then be adjusted if you are losing faster or slow than you expected after the first 2 weeks to a month
ETA damn I must be slow at typing judging by all the posts that suddenly appeared between my two!0 -
But it is just simply counting calories and exercise....actually for weight loss it's just counting calories, eating less than what your body burns all day long. The exercise is for fitness and an added bonus as a higher activity level means more calories to eat.
You were given great links in your other thread earlier today, there is a lot of great info there if you want to get into the nitty gritty and fine tune your macros for specific goals (strength, fat loss, build muscle, etc). But for starters, why not just use My Fitness Pal's program? It's a great system and it works when used correctly.
Enter your info and goals accurately and reasonably. A 2lb per week loss goal is probably reasonable for you at this point. Log your food, aim to meet your goal each day. If you exercise, log it and eat back at least a portion of those burned cals, bringing your net cals up to or at least very close to your goal. Drink water, take rest days, get good sleep. And have patience.
Good luck.
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there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
This is good, but I like to burn more calories than I consume, generally I lose more weight that way.0 -
there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
Thank you. This really helps. I got to reading today about all this stuff about BMR and TDEEs and all Therese equations and math and I just felt like I was on the wrong path! But thank you for taking the time to ease my mind! Lol0 -
You didn't mention working out but I estimated you exercising 3 times a week...your BMR is approx 1580...your TDEE is 2130 according to online calculators. if no exercise at all your TDEE is around 1860.
e.g to lose 1 to 2lbs per week you would eat at 20% deficit of 2130 which would be approx 1770 cals, or if 1860 then you could eat approx 1540.
hope this helps..others i'm sure will jump in with suggested macros. I'm of the opinion if you eat at deficit and you will lose regardless of how those cals are made up ☺
Thank you soooo much!!0 -
there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
This is good, but I like to burn more calories than I consume, generally I lose more weight that way.
Well the thing is, is that I was taking in about 1000 calories every day and burning about 1200 but the weight wouldn't cone off. And everyone said I was starving myself?0 -
Thank you everyone!! This has been the most helpful post yet! 0
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there really isn't anything more to it.
Consume more calories than you burn.
Exercise isn't even for weight loss really it's for health and fitness...you can lose weight just by reducing calories.
Exact diet plan would be eat what you want/crave/love within your deficit.
Weight all solids, measure all liquids, log using the correct entries.
That's it.
Oh the 2lbs a week would be fine for now but you need to lower it eventually.
If you have 75+ lbs to lose 2 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 40-75 lbs to lose 1.5 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 25-40 lbs to lose 1 lbs/week is ideal
If you have 15 -25 lbs to lose 0.5 to 1.0 lbs/week is ideal
If you have less than 15 lbs to lose 0.5 lbs/week is ideal
As for your Macros (carbs, protien, fats) are more about nutrition than weight loss. I watch mine because I lift heavy weights and I need adequate protien to help heal the muscles.
Mind you protien keeps you feeling fuller longer.
To find your calories for weight loss just enter your info into MFP they do the work for you. But set reasonable goals, accurate activity levels etc.
No magic, no secrets.
If you enter all your data in at reasonable settings you should get about 1400-1500 calories a day to eat.
Then if you want to exercise log that, eat at least 50-75% of those calories back and you are golden.
This is good, but I like to burn more calories than I consume, generally I lose more weight that way.
The MFP calorie goal has you eating less than your body burns in a day , trying to exercise away everything you eat is not exactly healthy0 -
This is good, but I like to burn more calories than I consume, generally I lose more weight that way.
The MFP calorie goal has you eating less than your body burns in a day , trying to exercise away everything you eat is not exactly healthy
QFT0 -
Well the thing is, is that I was taking in about 1000 calories every day and burning about 1200 but the weight wouldn't cone off. And everyone said I was starving myself?
Most people underestimate how many calories they eat and over estimate how many calories they burn even when they use a program like MFP. For example I noticed that you put 'hike' for your walks, were you actually hiking on a trail or walking beside a road? If you were walking six miles on a road then it's possible that you weren't actually burning 1,000 calories. MFP says I would burn over twice the calories hiking 6 miles than I would walking 6 miles. If that is the case you may have only been burning 400 or 500 calories, thinking that you were burning 1,000.
e. also you need to make sure you are actually eating enough to maintain basic health too, otherwise you will start destroying your muscles, and it is your muscles that help you burn fat!0 -
I think you are misunderstanding the concept of eating less than your burn - it's not eat less than what you burn in exercise, it's eat less than what your body burns all day long, in a 24 hour period, sleeping, walking around your home, brushing your teeth, sitting on the couch, working, etc. Our bodies are constantly burning calories, even at rest.
That's why we were saying you were starving yourself by eating 1000 cals and burning 1200 in exercise which leaves you with basically nothing - your body burned those exercise cals in addition to whatever you normally burn all day long (your BMR or basal metabolic rate). If you were in a coma, the hospital would feed you your BMR. You are not in a coma, so you should be eating more that whatever your BMR is. MFP figures that out for you and gives you a daily goal - it's simple.
Example - my BMR is around 1400 cals, and my body burns about 2100 cals a day when I'm active. I eat 1800-2000 calories a day, less than what I burn all day, so I lose weight. 0
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