Question:
Two questions:
1. What would be a healthy weight to shoot for? I'm 5' 10" or so and I've been working on losing weight. Dropped from 209 to 175 over the past (too long) while. What should I be aiming for? What would be an optimal weight for optimal performance in athletic activities? I don't play football or anything where I would need to be bulky. I'm of mediumish build. Is 175 a good spot to stop? Should I start the weight training now? I still have a bit of baby fat around my mid section so I don't know.
2. While losing weight, I've been eating extremely healthy and I love it. However, I've been eating only about 1700 calories a day, but I do not feel hungry at all. Well, once I get to the point that I don't want to keep losing weight, how many calories a day should I shoot for? I am an active person. I read that you should multiply your weight by 17, for moderately active persons, and that is the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain weight. However, that would bring me close to 3000 daily calories and that seems like it is way too much.
Answer:
I am 5'11", and seemingly of the same build as you. When I was at my healthiest, working out the most, and had the best measurements on target muscle groups, I weighed 160. I have since allowed myself to gain weight, and stopped working out, and am at 175. My arms are thinner than they were at 160, as well as my chest and calves. My point is. If you are looking to be a wide receiver, baseball player, ultimate frisbee, or some other low contact sport, I would aim to lose 10 or so more pounds before beginning weight training. Once you are on a good weight regimen, that you are being faithful to, you want to be consuming at least 1 gram of protein for each pound of body weight you have. So, if you are 165 when you start, that is the number of grams of protein you want to be pulling in to bulk up/ get stronger. You will most likely gain 5 to 10 pounds in a couple of months of doing this, but those pounds will not be in fat.
As far as caloric intake goes... 1700 - 2500 is going to be a good maintainer, I do believe. I can't be anymore specific than that, I am afraid.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. Two questions:
1. What would be a healthy weight to shoot for? I'm 5' 10" or so and I've been working on losing weight. Dropped from 209 to 175 over the past (too long) while. What should I be aiming for? What would be an optimal weight for optimal performance in athletic activities? I don't play football or anything where I would need to be bulky. I'm of mediumish build. Is 175 a good spot to stop? Should I start the weight training now? I still have a bit of baby fat around my mid section so I don't know.
2. While losing weight, I've been eating extremely healthy and I love it. However, I've been eating only about 1700 calories a day, but I do not feel hungry at all. Well, once I get to the point that I don't want to keep losing weight, how many calories a day should I shoot for? I am an active person. I read that you should multiply your weight by 17, for moderately active persons, and that is the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain weight. However, that would bring me close to 3000 daily calories and that seems like it is way too much.
Good night, if I multiplied the number of pounds I weigh by 17 to get a maintaining weight it would be roughly a 1000 calories over what it takes to keep my weight not growing. (I weigh in at roughly 200 right now, and am slightly losing weight on roughly 2200 a day, though I may have to cut that as my body has experienced a slight change recently)
I would say you probably need to play around with it. I have a fairly slow metabolism and have a good deal of just a wide frame. (I am 5 foot 9 and I believe my chest measurement for a coat is 52 or something close, as I have broad shoulders and a thick build.) i found that any formula to gauge my calories requires me to subtract 30 or 40 pounds from my actual weight if I want it to work at all.
The basic rules like you were told are for a theoretical average human. I like to start there, and tweak as necessary.
Answer:
Yeah, I have a pretty fast metabolism, but then again it's probably just because I'm 17. I'd rather develop good eating habits now before my metabolism slows down.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. Two questions:
1. What would be a healthy weight to shoot for? I'm 5' 10" or so I'd shoot for 30 pounds.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. Yeah, I have a pretty fast metabolism, but then again it's probably just because I'm 17. I'd rather develop good eating habits now before my metabolism slows down. I'm totally in the same boat. I'm twenty right now, and not doing bad on weight, but I've seen tons of my older friends hit their early/mid-twenties and gain a lot of un-needed weight. I figure why not get myself in the habit of eating healthy so I don't have to worry about weight gain when my body decides it's metabolism is tired and needs to slow down.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. Two questions:
1. What would be a healthy weight to shoot for? I'm 5' 10" or so and I've been working on losing weight. Dropped from 209 to 175 over the past (too long) while. What should I be aiming for? What would be an optimal weight for optimal performance in athletic activities? I don't play football or anything where I would need to be bulky. I'm of mediumish build. Is 175 a good spot to stop? Should I start the weight training now? I still have a bit of baby fat around my mid section so I don't know. I wouldn't aim for a weight. I'd aim for a body fat %. 175 is a good weight where you wouldn't be bulky. If you maintain your weight, lower your body fat and increase your muscle, that would probably look very nice.
2. While losing weight, I've been eating extremely healthy and I love it. However, I've been eating only about 1700 calories a day, but I do not feel hungry at all. If you've been doing this awhile then your stomach has shrunk.
Well, once I get to the point that I don't want to keep losing weight, how many calories a day should I shoot for? I am an active person. I read that you should multiply your weight by 17, for moderately active persons, and that is the amount of calories you need to consume to maintain weight. However, that would bring me close to 3000 daily calories and that seems like it is way too much. If you eat 3,000 calories per day you will gain weight. Since everyone's body works differently, you have to find a formula which is tailored to your specific needs...which can be difficult. Thus, it's better to just keep good records and find the magic spot where you maintain your weight and don't increase in body fat.
How fast are you dropping weight at 1,700 calories per day?
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. Yeah, I have a pretty fast metabolism, but then again it's probably just because I'm 17. I'd rather develop good eating habits now before my metabolism slows down. If you're having to eat only 1,700 calories to lose weight then your metabolism certainly isn't fast enough to burn 3,000 calories. You'd probably put on weight fairly quickly if you ate that many calories. Of course, if it's a high protein with a nice balance of good carbs and fats, then a good amount of that weight would be muscle (assuming you start weight training).
Answer:
How fast are you dropping weight at 1,700 calories per day?
2 or 2 and a half or so pounds per week usually. Something around there. Is there any easy at home way to test my BMI? I think the athletic director at my school might have something, but I'd like to get an idea of where I'm at.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Sean If you're having to eat only 1,700 calories to lose weight then your metabolism certainly isn't fast enough to burn 3,000 calories. You'd probably put on weight fairly quickly if you ate that many calories. Of course, if it's a high protein with a nice balance of good carbs and fats, then a good amount of that weight would be muscle (assuming you start weight training).
Well, the 1700 has been a rough estimate. I haven't exactly been great with the calorie counting, but hey, I'm feeling satisfied when I eat and the weight has been dropping so whatever works, I guess.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Kenny C. 2 or 2 and a half or so pounds per week usually. That's pretty quick. I'm no expert, but I would do around 2,200 calories. If you start lifting weights, eat sevearl hundred additional calories on weight training days.
Something around there. Is there any easy at home way to test my BMI? I think the athletic director at my school might have something, but I'd like to get an idea of where I'm at. Body Mass Index is a chart which simply factors your height and weight. It's not terrribly useful for much of anything. It doesn't factor in your muscle mass or bone mass. Back before I excercised, according to it, I was under weight. Now that I've put on muscle it considers me overweight. According to it, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was a professional body builder with 4% body weight he was also severaly obese and 50 pounds overweight.
You can get the BMI charts here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_mass_index
Body fat percentage is something different. It attempts to calculate what percentage of your body is fat. The most basic way to do this is a skinfold test. All you need is a pair of fat calipers (which cost maybe $5) and a formula to calculate your measurements (which there are plenty online). It's not a perfect test, but it's certainly reliable enough for what you need.
Wikipedia on Body Fat Percentage:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_fat_percentage
Fat Calipers:
http://www.amazon.com/Accumeasure-Fi...5408395&sr=8-2
Website with Several Body Fat Calculators:
http://www.linear-software.com/online.html