tips for losing weight

[lavish elbow]

I want to lose weight so I can be confident and not insecure
Things I know so far
Count your calories
Do cardio
Do not eat too much carbs and Do not eat sugar
But I want to know all

[half spoke]

Hey I'm 19 years old and spent the last 3 years dedicated to learning about my health. I don't consider myself successful because I haven't hit my goal yet but I did just get to my weight requirement for military so hopefully with all of this you will be able to take something out of this and I'm not just screaming "CaLoRiC DeFiCiT!!" at you.

So first I just want to critique your points a little bit I think they're missing just a little bit but other than that really good overall. The first thing is there's a little bit of mindset that comes with all this. Instead of thinking "I want to lose weight" I would much rather you think "I want to become healthier" or "I want to do just a little better than I did yesterday". It can be really discouraging to me when I overall eat healthy for a day or maybe just a little over my calories and I see a big dent of '+2 lbs.' the next morning. But there's a lot under the surface your scale isn't telling like your water weight, the last time you went to the bathroom, how much muscle mass you've gained or lost. The scale is only judging you based on one aspect so you shouldn't do the same.

Counting your calories is good I cant agree more.

Adding cardio is very good and I recommend it but just know it's not everything. Because it comes down to a caloric deficit most people would be surprised how low the number of calories an entire hour of cardio burns. In addition, if you're like me who is training to run longer and faster, intense cardio can set your cravings even higher making it easy to eat a surplus of food afterwards. Cardio is very useful, and with no doubt you will see results to improving your cardiovascular health, but know its not the magic ingredient to losing weight. I like walking, because it's low intensity low impact. I recommend getting a decently accurate pedometer or smart watch. My daily goal is 10,000 steps each day, whether I am running or not, just so I know I have a good amount of cardio in each day.

[half spoke]

But the best cardio is the one you will actually do. If you prefer an hour of swimming over an hour of treadmill each day, than do that. My favorite forms of cardio are swimming, hiking, and playing frisbee.

Me personally, I like cutting out sugar but I don't agree with limiting your carbs. DO NOT make the same mistake I made. KETO is an awful diet. I went down to about 186 pounds, and immediately back up to 210 pounds as soon as I was off from not only water weight, but my newfound craving of carbs. Carbs are good for you, as are fats and protein so I wouldn't limit them. Sugar spikes your cravings over the roof, and is super processed. So the best carbs are fresh, minimally refined ones. I love my spinach as far as vegetables, alongside rice and potatoes. As an Asian you should listen to your mom when she says to eat your rice because it's a really good carb source that will fuel your body.

To clarify because that sounds a little racist, I am Asian and I live in a household where my Asian parents tell me to eat all my rice.

That's about it as far as your list but let me show what to do with all this information.

This website calculates your calories based on your TDEE or Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or in other words maintenance calories
https://tdeecalculator.net/
(Its okay if you don't know your fat percentage I had to get mine done by a professional)

My Number once calculated is 2990 calories or my personal TDEE

So by consuming less than this number daily (everything is an average which is why consistency is key) I will make a deficit. We don't want to make our deficit super huge because it will increase our hunger levels and make us lose more than just fat. A daily 500 calorie deficit (so your TDEE-500) equates to about 1 pound (hopefully fat) lost per week.

So I really like food right. I love being able to eat my calories and I shouldn't have to restrict my intake (at least initially). So maybe start out making that deficit with exercise, If I eat 2990 calories and burn 500 each day, then my total consumption will be 2490 calories each day, and I am expected to lose a pound of fat each week.

Now eventually you need to burn more but I don't recommend just working out more because like I said doing that can really spike your hunger levels so after a while I recommend recalculating your calories.

Now time to make the best of your calories so you feel full and really energized. The three macros you should track are carbs, fats, and proteins.

because I am 204 pounds I should eat about 204 grams of protein a day. Most people like to eat this amount balanced periodically throughout the day, but I like to save a little throughout the day and eat it at the end so I feel nice and full during the time I am most hungry. Lean protein like chicken and lean beef are really good. I drink a protein shake every now and then. But if a gram of protein is 4 calories and I eat 204 that would mean I consume about 816 calories of protein alone.

so 2990-816= 2174 calories (My TDEE - # of protein in g = calories I have left between carbs and fat)

Lets calculate fat next

Fat is important but we must make sure were not consuming too much or too little so keep it in between .3-.5 g of bodyweight

so based on this I should be eating at least 61g of fat, and no more than 102g of fat each day. Each gram of fat is 9 calories so I should be consuming at least 550.8 calories of fat, and no more than 918 calories of fat

so this is where It can get a little odd. I MAKE SURE I go out of my way to eat my protein goal each day, but it's not quite the same for fat. Fat is with most of my protein sources of chicken, beef, or even shakes in some cases. So it wouldn't make sense to go out of my way and add a separate source of fat like I do for carbs and protein.

So I have my protein, I have my fats. And now my carbs. It's really simple too. after calculating your protein and fats the remaining calories you have are carbs

So 2174-(calories of fat between .3 and .5)= calories left for carbs!

In my case it can be anywhere between 1623.2 (2174-550.8) and 1256 (2174-918) calories left for carbs

And that's it. That's the general structure. But something that Hampton once said (idk where) that really sticks with me is remember that this is a journey. You will go through ups and downs and as long as you're not reckless you will learn a little, each high and low you have.

Thank you for reading all this if you did I know it was quite a lot. If you have any questions ping me in gen I'm pretty active for now I have no degree so I'm technically not an expert but I've experienced this first hand.

Also let me know if you have any tips for me! Like I said it's a journey and I feel like there's always more to learn but I hope this helps

[lavish elbow]

Well the only thing that is cardio in my house is a stationary bike, but it’s boring. My mother is overprotective she wants me to bring a friend if I want to go for a run/bike, she’s afraid to lose one of her children which I am one of them.

Eating small meals is easy

Cutting out snacks and drinks are hard

I can’t go walking 10k steps a day without a friend

Tbh I barely have time to try to workout

But I’ll try

Only 4 hours of free time when I have school

I have to eat, wait for food to digest, and shower after workout

Damn now my brain is full

I usually eat 0.5-1 cup of rice

In order to burn the recommended daily I have to ride a stationary bike for 1 hour

But it will make my legs sorta sore

I’m kinda trying to workout again with just callisthenics

I’m testing if it’s the right amount of reps per exercise

Like push ups, when too much i usually feel sore, then I’ll decrease the reps by 5-10

Oh yeah