Have any advice?

[Veronnique]

Well I am 18 years old, and I've always had access fat that I hate, and I want to get rid of it. I am 5'8 and I weigh 170 pounds.

Right now I'm just looking to get rid of fat, and a little bit of toning here and there. I don't really pay attention to the scale but I'm going to start.

My diet is OK, I'm not really on a diet I just try to eat in smaller portions than I probably could.

So I want to start losing an average of 1-2 pounds a week and get ready for summer! I have access to a gym that I go to about 5 or 6 times a week and focus on cardio.


So the advice I need, is what do you think I will have to do to start losing 1-2 pounds a week? What kind of cardio and diet?


Thanks for the help in advance!

 

[KissMyHuman]

Right now I'm just looking to get rid of fat, and a little bit of toning here and there. I don't really pay attention to the scale but I'm going to start.

It's be said to many people before, you can't spot reduce fat or "tone here and there." The visual aspect of toning comes from the fact that you're getting rid of enough surface fat for you to see the contour of the muscle beneath. Granted weight training will allow you small gains in muscle or preserve your current muscle mass but you can't readily add muscle during a calorie deficit (weight loss).

My diet is OK, I'm not really on a diet I just try to eat in smaller portions than I probably could.

Are you positive? Have you tried tracking a weeks worth of food and calories? How many calories a day do you take in? How many times a day do you eat?

So the advice I need, is what do you think I will have to do to start losing 1-2 pounds a week? What kind of cardio and diet?

Well to maintain weight calories in has to equal calories burned. To lose weight you need to create a calorie deficit. A pound of fat is 3500 calories, so to lose 2 pounds of fat you need to get rid of 7000 calories a week. How do you do that? Well many people suggest splitting it up by reducing your maintenance intake by 500 calories and then working out and burning 500 calories each day. That allows for a 1000 calorie deficit a day.

As far as diet, reduce or remove any simple carbs such as processed sugars, white bread and buns, and white rice, and replace them with whole grains. Make sure you're eating a good amount of fruit and vegetables. A simple rule of thumb is a meal plate should be 1/4 protein (like a serving of meat), 1/4 carb like bread, potato, peas, corn, or rice, and 1/2 fruit and/or vegetable.