Can't figure out the calorie thing

for some reason --- this is just so confusing. I went to a webstie that you answer some questions and it estimates how many calories you burn on a regular day --- it says to me: "You burn 2400 calories during a typical day." -- So how do I translate that into telling me what I need to do to lose weight???

Wed. May 16, 5:39pm

....adding...

I'm just not that bright...

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 5:42 PM

do you know how the calorie counter on this site works? It doesn't seem to be that user-freindly to me! :^}

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 5:46 PM

didn't even know...

i didn't even know there WAY a calorie counter on this site --- the whole site is very very confusing to me....

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 5:50 PM

Your best bet...

May be to go see your doctor and have him run a test on your metabolism. Really only then will it tell you how many calories YOU burn.
Remember, every person is different.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 6:00 PM

but let's just say...

let's just say i burn around 2400 per a regular day... how do i then figure out how many calories i can consume and how many i have to burn???

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 6:01 PM

Okay, okay, let's try and make this simple

A calorie is energy. It's your body's fuel. If you pump more fuel into your body than you need for the amount of activity you do, the excess fuel just sits there - it may become muscle if you exercise, but it may become fat.

If you use the calorie "fuel" that you put into your body, you maintain your weight. If you use more fuel than you put in, your body looks for other fuel sources - ie, your own body fat.

Burn/use 3500 calories = lose one pound

You burn 2400 calories of fuel normally each day. I will assume this includes your regular daily activities, but not any added exercise. To lose one pound a week, you need to reduce your calorie intake by 500 each day.

2400-500 = eat 1900 calories of fuel each day

If you also exercise, your body will burn even more calories. Burn 250 calories a day and you will lose another 1/2 pound in a week.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 6:30 PM

OKAY...

not to be difficult --- (or gross) but I lose more than 1/2 a lb just going to the bathroom - and I'm about 5lbs heavier at the end of the day than I am in the morning... so how exactly is losing 1lb a week even going to register?

How do these people on Celebrity Fit Club and The Biggest Loser lose 15 lbs in just 1 week.... and then continue to lose like 5-10 lbs every week?

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:03 PM

Just stick with it and you'll see results!

Your weight will fluctuate daily based on how hydrated your body is, which can vary throughout the day, throughout your cycle, etc.. If you consistently accumulate a deficit in calories you will lose actual weight - not water weight - and that will register.

I weigh myself once a week (at the same time) at the most, but sometimes even that is deceptive. Once I was on plan to lose about 2lbs a week and I showed a gain at weigh in, which I knew was impossible, but this also followed a meal very high in sodium. The next week I showed a 4 pound loss, which would have also been impossible for me, but averaged over the 2 weeks it made sense.

Now, I just read something about the Celeb Fit Club 'tactics' In O Magazine and they were not anything you'd want to do. They fasted, used laxatives, and used ephedra to get fast (and temporary!) results.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:48 PM

Not difficult (or gross) at all! Your weight will fluctuate naturally, but the goal is to consistantly lose FAT, not water, muscle or poop. Keep in mind these things:

If you eat salty food one night, you may retain 3-5 pounds of water weight.
If you haven't "gone' in a couple days, that could be 1-2 pounds.
If you just drank a botle of water, that's 1 pound.

How do you lose 5-10 pounds in a week? DRASTICALLY change your diet and exercise. The folks on those TV shows probably eat 3000-5000 calories DAILY. Many are also bigger to start with, so their bodies are burning more calories (a 6 foot, 350 pound man is probably burning 3500 calories a day, whereas a 5'3" 120 pound female only burns about 1600 calories a day). Start eating only 1500 calories, and add an hour workout six days a week, and that adds up quickly to five pounds burned in a week.

Also, the weigh-ins on some of those shows are every TWO weeks, even though the episodes air weekly. So, the target weight loss of 6-8 pounds is over two weeks, not one.

Now, keep in mind that once you start eating less, your body will adjust to that. That's the dreaded "plateau." If you keep feeding your body 1500 calories, it will figure out how to only use up 1500 calories, and you'll get stuck. So, keep changing your routine, eat a variety of foods, try different exercise, WEIGHT TRAIN! Muscle needs calorie fuel all the time, even when you are sleeping. If you lose weight by diet and cardio alone, your body uses up some of your muscle as fuel. Once you stop dieting, your stuck with less muscle - which is why most people quickly regain weight after a diet.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:54 PM

Just keep googling. I've found loads of clear websites out there with helpful formulas. My bookmarks are acting funny at the moment or I'd link you to my favorite one.

Thursday, May 17, 2007, 2:36 AM

To the poster who couldn't figure out how 1lb a week would register...

If you lose 1lb a week for a year, you will have lost 52 lbs!!

And even if your weight fluctuates 5lbs a day, 250-255 is totally different than 198-203!

I always weigh myself first thing in the morning, naked, after going to the bathroom. I find that's the most stable. I weigh myself every day, but many people have better luck doing it just once a week. I write down my weight every day, and if I look at it long-term, there's a definite loss, even if it doesn't seem like it on a day-to-day basis.

Thursday, May 17, 2007, 10:47 AM

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