Question! Please Help!

S

Sammy56

New member
Hello everyone,
Im new here and I thought I would introduce myself, my name is Samantha.:)

I would like to ask a quick question and would really appreciate it if someone could answer it.

I would like to lose 2 pounds per week, until I reach my goal of 115 pounds!

I know I have to have a calorie deficit of 1000 per day to lose 2 pounds in a week.

I am planning on reducing my calorie intake by 500, which would result in a 1 pound weight loss.

The part that I am confused about is the exercise:confused:. If I reduced my calorie intake by 500 and burned 250 calories by doing cardio in the morning (before breakfast) and then burned the remaining 250 calories by doing cardio later in the day, would that result in a 2 pound weight loss? Oh and I also plan on doing weight training 3 times a week.
 
Hey there Samantha,

welcome to the forum. As for your question, I know that Steve (this one moderator guy who runs around the site like he's God or something.. jk Steve. ha!) wrote up a fantastic post about the whole 3500 calories burned to lose a pound situation. Now, if only I could find it. haha You may have to run a forum search. Also... you can read up on this thread as well... just to give you a better understanding about calories and whatnot:

http://weight-loss.fitness.com/topic/9468-starvation-calories-adaptations.html

Wishing you all the best.

-Sheryl
 
Yea, that Steve guy is a jerk.

I really think you should stop being so precise with your numbers. Reason being: Our bodies don't work like computers. Yes, there are 3500 calories in one pound of fat. So if you created a deficit of 7000 calories per week, in an ideal world, you'd lose 2 lbs of fat.

Problems with that philosophy though:

- We don't lose fat only, when we diet. Other tissues and substances are comprised of different caloric make ups.

- This ideology also assumes that your metabolism is static and unchanging. It's not. It will adapt to a diet and what was once a 7000 calorie weekly deficit won't be now.

- It's hard to put exact metrics on energy (calories) expended via different modes of exercise. We can estimate, but that's all. Add to this that counting calories is simply an estimation too and what we have is at best, estimation of how many calories are coming in vs. going out the door.

Knowing these things, you'll only create frustration trying to be so precise.

To add, just as an fyi, a deficit is a deficit no matter how you slice it. It can come from a reduction in food, an increase in activity, or a combo of the both.

My advice:

Pick a caloric intake that you'll shoot for, if you need help with this just ask.

Start doing more activity, a mixture of cardio and weight training will be best. We can get into specifics of programming it you'd like, again, just ask.

Every two weeks, track progress. I suggest weighing yourself, taking measurements, and possibly even taking pictures. If things aren't moving in the right direction..... simply alter your approach a bit.

This is very much a 'touch & feel' process, yet many people try and make it an exact science.... that's a mistake IMO.
 
Thanks guys!

Ok but I just wanted to clairify one thing.
To create the calorie deficit does it matter what time I do my workout? Like if i do some of it before breakfast and then some later on in the day? Or can I complete all my exercise before i eat, so i wont have to do it later in the day?
Sorry for the questions! I am just confused about that.
 
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The best time to exercise is the time that best fits your schedule. If that happens to be in the morning, great. If that happens to be in the afternoon, that's great too.

Sure, there are minute details that you can consider.... but for starters, building a consistent pattern of exercise is most important.

After you get this down, figuring out when to eat and what time to train can be factored in.

A quick tip though.... I recommend eating before you exercise.
 
Steve said:
Nah, that's unfounded.
Click to expand...
Interestingly... two things that I was told by experts that make no difference or even will hurt me are fasting cardio and post heavy-lifting cardio. Yet when I started doing both, I was practically melting away my fat. Months later, I am still alive, still healthy, weight still off.

To be fair, I usually do not completely fast - I take a scoop of whey protein before my morning cardio, unless I forget.
 
doncarlin said:
Interestingly... two things that I was told by experts
Click to expand...

Who do you consider an expert.

There are a lot of 'experts' running around out there.

that make no difference or even will hurt me are fasting cardio and post heavy-lifting cardio.
Click to expand...

I really take no issue at all with post heavy-lifting cardio.

I don't see a point to fasted cardio unless it's the only time it fits your schedule.

Fat loss is about total energy balance. Not some magical time of exericse.
 
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