Want ALL the info? Well then everyone please read!!
TO BE CONTINUED! I have to go back to work, but wanted to get this started. I'll edit it further with more info tomorrow! :) Enjoy!
So it seems we get a lot of repeat questions in the forums. Well, I thought it would be a good idea to sum it all up as best I could in one post. Then we can all tag the post, and when a new person joins the forums or has a repeat question, we can point them to this informative helpful post!
Let it be said that I am not a medical professional, but I have done research. I would like to think that over the course of these months, I have read [and verified with medical prof.] a lot of the information regarding the following topics. This is generalized, so obvoiusly it can be skewed slightly for each individual person, and of course always consult a medical professional with very imporant heath related issues and concerns.
Now that my disclaimer is out of the way! Let's get to the good stuff!
[Almost] Everything you wanted to know about weight loss, eating right, exercising, the evil that is sodium *grin*, and Calorie Count!
The whens and whats of eating!
? Your should be eating 6 small meals a day, in about 3 hour increments. This keeps your metabolism steady throughout the day to maximize results. It also keeps your blood sugar levels more stable, so you don't feel as hungry.
? Don't forget that protein! Protein is a very important part of your diet. Not only does it fuel muscles and helps promote their healing, but it fills you up! Protein rich foods are egg whites, chicken, meat, tuna, fish, beans, nuts, soy and even whole grain foods [like whole wheat bread]. Don't forget that protein shakes and bars work just as well, albeit a little high in sugar [carbs].
? Proper ratios of carbs/proteins/fat: 50/25/25 works just as well as 40/30/30. It doesn't have to be exact, and you can tweak this to your liking. Want 45% carbs, 35% protein and 20% fats? Sure! Just make sure that your carb intake is closest to half your diet.
? Planning your meals is a very beneficial way to know how many calories you will be at for the day, keep you on track, and prevent you from going over your cals. Calorie-Count is the perfect place to do this - so utilize it!
? Whey protein is very useful for burning fat and promoting lean muscle mass (granted you are exercising and strength training), and adding extra protein into your diet if you aren't getting enough. It will fill you up and metabolize slower than carbs, so you feel fuller longer.
Repeat after me: Water is Key!
? Water water and more water is the key. Cold water is the bigger key! Think of this: water flowing throughout your body is constantly breaking down the fat cells sitting tight. The more water you drink, the more fat it breaks down. Not only that, but cold water makes your body work harder! Your body is 98.6? - well it has to heat that cold water up to that temperature in order to absorb it! The colder it is, the harder your body has to work!
? Average is eight 8oz glasses a day. Drink anywhere from 64oz to 128oz (one gallon) a day. You cannot drink too much water!! It is almost impossible, but "too much" for the body to handle is close to 2 gallons of water. I dare you to try and drink more than a gallon - it's tough! :)
Calories, calories!
? Eat a MINIMUM of 1200 calories. Any less, your body will go into Starvation Mode and cling to anything and everything you put into your body. It will slow your metabolism, and you won't easily burn fat. By eating too little, you can actually GAIN weight.
? Calorie distribution: To sum it up, try to keep all meals at 500 or less calories. Sometimes ya know what? I eat a 500 calorie dinner. It won't kill me - don't stress yourself! You should try to keep your main meals like breakfast and dinner around 300-400.
? Keep your calories steady. By steady I mean don't eat 1800 one day, 1200 the next, 2000 the day after and then 1300 after that! Check out this post, comment #8 to figure out how many cals you burn and how many you should be eating. Then eat that amount!
? A pound of fat is 3500 calories. Therefore, if you want to burn a pound a week (healthy weight loss), you need to divide that number by 7 (days). That's 500 calories a day you need to cut out of your diet. Cutting a lot more than 500 (say 1000 cals) is not recommended by anyone, so make sure you have your minimum of 1200!
So it seems we get a lot of repeat questions in the forums. Well, I thought it would be a good idea to sum it all up as best I could in one post. Then we can all tag the post, and when a new person joins the forums or has a repeat question, we can point them to this informative helpful post!
Let it be said that I am not a medical professional, but I have done research. I would like to think that over the course of these months, I have read [and verified with medical prof.] a lot of the information regarding the following topics. This is generalized, so obvoiusly it can be skewed slightly for each individual person, and of course always consult a medical professional with very imporant heath related issues and concerns.
Now that my disclaimer is out of the way! Let's get to the good stuff!
[Almost] Everything you wanted to know about weight loss, eating right, exercising, the evil that is sodium *grin*, and Calorie Count!
The whens and whats of eating!
? Your should be eating 6 small meals a day, in about 3 hour increments. This keeps your metabolism steady throughout the day to maximize results. It also keeps your blood sugar levels more stable, so you don't feel as hungry.
? Don't forget that protein! Protein is a very important part of your diet. Not only does it fuel muscles and helps promote their healing, but it fills you up! Protein rich foods are egg whites, chicken, meat, tuna, fish, beans, nuts, soy and even whole grain foods [like whole wheat bread]. Don't forget that protein shakes and bars work just as well, albeit a little high in sugar [carbs].
? Proper ratios of carbs/proteins/fat: 50/25/25 works just as well as 40/30/30. It doesn't have to be exact, and you can tweak this to your liking. Want 45% carbs, 35% protein and 20% fats? Sure! Just make sure that your carb intake is closest to half your diet.
? Planning your meals is a very beneficial way to know how many calories you will be at for the day, keep you on track, and prevent you from going over your cals. Calorie-Count is the perfect place to do this - so utilize it!
? Whey protein is very useful for burning fat and promoting lean muscle mass (granted you are exercising and strength training), and adding extra protein into your diet if you aren't getting enough. It will fill you up and metabolize slower than carbs, so you feel fuller longer.
Repeat after me: Water is Key!
? Water water and more water is the key. Cold water is the bigger key! Think of this: water flowing throughout your body is constantly breaking down the fat cells sitting tight. The more water you drink, the more fat it breaks down. Not only that, but cold water makes your body work harder! Your body is 98.6? - well it has to heat that cold water up to that temperature in order to absorb it! The colder it is, the harder your body has to work!
? Average is eight 8oz glasses a day. Drink anywhere from 64oz to 128oz (one gallon) a day. You cannot drink too much water!! It is almost impossible, but "too much" for the body to handle is close to 2 gallons of water. I dare you to try and drink more than a gallon - it's tough! :)
Calories, calories!
? Eat a MINIMUM of 1200 calories. Any less, your body will go into Starvation Mode and cling to anything and everything you put into your body. It will slow your metabolism, and you won't easily burn fat. By eating too little, you can actually GAIN weight.
? Calorie distribution: To sum it up, try to keep all meals at 500 or less calories. Sometimes ya know what? I eat a 500 calorie dinner. It won't kill me - don't stress yourself! You should try to keep your main meals like breakfast and dinner around 300-400.
? Keep your calories steady. By steady I mean don't eat 1800 one day, 1200 the next, 2000 the day after and then 1300 after that! Check out this post, comment #8 to figure out how many cals you burn and how many you should be eating. Then eat that amount!
? A pound of fat is 3500 calories. Therefore, if you want to burn a pound a week (healthy weight loss), you need to divide that number by 7 (days). That's 500 calories a day you need to cut out of your diet. Cutting a lot more than 500 (say 1000 cals) is not recommended by anyone, so make sure you have your minimum of 1200!
6 Replies (last)
wow this is great gemini. I have one question. what does it mean by
Just make sure that your carb intake is closest to half your diet.
Do we follow a % factor of do we follow a grams factor, like if we have to consume 45% carbs how much grams of carbs is that?
Just make sure that your carb intake is closest to half your diet.
Do we follow a % factor of do we follow a grams factor, like if we have to consume 45% carbs how much grams of carbs is that?
rahana, you can figure it both ways. there's a little math to do, but it's not hard. once you decided on your total cals and percents, you just multiply the total cals by the percent. if you have 1600 cals, and want 50% carbs, that's 800 cals from carbs. there are 4 cals in each gram of carb, so thats 200 gm of carbs.
25% of 1600 = 400, 4 cals in each gram of protein, too, so that's 100 grams of protein.
the difference is the fats: they're 9 cals per gram, so the 25% (or 400 cals) of fats is only 44 grams. (this is why i weigh everything, esp. the things that have high fat content.)
fortunately the analysis tool shows both, the pie chart is in %s and the numbers next to it are the grams.
25% of 1600 = 400, 4 cals in each gram of protein, too, so that's 100 grams of protein.
the difference is the fats: they're 9 cals per gram, so the 25% (or 400 cals) of fats is only 44 grams. (this is why i weigh everything, esp. the things that have high fat content.)
fortunately the analysis tool shows both, the pie chart is in %s and the numbers next to it are the grams.
great info!
number of grams would depend on the number of calories you take in on a daily basis. Typically, as far as the percent sign goes, carbs should be 50%.
wow that is great elin. thank you
Now THATS motivation! LOL
6 Replies (last)
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