Losing fat not muscle
Posted by Mary
I've been working out each workday for the last 6 months. I started a very low-fat/low calorie diet at the same time. My question is am I losing fat or muscle during my workout if I'm eating only about 1000 to 1200 calories a day? I'm 51 yrs old and weigh 135.
Re: Losing fat not muscle
Posted by Vicki
Daily calorie intake should never go below 1,200 a day. Any more than that and your body will think it's starving and hang onto those fat deposits with a vengeance. You may want to think about restructuring your eating plan so that it's healthy and not so restrictive. Remember that healthy weight loss is one to two pounds per week. One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. So, in order to lose a pound of fat per week, you have to burn 3,500 calories more than you eat. In order to lose 2 pounds of fat in a week, you have to create a whopping 7,000 deficit. This can be a combination of calorie reduction and increased exercise. For example, if you want to lose 2 pounds a week, you could burn an extra 400 calories a day through exercise and reduce your daily food intake by 600 calories. Think lifestyle change-- not quick fix.
