Question:

Hello,

I am 24 year old woman who is 5’4”’ and weighs 173 pounds. I am
trying to get below my max weight by exercisinng but I eat what I want
within reasonable limits. I want to lose 6 kgs to get to a weight
below my max weight within the next three months. How can I do that?

Thank you!

Suggestion:

Exercising is great because it speeds up your metabolism (which means you burn more calories),so keep that up! You don’t have to overdo it though because I find it’s easy to burn out and give up. Try to get your heart rate up to 130 beats per minute for 15 minutes a day. Walk fast, lift weights, do cardio exercises….. just try to keep that heart rate up for 15 minutes and it burns fat. A higher heart rate stops burning fat, but starts burning muscle instead, so try to stay in the 130 range.

You may want to get a calorie book so you can count how many calories you are eating a day.

This is the general theory behind calories. It takes roughly 3500 additional calories to become one pound. Your body needs 13-15 calories per pound to maintain your weight.

I will use 15 calories (since you are exercising) per pound. This means that to maintain your weight at 173 pounds, you need to eat 2595 calories each day (173 x 15).

Let’s say you dropped your calorie intake each day to 2000 calories per day. That means you are not eating 595 calories you normally would. 595 across 6 days is 3570 calories which is roughly one pound. That means you would lose roughly 1 pound every six days.

This is only a rough estimate since everyone’s body is different with different metabolisms. However, it’s a good guide.

595 calories is two pieces of bread and a dessert, or the second helping of pasta and a soda, or 2 candy bars as examples.

You might want to start a diary of what you eat, look up the calories for each item and see how many calories you are eating. Once you do this, you can cut a couple things out.

If you have a normal metabolism, you will lose weight! One pound a week for 3 months is approx. 12 pounds (6 kg).

Hope this helps!

Reply:

> Thank you! That does sound reasonable yesterday I skipped gym and
> opted for tennis instead. However, today Ill be back at the gym and I
> am eating healthy I had 810 calories so far including breakfast and
> lunch. I will hit the gym and then have dinner after. I hope I can
> lose weight and not gain any.
>
> Thank you!

Response:

Gym or tennis, it doesn’t matter as long as you exercise!  In fact, it’s probably good to vary it a little so you don’t get bored (then want to quit).

I’m sure you will lose weight as long as you cut your food intake some.  The more you cut back, the faster you lose, but as long as you eat less, you will lose.

You will have to adjust your daily reduction of calories as your weight goes down though.  For example, if you weighed 160 instead of 173, your calorie intake to maintain 160 would be 2400 calories (15 x 160).  To lose weight down from 160, you would have to eat less that 2400 calories a day.  Do you understand what I mean?

Also, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn just sitting around!  Another reason to keep exercising.

You’re very welcome and I’m rooting for you!