Caloric Intake

[Narcissa]

Please, I need advice on caloric intake. I have read conflicting articles on how much is best to consume to lose inches. The general consensus is always "to lose weight, eat less calories" However, I have also read that not enough calories will put the body into "starvation mode" therefore the body stops burning fat. Then, there is the other side; once the metabolism has increased, caloric intake must be increased. A good example would be actress Hilary Swank training as a boxer for the movie "Million Dollar Baby'. Her regimen was 4000 calories!! And she still looks thin!

I eat well, exercise with cardio and weight training. For the longest time I was counting calories. But I cannot lose inches on my waist. If anything, I seem to be developing an embarassing spare tire. My friends, family, and even co-workers notice that I eat well and exercise. How can I not be losing any inches? A year ago I did weight training with a trainer for 5 months. I gained so much muscle, my blouses and pants started to not fit. So much for the theory that women don't get bulky!! I honestly don't know what I am doing wrong. I hope the experienced professionals on this site can help me.
My goal, is to whittle away my body fat so I may have a lean mid-section.

Thank you,
-N

[Phreezer]

This is not as complicated as you are making it.

Look at it this way...

There is roughly 3500 calories in 1 lb of body fat. Okay?
You can get an idea on how many calories you need to intake every day in order to MAINTAIN your body weight.

Take your Body weight and multiply that by 12 to 13 depending on how active you are. (This is not exact but it will give you some idea on how many calories you need to eat each day to take in the amount of calories that you expend

So say you weigh 165lbs... You would take 165 X 12.5 = 2062.5
Therefore your body roughly needs 2050 calories a day to stay at it's current weight.
Obviously you want to get below that weight.. So let's start the second part of the computation..

We now see that you need about 2050 calories a day (Hypothetically)
If there is roughly 3500 calories in one pound of body fat you need to have a 3500 calorie deficit in order to lose one pound of fat (This is not water weight)

So... you burn 2050 calories a day. You eat 1,400 calories a day...So you subtract
1400 from 2050 and that shows your caloric deficit.

2050 - 1400 = 650 calories.

So for that day that you ate 1400 calories you are in a -650 caloric deficit.. Still with me?

If you do this for about 5 days you'll lose roughly 1lb of fat (again this doesn't reflect water loss)

Now, you mentioned that your body will go into starvation mode and you won't lose any weight. That's not completely true. Your body's metabolism will slow down. But not to the point that you won't lose any more weight. After a few days of caloric deficit your body will decrease it's metabolism. However, if you do a higher calorie feed day every 4 days or so, this is minimalized A LOT! Now, on that feed day, I'm not advocating going out and eating everything under the sun. I'm advising (using the above figures) that you eat about 1900-2000 calories that day. This will go a long way toward stoping the slowing down of metabolism while staying staying in a caloric deficit and losing weight.

Seems pretty daunting doesn't it? Even Kind of disheartening... Well the first thing to keep in mind.. It doesn't come on over night.. so it won't come off.... Now that being said.. Here is the good news.... You have two friends to help you lose weight (besides your diet) Cardiovascular training and Resistance training.

Exercise will help a great deal. Performing resistance training (weight training) will not only expend calories while you're exercising, but also while you are resting and while you are sleeping. Your body needs to increase it's metabolism to repair and build the muscle that you broke down while exercising... ergo using more calories while at rest...ergo.. more calorie expendature throughout the day... Then when you throw in Cardio training.. which will burn more calories during your workout, you can increase your daily calorie expendature by as much as 500-600 calories a day..

So now you do this comp...

2050 - 1400 = 600 [so here you now have a negative 600 caloric deficit] add another 500 calories that you expended exercising and you now have an 1100 caloric deficit for the day... So instead of taking about 5 days to lose one pound of fat, it now only takes roughly 3 days. Combine this with water weight loss and you are losing somewhere around 3-4lbs a week weight loss....

I won't suggest that you lower your caloric intake below 1400, but I'll say that I will go periods where I go below that figure for 1-2 days through the week when I am dieting.. roughly 1200 or so...

And remember, Because Muscle is much more active than fat, your metabolism will be higher simply by working out resistance training and adding some muscle mass..

Oh.. and don't worry, just because you work out with weights won't make you look like a man.. It takes a lot more than dieting and weight training to add on slabbs of muscle to a woman..


Hopefully you understood my ramblings.. if not ask a question, and I'll do my best to answer it..

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by Phreezer

So say you weigh 165lbs... You would take 165 X 12.5 = 2062.5 Therefore your body roughly needs 2050 calories a day to stay at it's current weight. Obviously you want to get below that weight.. So let's start the second part of the computation..
...blah blah blah...."

To diet, most people need to eat in the neighborhood of 10-12 calories per pound of total bodyweight. I would start at 11-12x and adjust downwards accordingly.

If you do this for about 5 days you'll lose roughly 1lb of fat (again this doesn't reflect water loss)

And potential muscle loss.

Now, you mentioned that your body will go into starvation mode and you won't lose any weight. That's not completely true. Your body's metabolism will slow down. But not to the point that you won't lose any more weight.

Even people on starvation diets still have a functioning metabolism that has slowed down, but not to the point of no longer dropping fat. IIRC, the maximum slowdown of a persons metabolism is about 30%, and this is for super-extreme low calorie diets (read: about 500 calories per day). The slowdown of a persons metabolism is an issue, but not nearly as much as most people make it out to be.

And remember, Because Muscle is much more active than fat, your metabolism will be higher simply by working out resistance training and adding some muscle mass..

That stat has been much overstated the past few years. Muscle doesnt burn that many more calories per day, I believe its only about 6-12 calories per day per pound of increased muscle mass.

Oh.. and don't worry, just because you work out with weights won't make you look like a man.. It takes a lot more than dieting and weight training to add on slabbs of muscle to a woman..

Agreed. The vast majority of women simply arent designed to add muscle easily. Sure, you may gain a little size, but think of the fitness girls or models you see in magazines. Most of them do lifting of some sort. Unfortunately, the female bodybuilding industry has ruined women on the idea of lifting weights. Too many women think they will turn into Arnold be simply doing some squats. Not gonna happen.

[Millard Baker]

Originally Posted by Narcissa

I gained so much muscle, my blouses and pants started to not fit.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps you just needed to buy new clothes.

The criteria should not be how much weight you gained or whether your clothes are tighter or looser.

But, did you look better?

[Narcissa]

My boyfriend at the time told me I looked better. But since I had to start buying a large instead of medium, I didn't feel better.
If you look at the pretty girsl (models not included) they all have nice sevlt arms, legs, shoulders, and flat smooth tummys. This is what I would like. Not too look cut and pumped.
I don't have a problem gaining muscle. I have a problem with not losing inches from my waist.

-N

[Bob Smith]

What does your current eating and training regimen look like? How many calories are you eating a day? Grams of protein, carbs and fat? How much cardio and lifting do you do? Is your job sedentary or active?

[Narcissa]

Thanks for the help.
I will take what I read and apply it to my exercise regimen as needed.

-N.

[Millard Baker]

Originally Posted by Narcissa

My boyfriend at the time told me I looked better. But since I had to start buying a large instead of medium, I didn't feel better.
If you look at the pretty girsl (models not included) they all have nice sevlt arms, legs, shoulders, and flat smooth tummys. This is what I would like. Not too look cut and pumped.
I don't have a problem gaining muscle. I have a problem with not losing inches from my waist.

-N

All that really matters is that one is happy with one's own appearance. I don't think anyone should ever try to strive for someone's idea of "perfection."

Having said that, I think most people really aren't in tune with what the opposite sex finds attractive.

Although I've been out of the dating scene for some time, most girls that I've dated tended to strive for a look that I didn't necessarily find most attractive. Almost inevitably, they wanted to lose weight and become more "tone". I never really thought their 'weight' was a problem, and almost everyone woman I dated could have benefitted from a little extra muscle. They just all seemed to fear 'muscle'. This is just my own personal experience, but its seems a lot of guys feel similarly.

Now, just to be fair, I don't think men have a much better grasp on what most women find attractive. I've been around the bodybuilding scene for a very long time. It seems that men universally feel the more muscle they have, the greater number of women will find them attractive, and the greater that attraction will be. I think there is a certain range of muscularity that most women like, but as the muscularity becomes progressively more and more extreme, this appeals to fewer and fewer women. Most men don't seem to get this. (But fortunately for us hardcore bodybuilders, there are a small subset of women who have a 'fetish' for this look )

[Bob Smith]

Originally Posted by administrator

Having said that, I think most people really aren't in tune with what the opposite sex finds attractive.

Now, just to be fair, I don't think men have a much better grasp on what most women find attractive.

I think the vast majority of women prefer guys like you briefly described. Some muscle and lean, guys like Brad Pitt or the typical Calvin Klein model. None of them are huge, but they are in good shape. Thats the look Id like to have, only with abotu 30 pounds more muscle. But that would still put be about 40 pounds less than you, Admin, you hulking slab of beef you. lol

[Millard Baker]

Originally Posted by Bob Smith

But that would still put be about 40 pounds less than you, Admin, you hulking slab of beef you. lol

HAAAA!

[BodyBuildingBrat]

To each their own! I used to think lots o' muscle wasn't so great and Brad Pitt's body was fantastic. But the more I get into bodybuilding, Dexter Jackson, Chris Cormier, Craig Titus...all those guys look the best. Ronnie Coleman is HUGE, and has great symmetry... but that is too big for me. Though, I'm sure Ronnie's girlfriend thinks he's gotta hot bod!

I want the muscle, I think muscle looks awesome. Sure, I want guys to think I look good...I especially worry about what my Husband thinks. I think they want the girls on magazine covers...IE..Shape or Maxum. But my hubby says the same thing you guys did, he prefers the girls who aren't afraid of muscle or food. But, I think we girls assume to much on magazine covers, believing that is really what guys want, since it is what is everywhere now. I know it pops in my head a few times per day.

We don't all like the same thing, so we need to be more open to the fact... that some guys do want super models and some guys don't! Then they'd have to spend their whole check on celery stalks! J/k

[Millard Baker]

Originally Posted by BodyBuildingBrat

To each their own! I used to think lots o' muscle wasn't so great and Brad Pitt's body was fantastic. But the more I get into bodybuilding, Dexter Jackson, Chris Cormier, Craig Titus...all those guys look the best.

In many cases, women's attraction to bodybuilders is an acquired taste - much like several of the finer things in life