How Many Calories Should I Eat to Lose Weight?

Calculating the number of calories you need to lose weight is a relatively simple, three-step process. The Harris-Benedict equation is the most widely used method of calculating your calorie needs (and thus your calorie needs for weight loss). Here is the Harris-Benedict equation for women:
BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
You just need to plug in your age, height, and weight. The number you get is the total number of calories you need each day to exist (also known as your basal metabolic rate, BMR). For example, a 50-year-woman who is 5' 7" and weighs 160 lbs has a basal metabolic rate of 1441 calories.

Since you don’t lie in bed all day, you’ll burn more calories than this. To estimate how many calories you burn during your daily activities, we’ll use the activity factors listed below.

• Sedentary: Minimal movement, lots of TV watching, reading, etc. Activity factor = 1.4
• Light activity: Office work, ~1 hour of moderate exercise/activity during the day. Activity factor = 1.5
• Moderate activity: Light physical/manual labor during the day, plus more active lifestyle. Activity factor = 1.6
• Very Active: Active military, full time athlete, hard physical/manual labor job. Activity factor = 1.9

Next, multiply your activity factor by your BMR. For the example we're using, we’ll choose an activity factor of 1.5 (common for most people) and multiply that by 1441 calories, giving us 2161 calories. This number is your total caloric needs, or roughly the amount of calories that you need to eat each day to maintain your weight. To lose weight, you need to eat less than this. How much less? That's the next step.

Determining how many calories to cut each day is where weight loss becomes more of an art than a science, as there are many variables that can impact the calories in < calories out equation, including:

1. The type of exercise you are doing. Resistance and interval training will burn more calories after you stop exercising compared to traditional aerobic training.

2. The type of diet you are eating. High-protein diets burn more calories, as protein takes more effort for your body to digest and metabolize.

3. How much weight you have to lose. For simplicity sake I had you use total body weight instead of your lean body mass (which is your total body weight minus your body fat). Because of this assumption, if you need to lose 25 pounds or more to reach your goal weight, then your total caloric needs, which we calculated above, is probably too high. This is because we treated the calorie needs of body fat the same as lean tissue (muscles, bones, and organs), but in reality your body fat has a much lower caloric need (close to zero). I explain how to adjust for this below.

4. Your individual metabolism. The Harris-Benedict equation or any equation that estimates your calorie needs is just that, an estimate. These equations are based on averages, and you are probably not average. Don’t take the numbers you generate after reading this article as gospel, but use them as a starting point, put them to the test, and adjust from there.

Traditionally, recommendations are made for individuals to subtract 500-1000 calories from their total calorie needs in order to lose 1-2 pounds per week. This is because a 500-calorie daily deficit yields a 3500-calorie weekly deficit—which is the number of calories you need to burn to lose one pound of fat. However, I find that these reductions are too aggressive initially and that cutting too many calories too soon sets you up for long-term weight-loss failure.

If you are weight training, doing interval cardio sessions during the week, and eating a carb-controlled/moderate-protein diet, then I recommend that you only subtract 250 calories from your total calorie needs (or 500 calories if you need to lose more than 25 pounds to reach your goal weight). You’ll see results that make you happy while being able to eat more. Using our example, the woman would need to eat 1900 calories per day to lose weight.

The final step: Put it to the test! At the end of two weeks, see how much weight you have lost. If you aren’t losing at a rate that makes you happy, opt to do more activity before you cut out more calories. If you need to cut out more calories, remove another 250 and put that new calorie level to the test for two weeks.

Source:http://www.shape.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-strategies/ask-diet-doctor-how-many-calories-should-i-eat-lose-weight

Get Bigger Arms With Heavy Weights

Building mass in your arms isn’t any different than it is with larger muscle groups like your chest or quads. Like those muscles, your arms respond to both heavy weight and high volume, but they also need time to recover for sizable gains.

The following biceps-triceps workout takes care of the heavy weight with big moves like close-grip benching, dips, and seated curls; and high volume with a series of smaller movements. Perform the following workout once or twice per week, with at least 72 hours between sessions. To maximize your growth potential, train arms on their own dedicated day instead of tacking them onto the end of a workout involving compound exercises.

The Workout

Triceps

Excercise	Sets	Reps
Close-Grip Bench Press	4	8-10
Dip	4	To Failure
Rope Push-Down	3	10*

Biceps

Excercise	Sets	Reps
Seated Barbell Curl	4	8-10
Hammer Curl	4	10
Cable Curl	3	10*

*Perform two drop-sets on your last set.

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Source:http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/arms-exercises/get-bigger-arms-heavy-weights

How to Lose Leg Fat

Are you one of those people who have thick legs? Are you too shy to go for a swim because you have fat legs? Have you been wondering how to lose leg fat?

Losing leg fat is rather easy as legs are very easy to exercise. Here are some easy-to-follow tips on how to lose leg fat.

1. Know how to lose leg fat by toning your legs

There are many exercises you can perform to tone and firm up your legs. One of these is extensions. Extensions work your quadriceps. Another exercise to build strength in your upper legs is wall sits. Hamstring curls are another option for you to get lean legs.

2. How to lose leg fat in 10 minutes

Ok, let’s clear this up first. This is not about losing your excess leg fat in 10 minutes flat. That’s impossible, for sure! This is about following a 10-minute a day routine with which you can achieve lean and well-toned legs. Here are some of the exercises that you can incorporate in your 10-minute-a-day-routine.

Heel raises: This exercise targets the calf muscle which is where leg fat tends to accumulate. It doesn’t take long for calves to get in shape and heel raises are probably the best way of working them.

Lunges: Lunges work every single muscle in the leg making them a great exercise for anyone trying to figure out how to lose leg fat.

Squats: Squats use your body weight as resistance to the force of gravity and in this way help burn fat and build muscle in your legs.

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3. Learn how to lose leg fat by way of cardiovascular exercises

We tend to take them for granted, but the fact is that cardio exercises are one of the best ways to tone your legs and get into shape. Nothing can be easier than walking. Take a brisk way for a couple of minutes every day, preferably in the morning. If that’s not possible for any reason, try to walk whenever you would otherwise use a vehicle. You can also consider spending a portion of your lunch break on walking instead of following up on the office grapevine!

Cycling is a wonderful way of working your legs. Do it outdoors so you also get some fresh air. If time is a constraint and you want to combine cycling with say watching your favorite program on T.V., then you can opt for an exercise bicycle which will give you the same benefits as outdoor cycling.

Jogging, running, rollerblading, climbing stairs and aerobics are other excellent options to choose from.

4. Yoga and Pilates as the solution to the problem of how to lose leg fat 

Yoga has helped many people lose excess body fat. There are a number of exercises in Yoga that can help you lose your leg fat. Pilates too can offer you solutions to your problem of thick legs.

5. How to lose leg fat by eating healthy 

To achieve optimum weight loss results, you have to regulate your diet. Minimize you consumption of saturated fats and include unsaturated fats in your diet. Cold drinks, fruit juices (fresh or packed), canned meats and vegetables, cookies, chips, pizzas, and all kinds of processed foods have a lot of sugar, salt, preservatives and unhealthy fats contained in them. So, reduce your consumption of all such things as much as you can.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables. Consume low-fat milk. Low-fat yogurt is a great thing to have. Keep walnuts or almonds handy so that you satisfy your hunger pangs the healthy way instead of indulging in unhealthy snacking. Drink lots of water. Water flushes out toxins from the body and also prevents water retention. Eat 5-6 small meals rather than three big meals in a day to make your metabolism burn faster.

By combining exercise with the right diet, you can see encouraging weight loss results very early on in your endeavor to lose fat. But remember, even when you perform targeted exercises to lose leg fat, your body will burn fat not only from your legs which for you is the main problem area, but from wherever excess fat has accumulated.

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Source:http://www.traineo.com/fitnessarticles/how-to-lose-leg-fat

7 Day Flat Belly Diet

Celebrity trainer James Duigan's Clean & Lean diet plan can help you lose all the unwanted flab. The diet involves cutting out 'toxic' foods that encourage the body to store fat — including alcohol, sugar and processed foods. Meals on James's diet plan are full of fish, lean meat — including turkey and chicken — and fresh, preferably organic vegetables.

James says, "My diet works on the principle that your body's natural state is lean and fit, not sluggish and fat. But processed foods and drinks and excess sugar pollute the body, causing fat to cling to the hips, thighs, bum and tummy. However, as soon as you stop doing the wrong thing, your body responds very quickly, and you'll get lean fast. But you have to believe you can do it. It doesn't matter how often you have failed in the past. What matters now is focusing on what you want and taking action."

Food rules Make these changes to your diet to lose weight and get a flat tummy fast!

1 Cut the C.R.A.P: Avoid the four main food groups that cause fat to cling to our bodies: caffeine, refined sugar, alcohol and processed foods.

2 But allow yourself a weekly cheat meal. Once a week, enjoy an indulgent meal of whatever you fancy, from creamy pasta to a slice of chocolate cake with cream. As ong as you're eating clean, healthy food the rest of the time, an occasional high-fat treat actually speeds up your metabolism.

3 Take fish oil supplements: They burn fat and supply essential fatty acids.

4 Always have breakfast: Eat within one hour of waking up. If you don't have time for a proper breakfast, just grab a piece of fruit and a few nuts.

5 Don't eat after 8pm: Eating a large meal in the evening when your body is slowing down or sleeping is a bad idea for your digestion and weight.

Five food swaps for flat Abs

Bad croissants: Full of fat, sugar and no goodness Milk Most non-organic milk is filled with hormones Standard yoghurt Most are full of sugar Margarine Full of chemicals Beer High sugar and calories

Better wholemeal bread: Fibre is good for digestion Organic milk It's chemical-free Organic yoghurt It's free from pesticides Olive oil spread Full of essential fatty acids Organic cider Less alcohol and calories.

Best spelt bread: No tummy-bloating gluten

Organic almond milk: Doesn't contain lactose that can cause bloating Organic full-fat yoghurt Makes you feel full and is less sugary than low-fat options Organic butter Natural and additive free Good red wine Grape skin contains resveratrol, a great antioxidant

Tummy toning moves
James Duigan says, "Exercise smarter, not harder. So, if you are trying to lose weight, don't go mad with exercise — get more out of less." These moves can help you get a flatter tummy as they reduce levels of stress hormones in the body, which encourage fat around your middle.

Breathing squat

- Go slow and low and repeat 10 times

- Stand with feet shoulder width apart, arms out and parallel to floor

- Inhale through the nose, then lower your bottom down as far as is still comfortable while exhaling l Pause for a few seconds, then inhale as you come up

Energy push Great for digestion — breathe slowly and repeat 20 times

- Take a comfortable stance with feet shoulder width apart, arms in front of you, palms facing down

- Inhale and pull hands back towards your shoulders

- Exhale, pushing your arms back out to starting position Leg tuck Great for lower abs — repeat 10 times

- Lie back, feet on floor, knees bent l Inhale then bring knees into your chest as you exhale

- Inhale again as you return your feet to the floor

Your food plan
Stick to this eating plan for two weeks to start your weight loss. It's best to begin on a weekend, when you have more time to get everything ready. Plus, you won't feel so stressed or rushed, which means you'll be less likely to succumb to a mid-afternoon chocolate bar.

Day 1 Breakfast: Omelette made with three egg whites and filled with 75g chopped mixed peppers and a handful of spinach

Mid-morning snack: 100g chicken with ½ red pepper, sliced

Lunch: One grilled chicken breast, mixed salad leaves, red peppers, green beans and ¼ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g turkey breast with ¼ cucumber, sliced

Dinner: 100g grilled chicken breast with steamed broccoli

Day 2 Breakfast: Baked chicken breast with a handful of stir-fried kale

Mid-morning snack: 100g turkey breast and ½ green pepper, sliced

Lunch: Baked haddock fillet with mixed green salad, with ½ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g turkey breast with 75g steamed broccoli

Dinner: One salmon steak with chopped dill and steamed green beans

Day 3 Breakfast: 100g smoked salmon, plus spinach

Mid-morning snack: 100g chicken breast with ½ yellow pepper, sliced

Lunch: One grilled chicken breast with garden salad and ½ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g turkey slices with ¼ avocado

Dinner: One grilled lamb steak (or two cutlets); steamed broccoli and spinach

Day 4 Breakfast: Scrambled eggs (one whole, two whites), tomatoes, green beans

Mid-morning snack: 100g turkey slices with ¼ cucumber, sliced

Lunch: Baked cod fillet with salad, tomato, spinach and ½ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g chicken breast with ½ grilled courgette

Dinner: 100g chicken breast stir-fry made with ½ tsp oil and green veg

Day 5 Breakfast: 200g turkey breast with ¼ avocado and ¼ cucumber, sliced

Mid-morning snack: Two hard-boiled eggs with ½ red pepper, sliced

Lunch: 150g grilled prawns with a green salad and tomatoes, ½ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g turkey breast with five almonds

Dinner: 100g chicken breast with steamed broccoli

Day 6 Breakfast: One grilled haddock fillet with roasted peppers and courgettes

Mid-morning snack: 100g chicken with one tomato, sliced

Lunch: 150g turkey with green salad, steamed broccoli and ½ tbsp olive oil

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g chicken with five pecan nuts

Dinner: 150g-200g steak served with steamed green beans and broccoli

Day 7 Breakfast: Three-egg-white omelette, grilled tomatoes and steamed spinach

Mid-morning snack: 100g turkey with five Brazil nuts

Lunch: 150g chicken breast with steamed asparagus and green salad

Mid-afternoon snack: 100g turkey with ¼ cucumber, sliced

Dinner: Grilled, skinless duck breast with steamed oriental greens or broccoli

The best program for a flat belly! Right here!

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/health-fitness/diet/7-Day-flat-belly-diet-plan/articleshow/11461004.cms

6 Abs Diet Tips

1. Start healthy: I cannot stress this enough; breakfast is the MOST important meal of the day. It is very important to start right. The cuts down craving for rest of the day and keeps you satisfied so lunch is not a triple cheese burger with fries and a chocolate milk shake (or worse a large soda!)
2. Portion changes: Small portion changes make a huge difference to the total amount to calories consumed. Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day but cutting unwanted stuff should be easy. For example, cutting out ketchup from breakfast, high calorie dressing from lunch and cutting soda from dinner will save you an approximate 500 calories. While that may not seems like much, its 3500 calories a week! That’s like eating a full extra days worth of food!
3. Drink water: Drink plenty of water. It’s good for you. That’s it!
4. Eat Snacks: Healthy snacks are a great way to prevent overeating. Almonds at 3 PM with some chocolate milk will keep you from a pasta eating contest at 6PM. There are no excuses for not eating snacks. It does require a little preparation on your part, such as having these readily available. TIP: Skip the office vending machine. The chances of getting something healthy are pretty slim.
5. Complex Carbohydrates: Brown rice is better than white rice and wheat bread is better than white bread. Keep this in mind and you’ll save yourself plenty of empty calories.  Also, complex carbohydrates will keep you full longer so you won’t be trekking to the refrigerator at 12 AM.
6. Cut Sugar: This includes soda/pop, whatever you want to call it, cookies, cakes, ice cream, anything that is made up of HFCS (high fructose corn syrup). Excess sugar is basically converted to fat and stored by the body. Plus sugar spikes hunger and could potentially lead to overeating.

This should give anyone a starting point to pursue their goal of getting six pack abs.   Be sure to include some of the best abs exercises in your fitness regimen to balance out your routine.

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Source:http://www.perfect10abs.com/6-abs-diet-tips.html

3-Day Ab Workout for a Shredded Six-Pack

A study came out years ago showing that certain infomercial devices activated the core better than traditional situps. What did I do? Ignored it, of course, because it was infomercial stuff. The problem was, the study appeared in the Journal of the American Physical Therapy Association . That’s a pretty big deal. So I researched and found that all the infomercial gadgets that scored higher than the situp were basic versions of the ab wheel rollout or the plank. Then a study came out showing a group in the military that focused on planks and side planks outperformed a group that focused on situps—in a situp test!

It became clear to me that various forms of stabilization, not traditional ab exercises, are the key to developing strong abs (which also attract sexy chicks). Read on, and I’ll share what I’ve discovered about how your midsection really works and the way you need to train it.

Smarter Ab Training

The primary purpose of the core—the muscles of the abdomen, including the abs, lower back, and lats—is not to flex the spine, as in crunches and situps, but to stabilize it, preventing the spine from moving. Stuart McGill, a leading expert on lower-back pain, has repeatedly shown that you can work your core more intensely with stability training than with traditional flexion exercises. It’s also safer, because flexing the lumbar spine is the exact same action that can ultimately lead to disc herniation. Let me be 100% clear: I believe so strongly in training stabilization over flexion that I don’t have my clients do any situp or crunch variations anymore. At my training facility, we’ve further broken down core work into three distinct categories.

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Pure Stabilization Training

The goal here is just to keep your spine straight, so it’s as simple as holding a plank, or side plank, for time. Progressions would include elevating the feet, reducing the base of support (try raising one elbow and the opposite foot off the floor), introducing instability (such as resting your elbows on a Swiss ball), or holding for a longer time.

Dynamic Stabilization

This is a bit of a misnomer, since dynamic means “moving” and stabilization means “don’t move.” But it also may best describe the true purpose of the core: to stabilize the spine while the extremities are moving. Sample exercises are a front plank with pulldown combo (get into a plank in front of a low cable pulley or resistance band, and pull the handle toward you), ab wheel rollout, mountain climber, and half-kneeling cable chop.

The goal is always to allow zero movement in the spine or core. The core muscles have to control the forces from the extremities and stabilize accordingly. With mountain climbers, for instance, there can be no lumbar flexion at all (the lower back cannot round, a common problem).

Integrated Stabilization

This is where we do traditional exercises with a twist—for example, using one dumbbell instead of two in a lunge or shoulder press. Basically, we off set the center of gravity and force the core to work harder than it would with a traditional exercise. Sample movements would be suitcase walks (a farmer's walk, like strongmen do, but holding only one dumbbell), Turkish getups, and various lunges and presses with uneven loads (one heavier dumbbell in one hand or weight on one side and not the other).

That’s it. Designing your core workouts with exercises that fit these categories is all you’ll ever need to build strong abs and an injury-resistant lower back. They can be used as a single progression—one month you could focus only on pure stabilization, work on dynamic movements the next month, and then finally do integrated stabilization exercises the month after—or as a separate focus on each of your training days. I recommend doing all core exercises, except the ones in the integrated stabilization category, first in your workouts, before you train other muscle groups.

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Source:http://www.muscleandfitness.com/workouts/workout-routines/3-day-ab-workout-shredded-six-pack

How to Get Abs in One Month

There are many different exercises that you can use to get abs in one month. All of these are hard work, and most of them are very slow to create noticeable results. Many people who try ab exercises will be disappointed after a short time, because they work the upper, middle and lower portions of the abs to build the muscles. By concentrating on these areas of the body, it will be possible to get abs in a month.

Upper Abdominal Exercises

There are many different exercises which can be used to build upper ab muscles quickly. One of the easiest is a stomach crunch. This is an intermediate exercise which most people can do. To do these, lie down on your back and start lifting your back off the floor. This will strengthen your upper back and ab muscles together.

Middle Abdominal Exercises

The bicycle exercise is very useful for strengthening your middle abdominal and backmuscles. Lie down on the floor on your back and bend your knees and hips so that your legs are in an L shape. Now stretch your legs out in an alternating motion like you're riding a bike. When you're doing this exercise you need to move slowly and in a controlled fashion. This will make it much better for your back.
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Lower Abdominal Exercises

One of the best and easiest exercises which works the lower abs is the pelvic tilt. This can be done easily without any specialist equipment. Lie down on a hard surface and tilt your pelvis while you're breathing in. Then return to the normal resting position by breathing out.

Another useful lower abdominal exercise is the leg lift. This is also simple to do and is a matter of lying on the floor and lifting your legs up slowly. Then hold the position for a few seconds before lowering them down carefully.

Eating Protein

If you're trying to build muscles, you will need to be consuming plenty of protein. Protein is the building block of all muscles and is essential for your body to work properly. Make sure that you are eating plenty of protein to strengthen the muscles.

Make sure that you are eating healthily and that your body is getting all the nutrients that it needs to function properly. A standard cardio exercise routine will be very helpful, because it will aid in shedding excess body fat to make the abs more visible.

Be Patient

While the effects of these exercises may be noticed in less than a month, it is something that you will need to continue working at. You will need to change your lifestyle so that your ab muscles continue to grow and you get a six pack to be proud of.

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Source:http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/exercises/how-to-get-abs-in-one-month.html#b