The last few lbs...

kated930

I need help from people who have success stories of loosing those last few (very stubborn!!!) pounds. I'm proud of myself for what I've accomplished, but I haven't technically reached my goal, I'm 3 lbs away and nothing is budging. In fact, most of the time I'll gain a few lbs, freak out for a day or two, then I'll be back down to where I was. I don't know what to do! HELP!!

dawnemjh

bump!! I also have the last 5 pounds or so to go, and have tried cycling, eating exercise calories, not eating them, high protein, low carb, etc. and cant get rid of those last few pounds. Since starting MFP in feb. I have gained and lost the same 5 pounds. Very frustrating!!!
Hope someone can offer some tips!!

vsetter

Wow -- I'm in the same boat. I'll be anxiously waiting to see how folks reply

Atlantique

First, have you reset your goal to lose .5 lbs per week? If not, you should. You want a very small deficit when you have only a few pounds to lose.

Unfortunately, a very small deficit means you have to be very vigilant about logging correctly and accurately--exercise and food. You also have less room in your diet for crap (even though you have more calories), so if you're eating more than 10% of your daily calories in processed foods, alcohol, sweets, etc., try reducing the quantity of that food.

You amy also need to step up the intensity of your workouts. You don't necessarily have to spend more time, just hit it harder.

aimgirl

I'm also in the same boat- gaining and losing the same 5 pounds, but only 4 pounds away from my goal. Sorry I can't offer advice, just waiting to see if anyone has any.

DKev

I managed to get the last few pounds off by switching to lose a half pound a week, rather than a pound. Feed to succeed!

rockstarmike000

The last pounds are supposed to be the hardest to lose. Mostly, this is due to the body being very thin, which means the metabolism has slowed down. In order to lose more, it takes even less calorie consumption than normal, even more cardio than normal, and it will generally take longer to lose than normal. If you've only got 5 or ten pounds, it could take weeks or even months to get them down. While this is natural, its also pretty annoying lol. Try bumping up your cardio, cutting out muscle-gaining workouts (just until you lose the weight), and eating healthier versions of your favorite foods.

JujiBean

I totally agree with Atlantique.

The closer you get to "the end" the more you have to take tight control. Make sure you are eating "clean" unprocessed foods....and watch those calories. Just a little bit over here and there will make all the difference between staying stuck or losing, albeit slowly.

Atlantique

The last pounds are supposed to be the hardest to lose. Mostly, this is due to the body being very thin, which means the metabolism has slowed down.

No, your metabolism has not necessarily slowed down unless you have been habitually undereating and/or have lost a great deal of muscle. The weight comes off more slowly as you approach your ideal weight as you simply have fewer fat stores.

In order to lose more, it takes even less calorie consumption than normal, even more cardio than normal, and it will generally take longer to lose than normal.

Nope. If you're doing this correctly, your calories are slowly creeping back up as you get close to your ideal weight because you have reduced your calorie deficit. If you continue to increase the calorie deficit, you'll run into big problems because you are starving yourself.

Increasing your cardio is not the ticket to additional fat loss, although it will and often does increase muscle loss. at this point, it's important to add resistance training if you haven't already done so.

The only truth to what you are promoting here is that a smaller body needs fewer calories than a larger one to stay alive.

If you've only got 5 or ten pounds, it could take weeks or even months to get them down. While this is natural, its also pretty annoying lol.

True.

Try bumping up your cardio, cutting out muscle-gaining workouts (just until you lose the weight), and eating healthier versions of your favorite foods.

Disagree with all of this except cleaning up your diet.

CARNAT22

I am 3lbs from goal - my calories don't change regardless of what I set my goal to 0.5lbs, 1lb, 2lbs !!!

foodforfuel

First, have you reset your goal to lose .5 lbs per week? If not, you should. You want a very small deficit when you have only a few pounds to lose.

Unfortunately, a very small deficit means you have to be very vigilant about logging correctly and accurately--exercise and food. You also have less room in your diet for crap (even though you have more calories), so if you're eating more than 10% of your daily calories in processed foods, alcohol, sweets, etc., try reducing the quantity of that food.

You amy also need to step up the intensity of your workouts. You don't necessarily have to spend more time, just hit it harder.

Wise advice. The last time I was down to 5 lbs to lose, it came down to the "less room in your diet for crap" in order to lose it. I had to give up the milk and sugar in my coffee, stuff like that.

marisa67

Such a similar story to mine, I only have a few kgs to go. I usually lose a bit then gain it again etc......
Similar to Carnat22, my calorie goals don't change even if I do change my weight loss goals.

lynnmarsh52

Fantastic advice from all - as usual, all you MFP guys and gals rock!!! I've been struggling for months to shift my last 8lb ish! Going to change my weekly goal to 1/2lb loss and pay more attention to 'what' I'm eating rather than just making sure I'm under my calories!

Thanks all :flowerforyou:

dawnemjh

I have dropped my loss to .5 per week, and still not losing?? I was thinking I should workout more, but I will only end up with more of a defecit. I am currently doing p90x, and prior to that did insanity, and prior to that ran 6 days per week. All this time no loss, just up and down. I am wondering if my fat intake is too high. I eat "healthy fats" from nuts, flax, etc, but my daily percentage is usually 35/35/30 carb/protein/fat. When I go up to much on protein I end up with bowel issues...SO frustrating!! I eat clean, no processed foods, and drink 90+ ounces of water every day.....

rockstarmike000

The last pounds are supposed to be the hardest to lose. Mostly, this is due to the body being very thin, which means the metabolism has slowed down.

No, your metabolism has not necessarily slowed down unless you have been habitually undereating and/or have lost a great deal of muscle. The weight comes off more slowly as you approach your ideal weight as you simply have fewer fat stores.

In order to lose more, it takes even less calorie consumption than normal, even more cardio than normal, and it will generally take longer to lose than normal.

Nope. If you're doing this correctly, your calories are slowly creeping back up as you get close to your ideal weight because you have reduced your calorie deficit. If you continue to increase the calorie deficit, you'll run into big problems because you are starving yourself.

Increasing your cardio is not the ticket to additional fat loss, although it will and often does increase muscle loss. at this point, it's important to add resistance training if you haven't already done so.

The only truth to what you are promoting here is that a smaller body needs fewer calories than a larger one to stay alive.

If you've only got 5 or ten pounds, it could take weeks or even months to get them down. While this is natural, its also pretty annoying lol.

True.

Try bumping up your cardio, cutting out muscle-gaining workouts (just until you lose the weight), and eating healthier versions of your favorite foods.

Disagree with all of this except cleaning up your diet.

As you get thinner, the metabolism does slow down. Just enter a lower weight into this website and you'll notice the calories drop. Bigger people do, in fact, have higher natural metabolisms. They need to have them in order to process all the excess food that may go in their bodies. Its completely natural that the less food you put in your body, the slower your natural metabolism becomes. You can certainly exercise to boost your metabolism, or to try and burn calories as a sort of surrogate metabolism, but those things only help temporarily because the natural metabolism slows down as weight gets lost. Doing muscle training is great, but it can easily be misinterpreted in the scale as weight gain. Going for a few weeks without it won't cause any harm. Bumping up the cardio is necessary when the body becomes used to the normal routine, which may have happened with her (beats any of us, we're not her). Cutting out muscle-gaining workout helps keep the scale from looking confusing, which can be very discouraging when there's only 5 pounds on the line. This advice wasn't for you, it was for the topic poster. I don't really care whether you disagree or not, because I'm not commenting on your post. I'm simply giving some helpful options. If she tries them and they work, great, if they don't, I didn't understand her situation well enough, if she doesn't try them, oh well. The things that work for me or you won't work for everyone. Even if they did, its the internet. No one's going to take unwarranted criticisms and say "oh wow, you're totally right, thanks for changing my obviously incorrect mind."

"The only truth to what you are promoting here is that a smaller body needs fewer calories than a larger one to stay alive"

Do you really think a 200 pound guy needs to eat more than a 150 pound guy to even wake up the next morning? I know he needs to eat more to maintain his current weight, but in terms of basic survival? Not even close to being what I said, or true.

kated930

I am pretty strict about eating clean, the only fats i have are usually from nuts or peanut butter. I think I may need to switch up my exercise? Right now, I try to get to the gym 6 days a week, and I usually do cardio and strength training for about an hour (strength training every other day). I feel like I'm doing the right things but just stuck.

I may not be eating enough as it is now, I haven't changed my goals to .5 a week, but a lot of the times I don't eat all my calories at my goal of 1 lb a week so wouldn't that create more of a deficit? Sometimes I just get to the end of the day and I have a bunch of calories left over... could that really be what is slowing me down?

rockstarmike000

I am pretty strict about eating clean, the only fats i have are usually from nuts or peanut butter. I think I may need to switch up my exercise? Right now, I try to get to the gym 6 days a week, and I usually do cardio and strength training for about an hour (strength training every other day). I feel like I'm doing the right things but just stuck.

I may not be eating enough as it is now, I haven't changed my goals to .5 a week, but a lot of the times I don't eat all my calories at my goal of 1 lb a week so wouldn't that create more of a deficit? Sometimes I just get to the end of the day and I have a bunch of calories left over... could that really be what is slowing me down?

Could be. Metabolisms act kind of unexpectedly sometimes. I've heard "surprising" the metabolism can help lose weight (eat and work out a lot one day, don't eat or work out a lot the next). That could explain how eating more food caused you to lose weight too. Or maybe you're eating too little and that slowed down your metabolism a bit too much. 5 pounds can be hard to lose since its such a little goal with so little room for error, but don't be afraid to try out new exercises and switching up the diet. The body usually reacts to new things pretty dramatically, so theres a good chance it will help.

auntiebabs

I am 3lbs from goal - my calories don't change regardless of what I set my goal to 0.5lbs, 1lb, 2lbs !!!

How tall are you CARNAT22?
My guess is that you are already well within the healthy BMI range for your height.
Make sure your goal is an appropriate BMI for your height and not so low that it's unrealistic to achieve or maintain. (if you go so low that you can't maintain, odds are you'll end up gaining back plus some. So you diet again, which gets you started on the yo-yo cycle making it harder and harder to lose weight each time you try... it's counter productive)

If you goals weight falls well within your healthy BMI range.
Try giving yourself a range with 1200 calories as your rock bottom, the lose .5 lbs/wk as your target and maintain goal weight calories as the top of your range maintain current weight calories as your in case of emergency safety valve)

Good Luck, keep healthy and strong.

Sorry CARNAT22 I just saw your height in your signature. You are well with in the healthy range as is your goal. So good for you.

Eirhren

Thanks for posting this! I'm in the same boat. I'd like to lose about 7 more pounds, but I think I might be stuck. I really haven't lost any weight for about 2.5 weeks (but haven't gained any either). I'm at a healthy BMI, but I still want to lose more. I'm watching my calories and I've been trying to intensify my workout (I run 4-5 days/week incorporating hills) but it's kind of hard because I already feel like I'm killing myself. I'm also doing some weight training, though it's pretty limited.
Thanks everyone for the advice, and good luck to all those who are trying to lose those last few pounds : )

kated930

That's exactly how I feel, I am killing myself doing these workouts and I'm getting discouraged seeing no weight loss for weeks!

psuLemon

The last pounds are supposed to be the hardest to lose. Mostly, this is due to the body being very thin, which means the metabolism has slowed down. In order to lose more, it takes even less calorie consumption than normal, even more cardio than normal, and it will generally take longer to lose than normal. If you've only got 5 or ten pounds, it could take weeks or even months to get them down. While this is natural, its also pretty annoying lol. Try bumping up your cardio, cutting out muscle-gaining workouts (just until you lose the weight), and eating healthier versions of your favorite foods.

This isn't true or at least from all the research I have done so I will respectfully disagree with you. The only way that your metabolism has slowed down is if your basal metabolic rate (BMR) has decrease. These are the essential calories which your body will end up burning while sleeping. Now, I will say, if during your weightloss, you lost a lot of muscle, then this will be the case. In most instances, people tend to gain muscle during the weightloss process.

During the last five or ten pound, increasing lean body mass (or the amount of muscle to fat ratio) is more critical. This is also in part to why people have to eat more. Increase muscle mass, means more calories need to be consumed to fuel muscle growth. This means, you dont' need to increase cardio, but rather strength training. But in reality, you truely need 3 days of cardio and 3 days of weight training. The biggest thing to do is change up your routine every 30 days as your body can adjust.

The problem with increasing cardio is simple. One your deplete the calories from your fat cells, it will attack the muscle's proteins to maintain fat storage (or from what I have read). The end result is smaller muscles. Smaller muscles means a lower BMR and a slower metabolism.

Below is my approach on calculating caloric needs and ensuring you are eating enough.

Here is my perception on the matter. I actually use this site just to track my calories. I use a different method to determine how many calories I should be eating and suggest it to many. According to this website, if you use their calculations, if you workout and burn 300 calories, than you should eat an extra 300 calories that day because the site has already built in a deficit for you. The more you have to lose the bigger an acceptable deficit is but the closer your goal is, the smaller your deficit should be. This is because the more muscle you have, the lower the body fat, the more fuel you body needs to sustains it's functions. Also, a deficit is should never been more than 1000 calories a day (which would allow for 2 lbs per week loss) but it more acceptable to do 1 lb a week or 500 calorie deficit. Additionally, a woman should eat not less than 1200 net calories. This is the amount of calories after you workout. So if you burn 500 calories, you need at least 1700 calories; men should be no less than 1500-1700 after workout calories from my research. Also, a large part of these calories should be driven by protein based sources. The ammino acids in the protein is what stimulates muscle growth. The more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn at rest.

My approach looks at Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR); BMR is the amount of calories you would burn if you slept 24 hours, for me, my BMR is 2000 calories. I then mutliply it by my Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE); how many calories I should eat to make up for daily activities (walking, working out, etc) to get a total number of calories. Because I do a program like p90x, I multiply my 2000 calories by 1.725 which equals 3400 calories. This amount of calories is the amount I need to eat to maintain weight. I back off 500 caloires as my deficit and eat 3000 calories in a day. This is the website I use.


http://www.cordianet.com/calculator.htm

I then go into a custom setup under my goals and set my daily intake for 3000 calories (well I will starting sunday, right now it's 2800 because I haven't officially started p90x until sunday). Additionally, to follow the p90x food guide, I set up custom ratio's. I do 45% of carbs, 35% of protein and 20% for fats. As I progress, I will lower protein and increase carbs. This method has worked for me and others I have worked with on the site. MFP just makes it simple for anyone to come on and lose weight. I take more of a scientific approach to weight loss. When I started I was 210 & 18% body fat. Now I am 189 and 12% body fat and hoping to break single digits within 3 months.

Cliff notes: if you go by the sites calculations, you absolutely should eat back your workout calories as they preload the deficit. If you go by the more scientific method, you don't have to worry about it, it's already figured in your number.

Good luck everyone.

psuLemon

That's exactly how I feel, I am killing myself doing these workouts and I'm getting discouraged seeing no weight loss for weeks!

There is a good chance you aren't eating enough and that is why you aren't seeing the results. You do need to set your goal at .5 lbs per week. It will take months to get there as well. I did post an approach above which can help eliminate body fat and increase your BMR.


If you want to open your food diary we can take a look. It is important to eat the right foods at this stage. I know from experience and working to correct it now.

RoseBlanc

Actually, the person you're arguing with is right.
I burnt as much laying in bed every day due to my height, weight, and muscle mass at the peak of my fitness the last time I wanted to get in shape- as someone that was over weight that was on their feet all day.

I was smaller, fitter, and healthier.. but I burnt as much if not more than the person who was the opposite.
My metabolism didn't slow down.. it sped up.

Now if you have two people with the same bmi but they're different heights the taller person will need more calories, generally due to the need to supply the fuel necessary to maintain a higher weight normally.

It's not that your metabolism slows down, it's that as you get thinner your body has less to burn- especially if you're weight training and giving your muscles the proper recovery after wards- body can't burn what you won't let it.

kated930

That's exactly how I feel, I am killing myself doing these workouts and I'm getting discouraged seeing no weight loss for weeks!

There is a good chance you aren't eating enough and that is why you aren't seeing the results. You do need to set your goal at .5 lbs per week. It will take months to get there as well. I did post an approach above which can help eliminate body fat and increase your BMR.


If you want to open your food diary we can take a look. It is important to eat the right foods at this stage. I know from experience and working to correct it now.

I opened my diary. My problem somedays is that I'll eat and exercise normally, and then by the end of the day I'll have all these calories left over but I don't want to eat them all at night! Should I eat them anyways? I also feel as though its going to be hard to increase my calories, I've trained myself NOT to eat so much, but if that's what it takes..

psuLemon

I opened my diary. My problem somedays is that I'll eat and exercise normally, and then by the end of the day I'll have all these calories left over but I don't want to eat them all at night! Should I eat them anyways? I also feel as though its going to be hard to increase my calories, I've trained myself NOT to eat so much, but if that's what it takes..

If you are going to the gym 6 days a week, i can tell you for a fact,that you are not eating enough. Most days you barely hit 1000 calories which isn't enough for a person to have proper bodily function. Do me a favor and calculate your body fat using the link below (unless you have BF calipers and then use those). If you can let me know your estimated BF and your weight (over private message is fine). I can tell and show you how many calories you burn at rest (your BMR) and what you need to eat in order to lose weight.

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

rockstarmike000

The more you eat, the higher your metabolism is. Its like the more coal you throw in a fire, the higher the flames get. The metabolism adjusts for the amount of food you eat. This goes against popular belief because people tend to think skinnier people have higher metabolisms and more overweight people have slower metabolisms (generally its the opposite). Beliefs like this lead to people thinking metabolism is all you need to lose weight and be skinny. Metabolism is more like the device that allows you to lose weight, and you can control it to an extent by boosting it with exercise and eating less food more often. But that doesn't change the fact that it does slow down as you get thinner. Think of it this way: The metabolism is activated when food goes in the body. If it stayed the same in a person who used to be 300 pounds and is now 150, all of their digestive organs would still be working twice as hard when the stomach was empty and didn't have anything left to burn. This would probably flat out kill you, but the body is smart enough to adjust to it by slowing the metabolism down as less food enters the body. What kind of person are you if you're losing weight? A thinning person. This means you're probably decreasing the amount of food you used to eat. Decrease the amount of food, and you decrease the use of the metabolism. Pretty simple.

That being said, there seems to be debates about this all over the internet. A lot people really believe skinnier people have higher metabolisms, rather than different eating habits. I am absolutely positive this is true in some cases. Everyone probably knows at least a handful of people who seem to scarf down whatever they want and never worry about weight. Whatever you believe, metabolism does vary from person to person. Figuring out your own can even be a headache. I'm not a doctor, I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not a trainer. I'm just a guy who's lost 55 lbs. There are a lot of popular beliefs that turned out to be myths and a lot that turned out to be true. I'm not saying I can't be wrong. I'm just saying all logic seems to point to the more food you put in your body, the more your metabolism is activated, and the higher your metabolism is.

Just took 2 seconds to google it:
http://baye.com/fat-loss-myths-part-1-overweight-people-have-slow-metabolism/
http://www.weightlossforall.com/metabolic-slowdown.htm

psuLemon

Once again, skinny has absolutely nothing to do with it because you define skinny. There are a few factors that determine your metabolic rate and I will back this up with a real life example to prove it. The two factors are body fat and lean body mass. These are the two keep factors in the Katch-McArdle formula which calculates basal metabolic rate (BMR). I have been weight training on and off for awhile but really have been pushing it for the past six months. When I started I was 22% body fat (testd by calipers) and weight 210 lbs. Now I am 190 lbs and 12% body fat.

Previous

LBM = Weight - (Weight x BF%)
BMR = 370 + (9.79759519 x LBM)

LBM = 210 - (210 x.22) = 163.8
BMR = 370 + (9.79759519x 163.8) = 1974

Current

LBM = 190 - (190x.12) = 167.2
BMR = 370 + (9.79759519x167.2) = 2008.2

So as you can see, wtih a 10% drop in body fat (which could classify me as skinny) I actually slightly gain in both the lean muscle mass and BMR. Higher BMR equal higher metabolism. Now, I understand there are outside factors (some genetics, thyroid, etc..) that can affect it.

The problem I see with your logic is you are leaving out BMR and lean body mass. Skinny and overweight don't affect it. It seems what you are thinking about is when most girls lose weight, it's because they tend to under eat and it effect their metabolism due to the muscle loss from malnutrition. If a person was sedentary, your theory would work. A lot of my friends have done weight watchers with great resutls due to weight loss, but a lot of the weigthloss was muscle, which lowers your metabolism. Look at any althete, many of them have rediculously low body fat, good muscle tone and they eat like a horse. Micheal Phelps is a good example, he has liek 6% body fat but east 15,000 calories a day.

Below is an article to pounder.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Factors-That-Affect-Metabolism&id=5515983

kated930

I opened my diary. My problem somedays is that I'll eat and exercise normally, and then by the end of the day I'll have all these calories left over but I don't want to eat them all at night! Should I eat them anyways? I also feel as though its going to be hard to increase my calories, I've trained myself NOT to eat so much, but if that's what it takes..

If you are going to the gym 6 days a week, i can tell you for a fact,that you are not eating enough. Most days you barely hit 1000 calories which isn't enough for a person to have proper bodily function. Do me a favor and calculate your body fat using the link below (unless you have BF calipers and then use those). If you can let me know your estimated BF and your weight (over private message is fine). I can tell and show you how many calories you burn at rest (your BMR) and what you need to eat in order to lose weight.

http://www.scientificpsychic.com/fitness/diet.html

I'm not so sure I did this right because it gave me a different number for my BMI than myfitnesspal, it says that it is 20.9. My BF %is 20.2. Right now, I am at 118 (given I teeter at this number, some days I can be 116, some days i'm 120..) but my goal is to be 115. I know it seems kind of silly since I am so close, but that was my original goal and Ill feel like I'd be giving up if I didn't make it. I am more concerned with toning up/ gaining muscle and getting my BF % down, So I'll be interested with what you have to say

psuLemon

Sorry it took me awhile to respond, I am almost never home for the weekends.



Now based on the fact you go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week and your estimated body fat is 20% I would recommend 1750 calories daily. You should aim for this number every day, regardless if you workout or not. The benefit of doing this, is your always know your daily caloric need. What will happen is some days you may only burn 200 additional calories and some days you may burn 1000 calories working out. Due to this, you cause a zigzag in deficit and overall diet. This is good to help prevent some plateauing. Now, my suggest is to get body fat calipers and a measuring tap to measure your body. Every 30 days, you should track your progress by re-measuring. Now keep in mind, when you increase lean body mass, you may or may not lose weight. It really depends on how fast you burn the fat off and how fast the muscle grows.


In terms of your ratio of carbs/protein/fat, I would suggest 40/40/20. This is what is recommended when you do programs like p90x and other beachbody programs. After 30 days or when you feel dizzy during workouts, I would suggest bumping up yoru carbs and reducing your proteins by 5%. After 30 more days, do the same thing. I have sustained 50/30/20 for a few months. When I plateau, I tend to bump up my calories and even bump up my carbs by 5% more. Once you reach your goal weight/size, I would suggest doing 60/20/20 which is more of a maintenence mode.

I hope this is helpful and feel free to contact me is you want more specifics. I can tell you, this has worked for me (obviously from my previous post) and several other men/women, I have helped. There are two quick sayings that should stick with everyone; food is fuel and muscle burns fat.

kated930

Sorry it took me awhile to respond, I am almost never home for the weekends.



Now based on the fact you go to the gym 5 or 6 days a week and your estimated body fat is 20% I would recommend 1750 calories daily. You should aim for this number every day, regardless if you workout or not. The benefit of doing this, is your always know your daily caloric need. What will happen is some days you may only burn 200 additional calories and some days you may burn 1000 calories working out. Due to this, you cause a zigzag in deficit and overall diet. This is good to help prevent some plateauing. Now, my suggest is to get body fat calipers and a measuring tap to measure your body. Every 30 days, you should track your progress by re-measuring. Now keep in mind, when you increase lean body mass, you may or may not lose weight. It really depends on how fast you burn the fat off and how fast the muscle grows.


In terms of your ratio of carbs/protein/fat, I would suggest 40/40/20. This is what is recommended when you do programs like p90x and other beachbody programs. After 30 days or when you feel dizzy during workouts, I would suggest bumping up yoru carbs and reducing your proteins by 5%. After 30 more days, do the same thing. I have sustained 50/30/20 for a few months. When I plateau, I tend to bump up my calories and even bump up my carbs by 5% more. Once you reach your goal weight/size, I would suggest doing 60/20/20 which is more of a maintenence mode.

I hope this is helpful and feel free to contact me is you want more specifics. I can tell you, this has worked for me (obviously from my previous post) and several other men/women, I have helped. There are two quick sayings that should stick with everyone; food is fuel and muscle burns fat.

Wow, all of this is very helpful. Now, in terms of the carb/protein/fat ratio, I just changed them to your suggestion, 40/40/20. Should I try to reach each goal everyday?Because I usually don't reach my allowed carbs/fat numbers, is that bad?

And this may be an opinion question, but what usually happens to me is that I'll have busy days, and by the end of the day... I still have 600-1000 calories left to eat. Do you think I should try to eat them just to fill the deficit, even if it is later at night? This is a problem that I've been facing but I never know what to do, because I've heard you shouldn't eat at night or that you shouldn't have carbs at night, I just don't know what to believe. On the other side, I know that I am not supposed to be way under my daily calorie goal!

Thank you so much for all of this information and your help, Im excited to get going on this

psuLemon

Wow, all of this is very helpful. Now, in terms of the carb/protein/fat ratio, I just changed them to your suggestion, 40/40/20. Should I try to reach each goal everyday?Because I usually don't reach my allowed carbs/fat numbers, is that bad?

And this may be an opinion question, but what usually happens to me is that I'll have busy days, and by the end of the day... I still have 600-1000 calories left to eat. Do you think I should try to eat them just to fill the deficit, even if it is later at night? This is a problem that I've been facing but I never know what to do, because I've heard you shouldn't eat at night or that you shouldn't have carbs at night, I just don't know what to believe. On the other side, I know that I am not supposed to be way under my daily calorie goal!

Thank you so much for all of this information and your help, Im excited to get going on this

You really do need to hit your carb and fat goals. It is just as important to hit those numbers. From my personal experience, I didn't eat enough fat, didn't eat enough calories and was high on my sugars and even afte doing 90 days of p90x, I lost nothing. No inches, no bf% change and no weight. Keep in mind, unsaturated fats are very important to your body. They help provide a protective layer for your organs.

Now, the biggest thing you need to plan on is taking snacks with you. You make time to exercise, you have to make time for your body to eat. You are better off eating your calories during the day, but if you have to eat calories at night, just try to do it 3-4 hours before bed. Also, if you notice you don't have a lot of time to eat 5 times a day, have bigger meals. Increase your calories during breakfast and lunch.

It is very very important to take care of yourself. If you make more of a consious effort, you will get there.

good luck.