Question by Jack Stover: How many calories should I eat to lose weight? How many calories should I eat to lose weight, preferably in a short amount of time. Ideally I'd like to lose 30 pounds in the next 2 months. I know I can't get an exact answer, but about how many calories should I eat each day?
Best answer: Answer by Matt
No need to focus on calories, 30 lbs in 2 months is really going to be pushing it. This diet is the best on ive come up with in my career and has had the best results quickly. Here is weight loss information I put together. I always recommend that you educate yourself in addition to this about proper nutrition, after all, eating is something you will do the rest of your life. It is important that you understand how your body works. Each day when you wake up your metabolism rises to its highest level of the day. Metabolism is what you need to be concerned with for weight loss. As the day goes on your metabolism drops at a rate which is specific to every individual, but we can alter this metabolic drop with diet and exercise (a secondary factor). In order to raise your metabolism you need to space your meals apart into 6 rather than 3 meals. The reason being is that when your body is digesting food it raises your metabolism because your body is burning energy. To keep this burning going on, you need to eat more often throughout the day, but have smaller portions and proper foods. The next important factor is what food you are eating, one of the most important factors in weight loss. The main foods to eat are the following; poultry(chicken or turkey), eggs, fish(all types), whey protein shakes, beans, potatoes & yams, brown rice, oatmeal, whole grains (breads, crackers), green vegetables, nuts, fruits (bananas do the most for you) and some dairy (low fat yogurt, low fat cheese). Due to the media, we have been taught to hate all carbs, but the fact is that the media is notorious for leaving out information such as the difference between a good and bad carb. Good carbs are complex carbs (whole grains, oatmeal, beans and brown rice). Bad carbs are simple sugar carbs (candy, soda, table sugar, chips, pizza dough, and the list just goes on). You NEED to eat good carbs to lose weight, they are full of dietary fiber which helps your body flush out waste. If you have trouble losing weight you do not cut out a particular food all together, you just reduce the portion size. As bodybuilders/models prepare for photo shoots they rely on diets very similar to this and just lower their portion sizes as the weeks come closer to the event. This diet is already set low so try this for at least 2 weeks before adjusting it in any way. In order to remain healthy you must get the nutrients from ALL the foods included. Here is a sample meal plan; Breakfast- 2-3 Eggs (2 yolks removed) , ½ cup oatmeal, 1 piece of fruit, a low fat yogurt (light and go fit) Snack 1- 20-25 gram Whey protein shake, 1 piece of whole grain toast with 1 tbsp peanut butter, ½ piece of fruit Lunch- Grilled Chicken over salad with 2 tsp low fat dressing, 1 serving vegetables other than salad Snack 2- 20-25 gram Whey protein shake, handful of nuts or trail mix, ½ piece of fruit Dinner- Meat of your choice with either a ½ potato or 1/3 cup of brown rice, 2 servings of vegetables Snack 3- 20-25 gram Whey protein shake, 6-10 whole grain crackers with peanut butter or thinly sliced cheese. It is also very important to drink at minimum 64 ounces of water a day. Water will help flush your digestive track, keep you hydrated, feeling full, and help remove toxins from your body. This is a great meal plan, but what does exercise have to do with weight loss. Well here is a simple reminder to always remember; exercise = muscle toning, nutrition/diet = weight loss/weight gain. Exercise does play a very important role in our lives, but it is not the factor to weight loss. Exercise helps us raise our metabolism, which helps us burn fat at a faster rate. However, you can exercise and not lose a pound due to poor diet. Many people argue that they can jump on a treadmill for an hour and lose 2-3 lbs, but you're not actually losing fat weight, just water that comes out in the form of sweat; this weight is then replaced when you drink water later on. I also want to debunk one more myth that not eating will lose weight, this could not be more far from the truth. The reason is that when the body is deprived of food it goes into what is known as starvation mode, this is when the body tries to use less energy (fat) and stores it for later on because it is not receiving enough nutrients now(slows metabolism). Not eating anything or enough is just going to cause reverse effects and you may lose weight at a very slow and unhealthy rate. Once that weight does come off you will actually become very ill and likely hospitalized with an IV in your arm or in your stomach feeding you for weeks or months. Do not take this route when weight loss is so easy just by eating the right foods daily. This is a starting point to achieve the weight loss goals you have, make sure you add in some exercise to speed up results.
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Most of us have been concerned about weight gain at some time in our lives. As a result, we often get caught up in a never-ending cycle of yo-yo dieting.
