Caloric Intake HELP

sowhatisit
sowhatisit Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi,
I am completely new to this whole caloric intake and weight loss thingy. I desperately want to lose 20 pounds. I currently weigh 144 pounds. My height is 5'4 and my activity level is sedentary. I would like to know if I take in 1200 calories per day, how much would i need to burn through exercise to lose about 2pounds per week. Could someone please help me out =(, because i cannot get my head around the math. Thank you =)

Replies

  • mgram2
    mgram2 Posts: 128 Member
    Hi,
    I am completely new to this whole caloric intake and weight loss thingy. I desperately want to lose 20 pounds. I currently weigh 144 pounds. My height is 5'4 and my activity level is sedentary. I would like to know if I take in 1200 calories per day, how much would i need to burn through exercise to lose about 2pounds per week. Could someone please help me out =(, because i cannot get my head around the math. Thank you =)

    It really depends on what approach to weight loss you want to take. I lost 2+ lbs a week and had a 30 lb weight loss JUST by doing the 1200 calorie a day thing (HEALTHY foods though) with no real exercise plan. Just recently plateaued though at 131lbs and now am upping my calories and working out 5x a week. We'll see if that helps -- I'm trying to get to 125lbs.
    I'm 5'5 btw.
  • dlwyatt82
    dlwyatt82 Posts: 1,077 Member
    With the figures you gave, your BMR should be right around 1400, and at a Sedentary lifestyle (before workouts), your estimated calorie burn, roughly 1750-1800 at your current weight. To achieve 2 pounds per week while eating 1200 (which may not be possible; not everyone can keep up that pace, particularly when you're very close to your goal), you'd need to be burning around 2200 calories per day, so 400-450 worth of exercise.

    Honestly, though, you'll probably find that very hard to maintain, if it works at all. Much easier would be to try burning 200 calories per day with exercise (taking your total burn to approximately 2000) and eating about 1500. You'd be targeting about 1 pound per week of weight loss, and feel a lot better.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    You wont be able to lose two pounds a week and if you do 50% of the weight loss will he muscle which is what makes you look good and defined. Why dont you concentrate on fat loss instead of weight loss. It means heavy lifting and eating 20% less than your tdee. As i always say weight loss will make you look good in clothes; fat loss makes you look good naked.
  • ImperfektAngel
    ImperfektAngel Posts: 811 Member
    You wont be able to lose two pounds a week and if you do 50% of the weight loss will he muscle which is what makes you look good and defined. Why dont you concentrate on fat loss instead of weight loss. It means heavy lifting and eating 20% less than your tdee. As i always say weight loss will make you look good in clothes; fat loss makes you look good naked.


    what are the percentages of protein, fat and carbs one should be taking in a day?
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    You wont be able to lose two pounds a week and if you do 50% of the weight loss will he muscle which is what makes you look good and defined. Why dont you concentrate on fat loss instead of weight loss. It means heavy lifting and eating 20% less than your tdee. As i always say weight loss will make you look good in clothes; fat loss makes you look good naked.


    what are the percentages of protein, fat and carbs one should be taking in a day?

    I generally suggest 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.
  • sdevan45
    sdevan45 Posts: 74 Member

    what are the percentages of protein, fat and carbs one should be taking in a day?

    I generally suggest 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.
    [/quote]


    My research indicates that those are ratio's for body builders and athletes. For mere mortals the suggested ratios are carbs 40-45%, protein about 30%, fats about 25%.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member

    >I generally suggest 35% carbs, 40% protein and 25% fats.

    My research indicates that those are ratio's for body builders and athletes. For mere mortals the suggested ratios are carbs 40-45%, protein about 30%, fats about 25%.

    We could argue about macro ratios all day but in the end what both of you are suggesting is fairly balanced. Some people go as far as to balance them all out at 33/33/33. My own are set at 40/30/30 (zone) - slightly low carb leaning.

    Imo it's only when you start cutting one way down and bumping another way up that you could get into trouble.
  • js370
    js370 Posts: 140
    Honestly, though, you'll probably find that very hard to maintain, if it works at all. Much easier would be to try burning 200 calories per day with exercise (taking your total burn to approximately 2000) and eating about 1500. You'd be targeting about 1 pound per week of weight loss, and feel a lot better.

    ^---This.
  • gatorginger
    gatorginger Posts: 947 Member
    You can lose the weight without much exercise if you stick to the calories. I exercise very moderately by walking 4 times a week for about 25 minutes and I managed to lose 20 pounds. I am now upping my calories trying to find my maintenance level as I don't really need to lose anymore
  • sowhatisit
    sowhatisit Posts: 5
    Thank you everybody
  • sowhatisit
    sowhatisit Posts: 5
    Hi,
    I am completely new to this whole caloric intake and weight loss thingy. I desperately want to lose 20 pounds. I currently weigh 144 pounds. My height is 5'4 and my activity level is sedentary. I would like to know if I take in 1200 calories per day, how much would i need to burn through exercise to lose about 2pounds per week. Could someone please help me out =(, because i cannot get my head around the math. Thank you =)

    It really depends on what approach to weight loss you want to take. I lost 2+ lbs a week and had a 30 lb weight loss JUST by doing the 1200 calorie a day thing (HEALTHY foods though) with no real exercise plan. Just recently plateaued though at 131lbs and now am upping my calories and working out 5x a week. We'll see if that helps -- I'm trying to get to 125lbs.
    I'm 5'5 btw.



    Thank you for your reply..I am surprised that you are losing 2 pounds per week, I do cardio and eat around 1200 or less calories and I see no change =( every time i step on the scale it is stuck like it never moves, and i get discouraged
  • sowhatisit
    sowhatisit Posts: 5
    You wont be able to lose two pounds a week and if you do 50% of the weight loss will he muscle which is what makes you look good and defined. Why dont you concentrate on fat loss instead of weight loss. It means heavy lifting and eating 20% less than your tdee. As i always say weight loss will make you look good in clothes; fat loss makes you look good naked.


    what are the percentages of protein, fat and carbs one should be taking in a day?

    The only reason I am doing this whole weight loss thing is to blast my belly fat which has been there since i was like 10. From my knowledge, I thought one was to do cardio to burn the fat then turn to toning etc to look good naked. I do around 30mins of jump roping and a few crunches,
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    First of all, two pounds a week is a bit much unless you're an obese person, which you aren't. I'd aim for 1 pound a week if I were you. I know we all want the fastest loss possible, but 1lb a week will be much more attainable and easy to maintain.

    That being said, your BMR is probably about 1400. Your BMR is the amount of calories it takes your body just to function. Therefore, I'd up your calories to NET about 1400 (or at least 1350) a day. Personally I try to burn around 300 a day in exercise and I have similar stats as you. So that means you should be eating between 1600-1700 a day and burning about 300. You should see about a 1lb/wk loss that way!

    ETA: And if you want to burn more or less than that in exercise, that's totally fine :) It's just personal preference. Just adjust your eating accordingly. If you only burn 100 cals a day with exercise, eat 1400-1500 per day... if you burn 600, eat 1900-2000, and so on and so forth.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,428 MFP Moderator
    You wont be able to lose two pounds a week and if you do 50% of the weight loss will he muscle which is what makes you look good and defined. Why dont you concentrate on fat loss instead of weight loss. It means heavy lifting and eating 20% less than your tdee. As i always say weight loss will make you look good in clothes; fat loss makes you look good naked.


    what are the percentages of protein, fat and carbs one should be taking in a day?

    The only reason I am doing this whole weight loss thing is to blast my belly fat which has been there since i was like 10. From my knowledge, I thought one was to do cardio to burn the fat then turn to toning etc to look good naked. I do around 30mins of jump roping and a few crunches,

    http://www.metaboliceffect.com/topic/38-nutrition-lifestyle.aspx

    Unfortantely, cardio doesnt blast the fat away like you thought (see link below). And it wont give you the results you want either. You have to understand that your body is great at holding onto body fat. So when you dont properly feed it, like what you are doing on 1200 calories, its going to be very tough to cut fat. This why its critical to eat a bunch of calories (20% below tdee ) and do heavy weight training. Once you get past your old ways, you will see the results. As a point of reference, i have set up calorie plans for over 200 people and the lowest one was at 1600 calories and that wad without exercise.


    Also tdee is total daily energy expended; the total amount of calories a person burns throughout the day to include metabolic rate, lifestyle and exercise.

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