How many calories doI need???

[Appleshape]

Hi. I joined a gym a month ago in the hope of losing some weight and gaining some muscle. I'm 5'4 and weigh 132lb. The trainer who interviewed me said in order to maintain my current weight I would need to consume 1300 calories so she recommended that I took it down to 1200. The problem is, it doesn't seem to make sense to me if I'm burning 400 calories a session doing CV work 3-4 times a week. Shouldn't these calories come off the total? I'm even more confused as after a month I haven't lost a single pound!

I am extremely careful about what I eat, I take in high protein, low to medium carbs and low fat. I make sure I drink plenty of water too.

Where am I going wrong? Any help would be really appreciated.

My workouts consist of the following:

Day 1. 45 mins CV done with heart rate level to maximise fat burn
2 x 15 rep pec dec
2 x 15 rep inner thigh
2 x 15 rep outer thigh
2 x 15 rep lat pull downs
3 x 15 rep stomach crunches
2 x press up burn outs

Day 2

45 mins CV done with heart rate level to maximise fat burn

Day 3
5 mins CV warm up
2 x 15 rep bicep curls
2 x 15 rep tricep extensions
reistance band 2 x 15 tricep extensions
2 x 15 bicep curls
2 x 15 pullups
2 x 15 dorsal raises


These 3 days are repeated in rotation.

[Lady C]

I am assuming you are female with those stats. My first guess is it is too low of calories [try 1500-1700 calories]. Second guess, wrong kinds of food. Third guess, need to work the whole body, Where are the leg strength training exercises?

More specific details on what and when you eat would be helpful.

[Appleshape]

Thanks Lady C. Yes I'm female. I've brought up with my gym that I'm not doing any leg exercises other than my thighs but they seem pretty intent on me concentrating on my arms, chests and shoulders. My bodyfat is currently 29% which concerns me too, I've been told I need to try and get it down to 25% as a realistic target

I'll give you an idea of my food at present, please bare in mind I'm not doing any specific diet, just eating what's healthy and what I like.

Breakfast: Baked beans on granary toast
1/2 pint vegeatable juice

Mid morning snack: Portion of sushi

Lunch: Tuna steak with large mixed salad

Mid afternoon snack: A handful of nuts and some fruit

Dinner: Chicken breasts, steamed mixed veg and some brown rice or lentils

evening snack: bio yoghurt

Any pointers and advice will be gratefully received.

[Lady C]

Those aren't bad meals. My only suggestions are to drop the brown rice or lentils at dinner (unless you just worked out then keep them) and replace those calores with more veggies to get full. Drop the nuts and add cottage cheese or other lean protein. Why? because nuts are mostly fat. You don't need more good fat if you are eating fish IMHO.

I would increase the intensity of those aerobic sessions by upping the speed or hardness AND increase your the heart rate to closer to 85% of maximum. This means you will NOT be able to do 45 min, more like 20-30 min. That is OK because you are increasing the intensity. You will still be burning calories.

[.V.]

Insist on them letting you work your legs. Leg work is one of the keys to whole body muscle growth - which increases your caloric needs. This creates a faster metabolism, increases your calorie deficit (in a healthy way instead of going without food and nutrients) and helps you burn fat.

It's your body, your workout, your money you are paying them - they need to let you do something effective. Insist on it. Or fire them and move on if they don't cooperate.

And after you've had a few months for the body to acclimate to working out - cut the number of repetitions back to allow you to lift more weight. Lifting heavier weights (even for less repetitions) makes more muscle. And being female, you don't have to worry about getting "muscle bound". There is no such thing as that anyway but that seems to worry women quite a bit.

[CF-OC_gal]

1300 calories is too low to feed an active body. By reducing it further you are making the problem worse. I am suspicious of the credentials of your trainer. How is your energy level when you workout and through the day? Do you feel you are working hard and intense when you workout?

Personally I think you should be getting more calories (work up slowly to 1500 per day), add more low fat quality protein like eggs. YOu seem to be eating more than 1300 calories unless the protion sizes are really small! Tighten up on knowing your portion sizes (a handful of nuts could be 1/4 cup or 3/4 cup depending!), try using www.fitday.com and lastly ask for some free weight exercises to put in the mix. In another 2-4 weeks I'd like to see you working in the 8-10 rep range with weights.

You are the same weight and height as me execpt that I am in the 20-22% bodyfat range (one that suits me perfectly).

BTW - that "maximise fat burn level" for your cardio sounds like bunk. You should be working out at a pace that you can maintain for the 45 minutes and that raises your heart rate within a safe working range (60-85%) Your body will become more efficient at burning fat stores and glycogen as you become more conditioned.

[cursor]

I suspect that your caloric target is too low for the amount of activity that you're performing. Consider gradually increasing your nutritional intake (particularly near your workouts).

height: 5'-4"
weight: 132-lbs
body fat: 29%
lean mass: 98-lbs
body fat: 34-lbs

Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) is about 1350 calories. On the days that you workout, you could add as much as 400 calories (to effectively fuel the workout), depending on the type of exercise that you're doing.

Originally Posted by Appleshape

... they seem pretty intent on me concentrating on my arms, chests and shoulders.

You should work your full body (and particularly your legs). The more muscle you work, the better your fat loss results will be.

Here a few reference posts for you:

cursor's calorie calculator
Creating a plan: workout & nutrition
Slimming Down
Workout Timing and Diet Tactics
Workout day vs nonWorkout day
Burning Muscle?
Julie Moss :: ref 1
Julie Moss :: ref 2

Here are some quality articles on aerobics for effective fat-loss by Clarence Bass (the king of fat-loss):

Forget the fat-burn zone
In search of the ideal aerobics routine
Escaping the "Fat-Burn Zone"