Caloric requirements for steady weight loss

Hi all: I know this has probably been covered before -- I even seem
to remember reading about it here! But I've perpetual CRS (Can't
Remember Sh*t), so hope you will be so kind as to help me!

What is a good guideline for intake calories to lose weight? Back in
the old days we used to starve ourselves -- 1000 cals or less. I know
that's not right.

I weigh 180 pounds and am 5'8". My interim goal is 150. I am *very*
active, I cycle, either outdoors or on my brand new gorgeous recumbent
stationary cycle!. On most-not-all work days, I cycle 20 miles/day.
When I work out on the recumbent, I usually aim for 45 minutes at
about 15mph. I have just started working out at home with free
weights. If you wonder why I'm not already dropping weight like mad,
I have one word for you ... WINE. And alcohol will not pass these
lips for many many months, if ever again!

I'm thinking 2000 calories? Is that too much? I figure on the very
odd day that I don't exercise, I could drop it to 1500? Is that
reasonable/sensible?

Whatcha think?

many thanks,
Jonquil

"Jonquil" wrote in message
...
Hi all: I know this has probably been covered before -- I even seem
to remember reading about it here! But I've perpetual CRS (Can't
Remember Sh*t), so hope you will be so kind as to help me!

What is a good guideline for intake calories to lose weight? Back in
the old days we used to starve ourselves -- 1000 cals or less. I know
that's not right.

I weigh 180 pounds and am 5'8". My interim goal is 150. I am *very*
active, I cycle, either outdoors or on my brand new gorgeous recumbent
stationary cycle!. On most-not-all work days, I cycle 20 miles/day.
When I work out on the recumbent, I usually aim for 45 minutes at
about 15mph. I have just started working out at home with free
weights. If you wonder why I'm not already dropping weight like mad,
I have one word for you ... WINE. And alcohol will not pass these
lips for many many months, if ever again!

I'm thinking 2000 calories? Is that too much? I figure on the very
odd day that I don't exercise, I could drop it to 1500? Is that
reasonable/sensible?

Ok, first the basics... A lb of fat is 3500 calories. So to lose a lb of
fat in a week, you need a 500 calorie per day deficit. If you want to lose
more, like 2 lbs, then you need a 1000 calorie per day deficit. I would not
reccommend losing faster than that, because the higher the deficit, the more
muscle lost. You can't lose *just* fat, there is always a ratio of fat and
muscle loss, so the idea is to maximize the fat loss, and minimize the
muscle loss. You do that by eating right (adequate protein, adequate
calories).

So, you need to figure out what calorie level your body maintains its weight
(without exercise). That is *usually* around 12-14 cal x bodyweight in lbs,
in your case, 2100-2500. Disclaimer here - this is just an approximation.
It varies depending on how much muscle you have and whatnot.

So let's say your body does indeed maintain its weight at 2100 calories per
day without exercise. Now we need to figure out approximately how many
calories you're burning with exercise. Let's say that moderate exercise
burns around 10 calories per minute. If you are biking at a moderate effort
for 60 minutes, you burn 600 calories. You would add 600 calories to your
2100 (2100+600=2700) calories to find out what you would need to maintain.
To get your deficit, subtract the 500-1000 calories from that - 1700 to 2200
depending on the deficit.

Of course, you're probably not going to exercise exactly the same amount
every day, so you'll just have to find an average that you can live with to
keep it consistant. I think 2000 calories should be fine, but listen to
your body. If you feel tired and run down, you aren't feeding yourself
adequately. Try to eat around .8g-1g of protein per lb of bodyweight.

det

Try it. That's the best way to find out. You should see a 1-2 lb. weight
loss per week. If you achieve that, you're doing the right thing
calorie-wise.

Cat

"Jonquil" wrote in message
...
Hi all: I know this has probably been covered before -- I even seem
to remember reading about it here! But I've perpetual CRS (Can't
Remember Sh*t), so hope you will be so kind as to help me!

What is a good guideline for intake calories to lose weight? Back in
the old days we used to starve ourselves -- 1000 cals or less. I know
that's not right.

I weigh 180 pounds and am 5'8". My interim goal is 150. I am *very*
active, I cycle, either outdoors or on my brand new gorgeous recumbent
stationary cycle!. On most-not-all work days, I cycle 20 miles/day.
When I work out on the recumbent, I usually aim for 45 minutes at
about 15mph. I have just started working out at home with free
weights. If you wonder why I'm not already dropping weight like mad,
I have one word for you ... WINE. And alcohol will not pass these
lips for many many months, if ever again!

I'm thinking 2000 calories? Is that too much? I figure on the very
odd day that I don't exercise, I could drop it to 1500? Is that
reasonable/sensible?

Whatcha think?

many thanks,
Jonquil

I get 2.5 hrs of exercise a day, 1,200 calories avg, and 2700 calories
seems to maintain my weight - 2200 calories for weight loss. I'd
guess you get an hour - maybe 500 calories - if you're like me (male,
active, 5' 8", 154 lbs) 2200 calories would maintain, 1700 for one
pound a week weight loss. Of course, that's a very rough estimate.
Ideally you will journal - if you find you're not losing cut back, if
you're losing too fast add. Great job on exercising! To me, inches
lost are more important than scale weight.

(Jonquil) wrote in message ...
Hi all: I know this has probably been covered before -- I even seem
to remember reading about it here! But I've perpetual CRS (Can't
Remember Sh*t), so hope you will be so kind as to help me!

What is a good guideline for intake calories to lose weight? Back in
the old days we used to starve ourselves -- 1000 cals or less. I know
that's not right.

I weigh 180 pounds and am 5'8". My interim goal is 150. I am *very*
active, I cycle, either outdoors or on my brand new gorgeous recumbent
stationary cycle!. On most-not-all work days, I cycle 20 miles/day.
When I work out on the recumbent, I usually aim for 45 minutes at
about 15mph. I have just started working out at home with free
weights. If you wonder why I'm not already dropping weight like mad,
I have one word for you ... WINE. And alcohol will not pass these
lips for many many months, if ever again!

I'm thinking 2000 calories? Is that too much? I figure on the very
odd day that I don't exercise, I could drop it to 1500? Is that
reasonable/sensible?

Whatcha think?

many thanks,
Jonquil

On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 15:57:40 GMT, (Jonquil) wrote:
What is a good guideline for intake calories to lose weight?

For weight loss, about 10 x body weight.

I weigh 180 pounds and am 5'8".

So 1800, and cut it by 10 for every pound you lose until you get to
goal.


My interim goal is 150. I am *very*
active, I cycle, either outdoors or on my brand new gorgeous recumbent
stationary cycle!. On most-not-all work days, I cycle 20 miles/day.
When I work out on the recumbent, I usually aim for 45 minutes at
about 15mph. I have just started working out at home with free
weights. If you wonder why I'm not already dropping weight like mad,
I have one word for you ... WINE. And alcohol will not pass these
lips for many many months, if ever again!

I'm thinking 2000 calories? Is that too much? I figure on the very
odd day that I don't exercise, I could drop it to 1500? Is that
reasonable/sensible?

Whatcha think?

many thanks,
Jonquil

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to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring."
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People are, of course, welcome to place whatever irrelevant
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