Help w/ Weight loss, nutrition, cardio etc.

SultanAlush

Hello
My female friend is trying to lose weight, but she is over-working out, and eating way less than she should, only a meal or two max a day on most days,plus she is stubborn as hell, and convinced she'll get the best result her way.
The thing is i want to guide her but i dont know much about weight loss,
She is 1.75 meter, 19 y/o, 70kg
1) How much below her TDEE should she be eating?
2) Is she allowed to eat below her BMR
3) How much cardio should she be doing?
4) what ratio of Carbs,Protien & fat should be aiming for, for weight loss?
5) how much should she aiming to lose in a week/month, for the weight loss to be healthy?

Much appreciated, and thanks to everyone who replies.

Lyadeia

If I were starting with her stats, I would eat 20% below TDEE for fat loss.

I would never eat below BMR. That is OK for severely overweight and obese people, which she is not. She may be overweight, but def. not obese.

I don't know about "should" when we are talking about cardio, but I personally recommend 2-3 times a week, about 30-60 minutes each time. I also recommend adding in some weight training. I personally prefer programs where you alternate days of weight training with cardio without doubling up on days.

I think a good place to start with macros is at least 0.35 grams of fats per pound, 1 gram of proteins per lean body weight, and eat the rest wherever she pleases. For me, this amounts to 25% fat, 30% protein, and 45% carbs.

For healthy weight loss starting where she is, I would personally aim for 0.5-1.0 pounds lost per week. More overweight and obese people can easily lose more than that in a safe manner, but as I said before, she doesn't fit that category. If my math is correct, she is around 5'8" ish and about 155 pounds or so...which isn't a bad place to start at all, and certainly not obese.


---Most women try to exercise their brains out and undereat at the same time. It never ends well. I did that and crashed my metabolism after becoming "skinny fat." It took a while to get back on track, but I now I know that eating a moderate deficit is better than a huge one.

JessHealthKick

Hey there,

I am not too good at the TDEE stuff, so I will let someone else explain that better for you. BMR is your basic calorie expenditure to survive... so no, NEVER eat under this!

In regards to your macros, I personally aim for 35% carbs, 30% protein, 35% fat. Why the high fat? Well I don't have many processed meats at all, and close to NO processed foods. These fats tend to come from fish sources and milk, I eat fish with 1-2 meals a day. *edit: fat is good for you, and I NEVER buy fat free. I choose things without saturated fat, cook with coconut or olive oil (but still have dark chocolate most days hehe)

In fact, if you have a chance to look at my diary today you can see I'm just under all these counts as I am under my goal after exercising and trying to eat most of those calories back.

Of course, this balance is up to you. I think less than 35% carbs is harmful, and difficult as well! Only thing I've eaten today which I feel is 'carbs' was a small serving of rice in the morning. It shows how much carbs are in things such as fruit and vegetables, so do NOT avoid carbs please.

She should be sure to drink lots of water during exercise and keep in mind that if she is exercising a lot she should be eating a lot. She will know this because her body will be screaming for food! If she doesn't eat more, the result will just be muscle loss - not a toned sexy body, but 'skinny fat' haha (google that one, there are some good pictures). I personally am becoming a gym junkie and will be going about 6 days a week. This means I am eating more than I used to be, but that is what you're meant to do when exercising more (hard to believe I know). Many people on this site undereat and overexercise and get confused as to why they don't lose, and it's simply the body freaking out at malnourishment and holding on to all it can.

Just a point, I have found hitting 30% protein quite difficult but having more protein is what assisted my weight loss the most I think. So I drink protein shakes 1-2 times a day and have many protein rich foods (again, check my diary - I've had 2 servings of salmon, an egg, edamame, tofu, milk, soy milk today).

In regards to how much weight loss, I think she should aim for 0.5-1kg a week. She is by no means fat - I'm 170cm and was 67kg at my highest and never thought I was fat. I have simply been losing weight very conservatively and I'm at about 63kg or something after a few months. I don't need to hurt myself because to me it's a healthy lifestyle rather than just weight loss.

Feel free to message me - I'm 21 and female so understand what she's going through.

fitnessbuilding

Hello
My female friend is trying to lose weight, but she is over-working out, and eating way less than she should, only a meal or two max a day on most days,plus she is stubborn as hell, and convinced she'll get the best result her way.
The thing is i want to guide her but i dont know much about weight loss,
She is 1.75 meter, 19 y/o, 70kg
1) How much below her TDEE should she be eating?
2) Is she allowed to eat below her BMR
3) How much cardio should she be doing?
4) what ratio of Carbs,Protien & fat should be aiming for, for weight loss?
5) how much should she aiming to lose in a week/month, for the weight loss to be healthy?

Much appreciated, and thanks to everyone who replies.

Hi,
One month ago, even I have faced same problem. Just I did exercises regularly and had green tea twice a day. Now, Im maintaining the fitness.

BurtHuttz

For TDEE, BMR, etc show her this:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/952996-level-obstacles-lose-weight-target-fat-easy

Cardio is great - maybe 30 minutes to an hour, three times a week. She has to let her body recover! That burns calories, too, and it will enable her to work even harder next time.

She's allowed to eat below her BMR but it will retard her progress.

She shouldn't worry too much about macronutrient ratios. A gram of protein per pound of body weight is ample. Fats and carbs for the balance.