I am 118,and 4 ft 11.. i need to lose at least 15 lbs. Today i had:\n17 g of fat\n139 g of carbs\n60 g or so of sugar\n1,010 calories\nDoes anyone really know what the exact limits are on carbs and calories when trying to lose weight? I know about the fat and sugar part, the less the better. I am in the dark on how much carbs and somewhat on calories i am supposed to allow myself a day. You cannot go by the back of packages, they go on the daily value % of what a person "not" trying to lose weight should have. SO whats the limit on carbs is the main question here! lol I don't want diet ideas. I dont want to be told carbs are bad either because not all carbs are bad. Someone please help. I promise whoever helps me out the most and isn't a smart @$$ will get the reward of a 5 star rating and 10 points!
123147
Stay below 60 grams of carbohydrates and between 1200 to 1500 calories. Less than that will make your metabolism slow down. Drink lots of water. Try to eat at least every 3 hours, and do some moderate exercise to keep metabolism going. Don't overdo the diet or the exercise as your body will either slow itself down on start breaking up muscle fiber for its energy. Good luck!
475642
I lost 54 lbs, and I will share with you what I did...you can see my before and after pic here http://www.healthandstrength.net\n\nHere is what I did and still do to stay slim and very healthy:\n\n1. NEVER EVER ate sugar. It's a poison that makes us older, sicker, fatter and tired...all things we dont want. Seriously, sugar is the one who does the dirty work in weight gain. Stop eating it all together. You can see my list of ingredients to avoid when shopping here http://www.healthandstrength.net/qofweeka.htm...\n2. Drink ALOT of water. 2-3 liters a day. The more the merrier!  We need about half our body weight in ounces JUST for regular body functions!  When you feel thirsty, that means you are already dehydrated and lose brain function.  Water flushes toxins from your fat cells and keeps you younger.\n3. Exercise!!! So very important. Here http://www.healthandstrength.net/abexe.htm... are my favorite ab exercises.  I also do cardio 4-5 days a week for about 30 minutes a time.\n4. Eat less. How many calories do you think is in that burger or that plate of fries or in that handful of chips. What about overfilling our plates? If you go here http://www.healthandstrength.net/qofweek.htm... I wrote something about saving on calories and losing weight.\n5. Go to sleep before 10pm. Your body starts repairing and rebuilding and speeding up weight loss while you sleep only if you sleep at about 10pm. If you are awake and go to bed at 12, you miss out on that very important time. I have a good article on my site here http://www.healthandstrength.net/qofweekb.htm that talks about the importance of sleep and how STRESS can make actually make you fatter.\n6. BE POSITIVE. Be thankful every day and love yourself\n7. BE CONSISTANT! That I think is the KEY to losing weight. So what if you went a week and only lost a pound...or didnt lose any...KEEP going. DON'T stop. This is a lifelong commitment, so stick to it and one day you will open your eyes and need a new wardrobe!\n8. Eat more veggies and skinny friendly foods. I have my list of my top ten foods that I ate to lost weight here http://www.healthandstrength.net/tenfoods.htm...\n80% veggies at every meal including breakfast will keep you young and help you lose weight. \n9. Do the little things that count!  Check out 10 cool ideas that you can do to help boost your calorie burn throught the day here: http://www.healthandstrength.net/tips.htm\n\nGood luck and don't forget that YOU are the only one who decides what foods enter your body and how long you sit around.  Make the change, take the chance and give yourself time!  You can do it.  I know you can!
277226
Why people still rely on pounds as a judgement for their health amazes me yet today.  It is a myth that should be overcome.\n\nAt my healthiest (and I was very trim and firm) I was 170lbs at 5'8".  People would judge that, at first glance, as an unhealthy weight range.  But what people don't consider is that if you are a fit, trim, muscle heavy person... you will weigh more.\n\nIf you need a guide, try the Air Force body fat standards:\nhttp://usmilitary.about.com/od/airforcejoin/a/afmaxweight.htm\n\n"The formula to compute BMI is weight (in pounds) divided by the square of height (in inches), multiplied by 704.5 (Don't worry about that though, the below chart shows the maximum and minimum weights using the formula)."  Which if you go to the website it will show you what I copied and pasted next --> At 66inches, your maximum weight can be 170lbs, mininum can be 117lbs.\n\nSo you see, you're right where you should be.  And if you're concerned about not being fit enough (not skinny enough) then try this.  It will give you killer toe jumps as a cheerleader:\n\n* Hang from a workout bar, a tree trunk, playground bars, etc.\n* Raise your legs up and out in a 'V' shape\n* Hold for one minute\n* Rest for one minute\n* Repeat 10 times, every day\n\nTry running if you want to take off some fat (notice I didn't say pounds or weight).  It burns a lot of calories and gives your heart a workout.\n\nTo make sure that you're utilizing your food intake correctly, eat like a:\n* King for breakfast (big meal)\n* Prince for lunch (medium size meal)\n* and a Pauper for dinner (small meal)\n\nI wish you the best, and chin up because you don't have to feel this way forever!
589419
OK, if you were to just eat your choice of calories up to 1200 you need to consider some things. Yes, you will lose weight, but you may gain body fat. \n\nTake pies for example. They contain about 400 calories. You could eat 3 pies per day and be within 1200 calories. But, what you need to consider is that there is about 30g of fat in each pie so you will be consuming 90g fat. Carbs is about 120g, protein is 60g. In all you can't get all your nutrients so it's not a great diet. \n\nIf you want to do this it is for life so you need to totally change your way of eating and exercising. This is not a diet rather than a healthy eating plan for life. So no more talking diet cause it means time limit. Stop making some major mistakes wake up earlier and get active earlier your metabolism is sluggish and needs to be woken up this is half your problem. \n\nHere are the golden rules: \nInitially cut down to 1200 calories. \nExercise 6 times per week for 1 hours a day. Do three weight sessions and three cardio sessions. No gym involved. \nDon't eat carbs after 4pm, never eat carbs within 2 hours of exercise or within 1 hour of exercise. \nDrink 3 litres of water per day. You can have a green tea at the end of the day. \nLimit your fruit in take to 2 pieces per day. \nNever eat dinner after 6pm.\nAdopt of low GI eating plan this is sustainable for life!\nMake low fat dairy choices \n\nFollow this menu plan as a suggestion: \nBreakfast 7am - 1 cup hot water w lemon\n20 minutes later have a bowel of oats w water (no honey) OR\nfruit salad w low GI soy yogurt\nSnack 10am - pear or apple (both low GI)\nLunch 12.30pm - multigrain sandwich w 50g tuna & salad (no butter)\nSnack 3pm - low GI yogurt OR skim berry smoothie (no honey or banana) plenty of ice, 1/2 cup skim milk & 1/4 cup yogurt\nDinner 5.30pm - 120g grilled lean meat/fish/prawns/tofu patties (not fried) w spinach salad & mixed vegies (no whites, carbs) OR 3 egg white/soy omlette with ham, cheese and tomato\nSnack - 1 scoop of low cal low fat ice cream (if hungry)\n\nExercise is must be intense. Refer to www.bodybuilding.com for your weights routine. Never do weights two consecutive days have a cardio day in between. \n\nCardio needs to include running, go hard up stair wells and cycling. You get the most benefits from exercise when your body is totally fatigued and this is when you see changes. \n\nTo maintain you can increase calories to 1500 and reduce exercise sessions to 3-4 times per week. If weight creeps up again due to holiday period etc.. go back to 1200 cal and 6 sessions again. \n\nGood luck it worked for me it can work for anyone.
286143
You're definately not fat and not out of control yet. Just remember that your body needs certain things to function properly. If you won't eat often, at least be sure you're getting a good mix of protiens, fruits, and vegetables when you do eat....also lots of water. Don't waste what calories you do take in on foods that don't nourish your body. I'm sure you've already heard, but breakfast is the most important meal. Eat it to avoid cravings later in the day and have the brain power for your classes. This isn't just hype! I actually lost 15 lbs by just making sure I ate breakfast each day.
243215
Ok, if you are not active you need to drop to 1000 calories. I have been told that to lose weight you eat 1200 calories but that is if you exercise for 1 hour a day as well. The theory is energy in has to be less than energy out. If you are unable to exercise I would suggest to drop a little and when you start to see results maintain at that calorie level. \n\nAlso, just be patient cause you have good weeks and bad, just be consistent and persistent. \n\nI wish you all the best of luck!
448013
It's ok we all need reasurance sometimes.  it seems like you work hard but just got confused.  I'll try and help.\n\nI’ll assume you know how many pounds is lost given a certain amount of calories because I don’t.  If the desired weight is 5 pounds take the number of pounds lost per calorie and multiply it by 5..  This number is the total amount of calories needed to burn.  Then you take that number and you divide it by the number of calories burnt in an hour (740) That gives you the number of hours.\n\nI'm an economist not a nutrition major so sorry hope the suggestion helps.  It seems like your other answerers are too harsh.
324071
cutting carbs wont make you lose weight. you simply have to consume less calories than you burn during the day. \nso techincally, you coudl eat candy for every meal, as long as you exercise enough you will still lose weight, though i would HIGHLY not reccomend that one. your calories shoudl come from the following:\n55-65% carbs\n20-25% fats\n10-25% protein\n\nthe best place to start is by reducing fat, since they contain the most calories. \nand you can eat sharp cheddar. just keep in mind that it wont jsut magically happen, you will have to work for it but anything is possible. i've seen some incredible transformations.\n\nAnd do not try to use supplements to help you lose weight. they are some of the biggest scams ever.
144988
It loks like you already have a ton of great advice and I may just be reiterating what people have said already, but I know firsthand what it is like to be very overweight and to lose a lot of it. I lost 75 pounds over the course of a  year, which doesn't sound like that much but one of the most important things you can rememeber is that the slower you lose the weight, the less likely you will gain it back. \n\nHere is my advice to you:\n\n1. Do not EVER join one of those fad diets, whether it is the Atkins diet, Weight Watchers, whatever it may be. After losing a certain amount of weight I had hit a plateau, so I joined a diet program called HMR that restricted almost everything I ate. This is such a bad thing to do for so many reasons, the main one being that once the restriction was loosened, I couldn't stop eating. Bad bad bad! \n\n2. Going further on the one before, don't ever deny yourself something you are craving (if it is a serious craving lasting more than a day or two.) If you crave it, it means your body may actually need it. This doesn't mean that whenever you pass McDonald's and smell the burgers you should treat yourself. Remember, serious cravings! \n\n3. It is all about changing your routine. Don't consider yourself to be on a diet. Consider it to be a lifestyle change. That way, you can never really be off the "diet" and back to eating junk all day long. \n\n4. The food pyramid isn't just there to be pretty. It is actually useful! After you eat your 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables, you don't have a whole lot of room for the junk. And I'm sure its no surprise to you that veggies and fruits help you stay regular, which means your body isn't absorbing calories from your waste. I know, that's gross but its true. \n\n5. Water! Lots and lots of WATER! This should be your main beverage of the day. Drink a glass before meals, with your afternoon snack, whenever you are thirsty. Diet soda, while it doesn't have calories, does not flush out your system like water does, and I believe, though I could be wrong because I don't have a can in front of me, there is a lot of sodium in diet sodas which will dehydrate you more. 100% juices like orange juice and apple juice aren't bad for you, but sometimes they are empty calories and you'd be better off eating an apple or an orange.\n\n6. Most fruits and vegetables are good for you. Don't be thrown by the fact that corn and bananas have more calories than other fruits and vegetables. No one ever became fat by eating too much corn. FYI eggplant doesn't have much nutritional value. Blueberries are VERY good for you. And don't eat muffins. They're a lot worse for you than people make them out to seem.\n\n7. Stay active. Find an activity you love to do, even if it doesn't seem like something that burns calories. Gardening, for example, is a great way to be active and you will spend less time eating. Gym memberships are great, but it is important that you stay on your schedule. Even if you feel too tired to go, make yourself. If you get into the habit of not going when you don't feel like it, eventually you will never go at all. Like a clean house? Perfect, because housekeeping is another great way to keep your body moving. Vacuum every room a few times a week not only to get rid of dirt, but to get some exercise. \n\n8. One of my main problems was eating in front of the television. I didn't feel comfortable watching my favorite program unless I was eating a snack as well. The first thing I did was make that snack healthier. Instead of potato chips or ice cream, I ate popcorn. Eventually I was able to ween myself off of that habit. If that doesn't work for you, someone suggested to me that you could eat half of your dinner at dinner time, and then eat the rest later that night. I don't know how well that works, but the option is there if you want to use it.\n\n9. Reward you
462484
When you look at total caloric intake v. burning per day, you need to consider that your body burns calories just by simply functioning.  This includes times that you are at rest, just moving about, autonomic functions, etc.  This can be a tricky figure to determine but there are calculators out there that can help you establish a rough baseline.\n\nThere are some things you may want to examine in your own routine.  How many calories are you getting in one sitting?  How many meals per day are you having?  When are you eating?  If you are eating twice a day that's not going to help.  If you are eating a 900 calorie meal in one sitting that won't help either.  If you eat more than your body needs at one time, the excess will be stored as fat.\n\nSo, you can consider a more structured diet.  I personally have at least 5 meals a day, smaller portions each meal (more or less I have three actual meals and snacks in between, and I'm eating something every three hours or so).  Also, I drink lots of water and reduce the processed simple carbs and bad fats.  Some people go as far as keeping a journal to help them track what their caloric intake/burning.\n\nFinally, consider adding resistance training to your exercise regiment, such as weight training or yoga.  This will help you to burn calories even when you're not exercising, such as when you're resting (recovery period).\n\nGood luck!
654458
It is all about calories in and calories out. I went through this exactly and here is the plan I followed and it worked. Good luck!\n\nIf you want to do this it is for life so you need to totally change your way of eating and exercising. This is not a diet rather than a healthy eating plan for life. So no more talking diet cause it means time limit. Stop making some major mistakes wake up earlier and get active earlier your metabolism is sluggish and needs to be woken up this is half your problem. \n\nHere are the golden rules: \nInitially cut down to 1200 calories. \nExercise 6 times per week for 1 hours a day. Do three weight sessions and three cardio sessions. No gym involved. \nDon't eat carbs after 4pm, never eat carbs within 2 hours of exercise or within 1 hour of exercise. \nDrink 3 litres of water per day. You can have a green tea at the end of the day. \nLimit your fruit in take to 2 pieces per day. \nNever eat dinner after 6pm.\nAdopt of low GI eating plan this is sustainable for life!\nMake low fat dairy choices \n\nFollow this menu plan as a suggestion: \nBreakfast 7am - 1 cup hot water w lemon\n20 minutes later have a bowel of oats w water (no honey) OR\nfruit salad w low GI soy yogurt\nSnack 10am - pear or apple (both low GI)\nLunch 12.30pm - multigrain sandwich w 50g tuna & salad (no butter)\nSnack 3pm - low GI yogurt OR skim berry smoothie (no honey or banana) plenty of ice, 1/2 cup skim milk & 1/4 cup yogurt\nDinner 5.30pm - 120g grilled lean meat/fish/prawns/tofu patties (not fried) w spinach salad & mixed vegies (no whites, carbs) OR 3 egg white/soy omlette with ham, cheese and tomato\nSnack - 1 scoop of low cal low fat ice cream (if hungry)\n\nExercise is must be intense. Refer to www.bodybuilding.com for your weights routine. Never do weights two consecutive days have a cardio day in between. \n\nCardio needs to include running, go hard up stair wells and cycling. You get the most benefits from exercise when your body is totally fatigued and this is when you see changes. \n\nTo maintain you can increase calories to 1500 and reduce exercise sessions to 3-4 times per week. If weight creeps up again due to holiday period etc.. go back to 1200 cal and 6 sessions again. \n\nGood luck it worked for me it can work for anyone.
527815
I can give you the answer but the hard part is following it. \n\nDiet:\n\nContrary to popular belief, you shouldn't starve yourself. You should eat little meals throughout the day (5 to 6 meals). This actuallys speeds up your metabolism. As far as your carbs to protein to fat ratio, it should be somewhere around here:\n\n50% - Carbs\n40% - Protein\n10% - Fats\n(give or take)\n\nThis is NOT EASY to do! If you notice at the supermarket, many things that are healthy and low in fat are expensive and bland. So here's where your discipline comes in. \n\nCalories: The average calorie count for a person a day is 1800 to 2200. To be neutral, just stick to 2000. Make sure you read your nutrition labels at the store. I'm in pretty decent shape but I'm always reading labels. When I go all out, I actually have a pen and pad out to count the grams of carbs/fats/protein and calories. Hard work, huh? I put down a website that you can visit below. \n\nSo far, you should:\nHave a good carb to fat to protein ratio. \nEat more meals but with smaller portions. \nCount your calories.\n\nFYI:\nDrink 8 glasses of water a day minimum for energy.\nStay away from gravy, dressings, candy, etc...\nPrefer water instead of juice/soda.\nGatorade is loaded with sugar (not to be mistaken for a health drink)\nUnsaturated fats are better than saturated fats\nComplex carbs (starches) are needed for workout energy\nSimple carbs are sugar. They give an instant high of energy but you get tired afterwards and many times, the sugar turns to fat. \nMeal replacement drinks are good once in a while but should NEVER substitute all your meals. \n\nExcercise:\n\nCardio Cardio Cardio CARDIO CARDIO!!!!!!\nI'm not saying run a marathon, but you need cardio.\n\nHave you ever heard of spot training? Spot training is when a person attempts a thousand sit-ups in hopes to trim fat around their stomach and attain rock hard abs. Guess what. There is no such thing as spot training. Fat is burned from the body as a WHOLE. Your GENETICS will determine where the fat is used first. For many people it's the face first and the belly and behind the arms last. One thousand sit-ups a day will give you nice strong abs behind the layer of fat. \n\nNow when it comes to cardio, use common sense. Don't sprint up a mountain with a 100 lbs on your back. Gradually increase your numbers. The most important thing is to find your baseline of everything. Run a mile or so and RECORD IT. Now you have a time to beat. You can use weights later to tone up and shape yourself, but when you want to lose the fat, cardio it up. Bike, run, swim, play tennis, jog with your dog, play with your kids, it's a win-win situation. \n\nFYI: \nSwimmers retain more fat that sprinters. \nFat cells are like water balloons in your body. When you get fat, more "balloons" are created that store the fat. When you burn fat, the "balloons" empty out the fat but still remain in your body. Therefore, it would be very easy to gain the weight all over again once you've gained it before. Only liposuction can remove these fat cells or "balloon". Also, it's extremely hard to regain the tight skin of your youth since these empty cells are still there. Don't believe the infomercial or Hollywood hype and enjoy the fact that at least the unhealthy weight is gone.\n\nSupplements:\nI don't believe things like Xenadrine are necessary. They simply keep you amped so you go out and excercise. They do NOT contribute to the weight loss. There are products out there that produce hot flushes in your body. You start to feel warm and this is supposed to be your metabolism increasing. I wouldn't know how these supplements work so it's on you to research potential hazards.\n\nI do recommend vitamins, though. Also, a lot of water to keep you hydrated for excercise. A Red Bull is PERFECT for energy. The active ingredient is Taurine and if you observe all the fancy energy suppl
376247
Hey bub...honestly at your age you really shouldn't worry about it.  Unless you have an issue with your metabolism, 20 years and younger, your metabolism is fast.  But if you want to cut some weight it is all about your calorie intake.  1500 calories a day for anyone and they will lose weight.  But it also depends on your activities.  Are you active alot, play sports?  Add some more calories.  Yet if you are active a lot and not just sitting around even by eating 1500 cals you will lose weight.  You can eat 1500 calories of Entinmens cake and still lose weight, but I wouldn't recommend it because your portions will be really small and you won't get the nutrients you need.  Eat real food (veggies, nuts, meats).  If it comes in a plastic package, don't eat it.  And watch the saturated fat intake.  I know you're young but when you can take a class on nutrition and you will learn A LOT.  Any questions hit me up... Lionbacker24@yahoo.com
513856
Read my article on calorie consumption/calorie saving...here http://www.healthandstrength.net/qofweek.htm\nThere is probably about 400-600 calories in something like that...depends on the size and stuff, but I would have to run on the treadmill for about 50 minutes to burn that off...then I would still be back where I was.  If I DIDNT eat it, then the 400-600 calories that I burn on the treadmilll would be weight off my ass.  I lost 54 lbs...my before and after pic is on my site here http://www.healthandstrength.net \nI refuse to eat sugar and things that won't benefit my body...YES they are tastly, but really...you dont need it.  Eating them everyother day will most likely cause insulin insensitivity and eventually maybe diabetes.  Sugar is evil!  I treat it as the poison that it is. \nGood luck!
236570
I know someone who has lost alot of weight going low carb, actually no carb.   This person refuses to eat things like fruits because they contain carbs.  She won't even eat carrots.  Personally, I don't think it's healthy. People get all crazy with these fad diets when maintaining a healthy weight is simple - don't overeat and exercise.
653997
Very common for a low carb dieter...you are taking in too many calories. Or not working out to get rid of the excess calories...If you havent yet read the WHOLE atkins book. It will tell you to watch calories also, and ofcourse every diet works better with exercise. Also remember not to use this as a DIET. Diets don't work or have lastinf results. If you loose 20 on atkins, and go back to normal eating, it is VERY common to put back the 20 and gain even more...This is a life style change, and remember to slowly introduce yer carbs back, you cannot live with out carbs that long. You can get very sick.
666727
If you are looking to lose weight watch white foods. Seriously it works! White bread, white rice, sugar, pasta, milk, potato, and even cheese are all examples of foods that should be eaten in extreme moderation for a dieter. They are high in carbohydrates which are stored as fats in all but the real athletic bodies, heavy, and low in essential nutrients. So it is basically empty calories. Replace these white foods with a brown version. Like wheat bread, brown rice, wheat pasta, yams, and any other healthier options I didn'tt hink of. The brown version is full of whole grains, fiber (great for dieting!) and less calories. There is a ton more I could load you down with about dieting, but I though I would keep it simple for you. Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info.