Ask the Trainer: How many calories should I eat?

This was a hot topic of discussion yesterday. To a newbie to a healthy lifestyle/weight loss regime, it can be daunting.

And guess what, this Trainer does not have the answer!

I get this question a lot, but because I have not studied nutrition, this is really not my forte. If you listen to my advice, listen with a grain of salt and do your own research or find a nutritionist to help you. All I can offer is my opinion on things.

Okay, that’s my PT disclaimer.

So really, how many calories do you need to lose weight? Going to depend on so many factors: age, height, current weight, goals, activity level, even gender.

In general, men need between 2,000 to 2,400 calories and woman between 1,200 and 1,500 calories per day. Consuming less than 1,200 calories per day can be harmful to your health since it may trigger your body to go into starvation mode, causing your body to actually hold onto calories.

Women in don't need to eat as many calories as men. Also, people who exercise vigorously on a regular basis need to eat more than those who don't.

Me, I’m a fan of calorie cycling. My calorie range is 1300-1600, and most days I stay close to 1300 (I try to never go under 1200), but I must have at least 1-2 days a week where I hit that 1600. Either it’s on my “off day” on the weekend, or a midweek treat. Also, having a high calories day is great if you go off tracked when you did not plan to. The next day, get right back at it and hit that low calorie range and stick to that for a few days.

But listen, if you are extremely overweight, you NEED to eat way more than I do! 1200 calories are not enough and it puts your body in starvation mode…and worse, triggers cravings and binges. If you weigh more, eat more! And for every 10 pounds you lose, recalculate your calories needs. If you increase your activity level, eat more!

Check out this website to calculate your calorie needs: freedieting.com

ASK THE TRAINER

Q: I pigged out over the weekend and gained five pounds, is that possible?

A; No, that is mostly water weight, especially if what you pigged out on was high in sodium. The best way to flush it out is to up your water intake for the next couple of days. It wouldn’t hurt to up your cardio minutes as well. If all the five pounds have not disappeared in a week, just keep at it…no more cheating!!

Q: I like to walk outside, but now it’s getting cold, what else can I do?

A: You can still walk, indoors. Find a place that you can walk, inside track, school’s gym, the mall, or even walk your favorite big box store. You want to walk continuously so no stop and go walking. Also, walking in place at home may work. Put on some of your favorite music and just go for it. You can add moves like side to side, walking backwards, and even add some strength training moves. Try Leslie Sansone’s Walk Away the Pounds series and see how it’s done.

Q: Time. I don’t have time to work out!

A: Hey, I totally understand, but let’s not freak out. In a 24-hour day, break down where your time is most spent. Can you squeeze in little 15-minute sessions? How about moving things around to fit in a 30-minute workout. Wake up early or stay up later for an extra 30 minutes. While watching TV, fit in a workout. Keep tennis shoes in the car and directly after work, go walking for 20 minutes. If you want to get in shape bad enough, you will find the time.

ASK THE TRAINER

Q: What kinds of food should I eat to lose weight?

A: What a loaded question. I can’t tell you specifically every little bite you should eat, but there are a couple of keys things you should know about nutrition as far as weight loss goes.

1. It’s really all about portion control. You can eat anything (within reason) as long as you are eating the proper portions. There’s the whole thing that brown rice is better for you than white rice, and yes it’s true. But if you must, a ½ cup of white rice every now and then cannot do any harm. It is when you pile 3-4 servings on a plate and eat it nearly every day where problems occurs.


2. Moderation, which is nearly the same as number one. But with moderation, portion control is not the only thing you are watching, it’s how often are you eating something. If pizza is your absolute must have, have 1-2 small slices of cheese pizza every other week, or even less often. You don’t have to give pizza up FOREVER, just learn some moderation.


3. Fill up on the fruits and veggies. Fruits are a great alternative to sugary desserts and candy. Have an apple or banana whenever you have the munchies. It’s so satisfying! Try and eat 1-2 servings of veggies with every meal. Per serving (most ½ cup) the calories are pretty low which means you can have more. The key is to fill half your plate with veggies, ¼ with a protein, and ¼ with a carb.


4. Watch out for low-fat, fat-free products, sugar-free, low-calorie, because they simply add more sugar, salt or other artificial flavoring to modify it. Stick to food in its natural state.


5. Shop from the outer ring at the grocery. The food is less processed, more in its natural state like veggies and fresh meat. If it comes in a box, bag, frozen, canned or otherwise packaged it’s been processed.


6. Read the labels! Most people don’t realize what exactly a portion of pasta, rice or meat is. Labels also include calories, fat, carb, fiber and sodium content, all things to watch when starting a healthy lifestyle. But really, if the food has a label, you’ve strayed out of the outer ring! But that’s okay, just remember portion and moderation.


7. Pack all your meals. This is key when you spend most of your day away from home. This way there will be no temptations to stop for fast food, or hitting the vending machine for a snack. Packs meals, snacks and extra water if needed.


8. Plan all your meals in advance. Shop for the week on one day and pre-cook everything over 1-2 days and put them into serving size containers. This way there is no fretting over what to eat; everything has been taken care of in advance. Always keep some handy standbys on hand like pre-cut veggies, protein bars, and fixins for sandwiches.

I'm sure there are more things I could say here. Nutrition being 80% of the weight loss equation, this is nothing to take lightly. I recommend the Eat Clean book by Tosca Reno because she explains very clearly how to eat the best foods to maximize weight loss.

ASK THE TRAINER

My weekly answers to questions.

Q: About how much weight should I aim to lose a week?
A: I'm going to stick with the standard 1-2 pounds a week. Anything extra is great! Expect to lose more the first few weeks, then it will slow down to the 1-2 pounds a week, if that. Don't get frustrated, losing weight as part of a permanent lifestyle change will take some time. It's a slow process. I call it a roller coaster ride because you will have ups and downs, twists and turns, and may even fall off (but stay buckled in).

Q: How do I get past my plateau?
A: Many different ways, try them all till you push past it. Have you been logging everything you eat correctly? If not, begin to monitor it more closely. If you are not eating enough, add 200-300 calories. If too much, deduct calories. How much are you working out? Can you add 15 minutes a day or up the intensity? Try a totally new workout routine. Eat less processed foods, more clean foods. Up your water intake. The basic idea is to shake things up. It's better to shake things up BEFORE a plateau, so keep changing up and tweaking your routine.

Q: How "insane" is the Insanity workout?
A: Very, very intense. If you are relatively new to working out or not in great shape, you may want to sit this one out. It's very explosive, high intense mostly plyometric moves. If you have bad knees, consult your doctor about this workout. In fact, consult your doctor if you have any physical conditions before starting a workout program.

Q: I need to lose ten pounds in a month, can I?
A: No. That's my short answer. I actually get this question a lot. Losing 10 pounds in a month is definitely possible but it all depends. How much a person currently weighs, are they just starting out, how serious are they to losing the weight or is this just a short-term loss for a special occasion. I get the latter as the answer, someone wants to lose quickly for some event. Give yourself time to lose the weight the correct way and it won't come back again. To lose ten pounds a month, the average person has to cut calories to the lowest possible (1200 for women, 1500 for men) and exercise roughly 2 hours every day for a month. And even then, there's no guarantee you can lose 10 pounds in a month. I know there are special products, special workouts, articles in magazines that say you can, and you can....it's just not that a guarantee.

I lost a total of 43 pounds and it took 14 months! See Weight Loss Journey in Numbers blog. The most I lost in one month was maybe 7 pounds. And there were months I lost only one pound. Doesn't mean I didn't work just as hard that month. I was in it for the long haul, not just pushing at it for one month. Look at the big picture and make small goals. You will get there when you get there.

Keep the questions coming!

A hard lesson about six-pack abs

As a personal trainer, I get this question a lot. A whole lot! It's the number one question, next to I need to lose 10 pounds. The reality of six-pack abs is, it's not possible for many of us. It ain't easy! Is it possible? Yes. The question is, are you willing to do the hard work.

If you think you can do 300 crunches a day and enjoy flat abs and a super hot six-pack, sorry to tell you the truth of the matter. It ain't happening! Ab exercises are not the number one thing you need for flat abs. It requires hard work, commitment, dedication, and something you may not have any control over: genetics.

Abdominal muscles consist of three layers. The very deepest layer is the transverse abdominal, which acts as the body's girdle, providing support and stability and plays a critical role in exhalation. Next is the rectus abdominal, which flexes the spine. Closest to the surface are the internals and external obliques which turn the trunk and provide the body with rotation and lateral movement. ALL of these muscles must be incorporated into an effective ab training program.

First, you have to drop your body fat, which will decrease the layer of fat around your abdominal. To do this you must:

1) Do regular cardio exercise. This includes, walking, jogging, biking, dancing, swimming or any other cardio activity, just make sure you are consistently doing it.

2) Strength training the ENTIRE body. Don't just focus on working the abs. Treat the abs like any other muscle. You wouldn't do 50 dumbbell curls, would you, so why do 50 crunches??

3) Have a healthy, low-calorie diet. This includes eliminating breads, pasta and high-sugar foods. Eat whole foods and stay away from processed food.

You must get all three of these, especially your diet, right on a consistent basis in order to get even close to flat abs. Now listen to this, because I'm about to burst some people's bubble: even after doing all the above and you still don't have flat abs, don't be surprised. Many of us will never see the six-pack abs because:

*The body fat level required to get flat abs is lower than you can sustain with your current lifestyle/schedule

*The body fat level required is lower than healthy for your body to function.

This is why fitness athletes sometimes follow very strict diets for only a "limited" amount of time. They CANNOT sustain the lower body fat and be considered healthy. The body fat is drastically too low, and for women, can even interrupt menstrual cycles. Many times when you see a model on the cover of a magazine with six packs glistening, it's a result of some extreme elements like dehydration, carb-depleting, or cutting weight like pro wrestlers and boxers do.

The goal to get flat abs may:

*Require more exercise than your schedule will allow and more than you can mentally handle.

*Require more attention to your diet than you're willing/able to expend.

*Require more strict adherence to diet and exercise than you have time or energy to spare.

*May not be in your genetic cards.

So do you give up? Don't give up on exercising and living a healthier life, but maybe giving up on the ideal six-pack abs is exactly what you need to make your life better. Ask yourself these questions.

Do I really want flat abs?  Am I willing to work as hard as I need to get them?

If I will work that hard, am I willing to accept that it still may not happen, even if I do everything right?

If I did get six-pack abs, what will that change in my life?

What will flat abs actually do for me?  What would happen if I let go of this ideal and focused on other goals?

For me, I have tried to achieve six-pack abs with the hundreds of crunches myth. Now that I am a lot smarter about it, I want to ATTEMPT to get them the correct way. I am open to the belief that I may not achieve them, but I will NEVER SAY NEVER. Not until I have given it all I've got.

Here are my abs right now. I have a long, long way to go!