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As there is SO MUCH misinformation on the internet, I will ask you guys here (whom I trust). What would you say is a good daily calorie count if I am trying to lose weight?
I don't go for any fads, I have eliminated fast food, soda and basically all junk from my diet. I've been eating a lot of fruit, some veggies, a little bit of whole grains and very little meat. But I don't know what a healthy number of calories would be. Does it depend on my weight/age?
Also, I've been riding my exercise bike for 15-20 minutes every day.
As there is SO MUCH misinformation on the internet, I will ask you guys here (whom I trust). What would you say is a good daily calorie count if I am trying to lose weight?
I don't go for any fads, I have eliminated fast food, soda and basically all junk from my diet. I've been eating a lot of fruit, some veggies, a little bit of whole grains and very little meat. But I don't know what a healthy number of calories would be. Does it depend on my weight/age?
Also, I've been riding my exercise bike for 15-20 minutes every day.
This can't be answered without knowing (as you guessed) your weight, age, and a little more specifics about you activity level (desk job, on your feet all day, exercise habits, etc).
Although it's calories in/calories out, you should try and get the "most bang for your buck" when it comes to calories, because you want to feel satiated, not hungry all the time, and also you want to lose weight and be HEALTHY..not just get skinny and malnourished.
You say:
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I've been eating a lot of fruit, some veggies, a little bit of whole grains and very little meat.
You might be doing this a little backward. Fruits are high in sugar, which means they're high in calories. Veggies are very low in both sugar and calories. So you might want to eat only a little fruit every day, lots of veggies. Since you do eat meat, you might want to add a little more than "very little" or at least add some nuts or peanutbutter to your selection of foods. You need the protein. Having a little bit of whole grain should be fine (such as a bowl of oatmeal or putting your sandwich on whole-grain rye...yum). And with veggies, keep the starches (such as potatoes) to a minimum.
Calories definitely depends in part on your current weight, how much you're trying to lose, age, and physical activity level. Riding a stationary bike for 15-20 minutes isn't really all that much - you might want to either up it to 30-45 minutes daily, or get a real actual bike and go riding in fresh air for an hour on nice days, alternating with the stationary on not-so-nice days. You want to work up a sweat, and maintain a healthy heart rate for your weight/age.
As there is SO MUCH misinformation on the internet, I will ask you guys here (whom I trust). What would you say is a good daily calorie count if I am trying to lose weight?
I don't go for any fads, I have eliminated fast food, soda and basically all junk from my diet. I've been eating a lot of fruit, some veggies, a little bit of whole grains and very little meat. But I don't know what a healthy number of calories would be. Does it depend on my weight/age?
Also, I've been riding my exercise bike for 15-20 minutes every day.
Yes, it does depend on your age/weight/sex. For a really general run down though, most diets for women contain between 1200-1500 calories and most for men are between 1500-2250. Of course this all depends on your stats. A 23 y/o male who is muscular and lifts weights everyday and plays a college sport or something can drop his normal 3k calories per day to 2250 and get incredibly lean. However a 35 y/o unathletic male with a nice beer gut who does only a few moderate workouts per week would have to go below 1800 cals to see significant results.
My own philosophy on calories is a little more extreme. I'm a pretty muscular guy but during the winter and especially the holidays I pack on a beer gut. To shed it off for the summer I have to drop to 1200 calories. Anything above that just doesn't give me good results unless I'm taking an illegal fat burner (ephedrine) or doing an INSANE amount of exercise. My wife has to drop to at least 1000 to see really good results and she's an ex-collegiate athlete, but at 29 y/o her metabolism just isn't the same as it was 8 years ago.
I'm in my 50s and probably burn about 3,000 calories a day (I exercise 1-2 hours). I can easily lose a couple pounds a week on a diet of about 1,800-2,000 calories, which isn't too hard to do with my controlled carb way of eating. From personal experience I've concluded that the slow metabolism as you age thing is overplayed, especially in men. I can lose just as quickly and effectively as a 20 something.
I'm in my 50s and probably burn about 3,000 calories a day (I exercise 1-2 hours). I can easily lose a couple pounds a week on a diet of about 1,800-2,000 calories, which isn't too hard to do with my controlled carb way of eating. From personal experience I've concluded that the slow metabolism as you age thing is overplayed, especially in men. I can lose just as quickly and effectively as a 20 something.
I can see the difference in my metabolism. When I was 22-23 years old I could get pretty lean on a 2500 calorie diet consisting of a potatoe and egg whites for breakfast, a tuna sandwhich or a grilled chicken burger for lunch, 1 burger king hamburger for snack (the little hamburgers, not a whopper), chick and veggies for dinner, and then and omellete right before bed (and a bunch of protein shakes throughout the day). That was my actual diet! And I would get pretty lean. If I took ephedra with that diet (it was legal then), I'd get absolutely shredded. I could NEVER get lean on that diet now. I have to be much more conventional with my macronutrient ratios and the types of carbs/fats I'm consuming, and I'm only 30.
Thanks for all the tips. I'm certain I will regret this, but here are my stats:
41 yr old female, 5'8, 200 lbs.
I am increasing my bike riding and I will limit my fruits and increase my veggies and protein.
Thanks again!
You should start at 1200 cals (you can even to 1500 for a few weeks to adjust if you're eating really high calories now). And do lots of slow but consistent cardio in the morning and then again in the evening. Watch the scale regular and when you stop losing weight, start reducing the calories even further or increasing your exercise, or both. However, when you go below 1200 cals make sure you first consult your physician or a personal trainer so they can make sure you're getting all your nutrients and taking proper vitamins.
At "somewhat active" according to the Mayo clinic's calorie calculator, with your weight/height/gender, 1800 calories will maintain your current weight. Somewhat active would be 30 minutes of non-strenuous exercise every day, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise 3 times a week. I figure 15 minutes of bicycling every day would fall into this category.
That means, if you exercise 30 minutes daily (doubling your current 15 minute spurts), AND reduce your food intake by 300 daily calories (bringing your daily intake down to 1500) you'll be on a steady, healthy, reasonably-timed path to losing weight.
You can reduce 300 calories a day just by eliminating -two- pieces of fruit and 1 teaspoon of salad dressing.
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