Weight loss and fitness questions

[Anonymous]

I am 174lbs 5'8 and female (used to be 160...I have really let myself go) and I would like to get down to 160 again but my goal is to get to 135-140lbs and I just want to know how long would it be to lose roughly 35 to 40 pounds? if I am losing a steady one pound per week, also I heard that I should take brisk walks 15-30 minutes at a time because brisk walks/runs are using my fat as the main source of energy but if I am running so fast I can't hold a conversation that it uses my muscle as energy to and it will make me all flabby is that true? also how much should I eat in a day (what is a healthy amount of calories to eat in a day but is also reduced so I am losing weight)

[bella2568]

I am also trying to shed a few pounds myself and I'll give you some pointers that have helped me! Basically, like the previous answer, a good way to start off is by having at least a 500 calorie deficit than the amount you intake. In other words, even though counting calories is important; your ultimate goal is to be able to burn 500 calories of what you eat a day.

Exercise-Not too much exercise is needed but AT LEAST 30 minutes of non-stop cardio 3-5 times a week to burn those 500 cal.. If you're not athletic or you just don't like to exercise brisk walks (little faster than conversational pace)are a good start. But, your ULTIMATE goal is to do a light jog, conversational pace, for 30 minutes without stopping. And you most definitely SHOULDNT worry about becoming flabby! The purpose of cardio is to burn the top layer of fat in your body that is mostly water weight; the most effective way is through running. If you don't like running, no worries! All you have to make sure is that you're non-stop moving for 30 minutes...you could do elliptical, treadmill, spinning etc. IF you are tired after a long day or feel soar, it's okay! Like I said previously, all you need is 3 days a week minimum.

Additionally, after a while of doing just cardio there will be a point when you will begin to lose MOSTLY muscle weight instead of fat! When this happens, you will need to incorporate some light weight lifting but that's later on..

NOW there is a common misconception that all you have to do is workout and you can eat whatever you want and still see results...NONO! LOL Truth is exercising (IT'S STILL ESSENTIAL) only 20% of the plan! The other 80% is NUTRITION.

Eating- What you consume is SUPERDUPER important! Whoever has told you otherwise does not know what they are saying. I'm going to list a few pointers...

1 Eliminate EVERYTHING that's high in sugars(over 10g),eliminate everything fried, bread, cold cuts(they are high in cholesterol-fats & have antibiotics),fruits(if you want to you could have some every once and a while BEFORE 12),eliminate most cereals(try Special K-low sugar), eliminate dairy(if you want, you can have low-fat,cholesterol and sugar),eliminate pasta& basically all sweets(I know, I know but don't forget you're on a mission girl!)

2 Always have breakfast, even if it's a slice of toast(Wheat whole grain), recommended is egg whites(aka egg beaters) it doesn't taste bad and is pure protein! If you want to have carbs or sugar, now is the best time since you're metabolism is the fastest!

3 Stick to proteins(NO RED MEAT,it is highest in fats)like chicken and fish(like tilapia or salmon) with a side-small salad with balsamic vinegar(NO OTHER DRESSING, they are high in fat and sugar or one cup of brown rice or oatmeal(not at night, lots of carbs)

HYDRATE! Drink water-9 cups at least; water helps metabolize fat

Hope this helps! If you have any questions, let me know.

Good Luck! You got this! It's not gonna be easy, but CERTAINLY worth it!

[Catie101]

a healthy amount to lose is 1-3lbs a week so it would take you roughly 5 months to lose 40lbs.

as for walking/running the best way to burn fat is doing HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training which is basically you speed walk at a pace where your heart rate isn't too high and you can easily hold a conversation so for me its 3-4.5mph and you do this for three mins, then right away sprint as fast as you can (for me its about 9mph) and you do that for 30 secs then you repeat the process for however long you can go.

as for how much you should be eating; google bmr calculator to find out what you burn without any effort in a day. now if weight loss is your goal then subtract 500 calories of that per day. if you cut 500 from your bmr number you will lose a pound a week. if you also burn 500 calories per day then you will lose roughly 2lbs per week because you are creating a calorie deficit. a pound of fat is 3500 calories.

[Lamoura]

Hi there first let me say that for a healthy weight loss you lose 1-2lbs per week...here are few tips I hope will help you...

1-eat five small meals per day starting with a healthy breakfast

2-drink at least 64 oz. of water per day

3-carb cycle..high carb one day-low carb the next

4-exercise..lift weights at least 3 times per day and cadio 2-3 times per week with one day off to rest. You can do a HIIT workout that pushes you as hard as you can for 20 seconds then slow done for 20-30 seconds...work your way up with this cycle for 20 minutes and you will burn off fat faster and for longer through out the day.

5-have a cheat meal

If you want more great advice check this site out it has tons of free information recipes and more!

no-excuse-fitness.org