Okay i am new to this whole thing but here goes a few questions. I am 18 years old and have been active in Field Hockey and Track and Field...now that summer is here I have kept up with my running every morning at about 6:15, then walking the dog with my mom then rollarblading/riding bike to work. Each of these activities is about 2-2.5 miles. Of course I eat breakfast in between the run and walk. How many calories should I be consuming each day to possible loss a few pounds. I feel like last year when I did this routine I was thinner. My weight can range from 117-120 and I am 5' 4". Also some nights I only get home from work after 8:30 and then eat dinner. Is that bad? Hopefully someone can answer my questions!

Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.


2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.


3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.


4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.


5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over here.


All of the above things combined will result in fat loss. Here is a calculator to determine your daily caloric needs to MAINTAIN your current weight.

1) Eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day. Each meal should be 2-3 hours apart. Each meal should contain one protein and one carb. The first meal should be eaten within an hour after waking.

What are you saying here? This is so unclear!
2) Drink a cup of water at each meal.

F- That. You should be drinking water throughout the day. If possible, ice water.

3) Rest properly. This means taking at least 48 hours between strength training the same muscles, and it also means getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Lastly, it means taking 1-2 days off from exercising per week.
This makes some sense. But there is no need to take 1-2 days off from excersisng per day. You should still stay active. Go to the beach, take a bike ride, go for a hike. 1 day away from the gym is good, but there is no need to sit on the couch all day.

4) Cardio. This should be done at different intensity levels and different session lengths. Consider doing a low intensity/long session, a high intensity/short session and a few medium intensity/medium length sessions.
Not a good idea. You should be doing High Intensity Interval Training. This can be done running, on a bike, or in a pool. Basically HIIT is the idea of doign 6-8 intervals. Here is an example, 3 minute warm-up, 30 second sprit (at 90-95% of your work capacity, then 1 minute recovery at a moderate pace, say 30-40% of your workout capacity. Long distance low intensity cardio is an extreem waste of time and is ineffective!!

5) Strength Training. Strength train each muscle 1-3 times per week. You should lift a proper weight and perform the proper amount of sets/reps for your strength training method. If you need more guidance or exercise ideas you can head over here.
ok, why does she need specific strength training for women? TO plug a site? Instread check out some of alwyn cosgrove's workouts at t-nation.com. Women DO NOT NEED FEMALE-SPECIFIC PROGRAMS. You will not become bulky.

And lastly use fitday.com to keep track of calorie intake.

A great program for women:
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1140463

Larrabee,

I thought you said women do not need a special programme....hmmm..

They don't, women should be strength training like men, In a few months my friends Lou Schuler and Cassandra Forsythe are coming out with a book called. "Lift Like A Man" and they debunk this issue. Also the workouts are being created by Alwyn Cosgrove.

The workout I provided was a suggestion because people are making their onw workouts on this forum that make no sense.

Waterbury's Summer Project might be considered a program for men. But it doesn't matter.

Hi, Larrabee.

First things first... thank you for reading my 5 tips to fat loss and providing your views and opinions. I am not plugging my site. The exercises and information are free. I spend an hour a day on this board helping people. No money is earned.

And quite honestly if fitness.com has a problem with the amount of time I spend here offering free advice... they can contact me directly. In fact, they have. And guess what... they never said a word about my link to my site. They offered nothing but praise.

Drinking water throughout the day is recommended. I disagree with the ice water comment. However, most people reading this forum, and in particular this thread, are new to fat loss. So I provide the 5 tips to help them get started.

I never said you need a day of sitting on the couch.

You mis-labeled HIIT. HIIT is NOT for everyone, and in fact should be used no more than a few times per week only by those that can handle it. HIIT is 30 second intervals of a 1:1 or 2 ratio of hard/easy intervals. Anything not in a 1:1 or 2 ratio is NOT HIIT... it may be HIT which is a whole other beast.

Dismissing low intensity cardio is wrong. Many many many people need low intensity cardio for many many many reasons.

If you know anything about me, then you would know that I always say women need to workout with weights and not be afraid of bulking up. I also say that women can use the same routines as men. My site that offers fitness.com forum readers exercises... is geared towards women because that's who I train in the real world.

Women, athletes, models, and more. Men have enough bodybuilding/weight lifting sites. I wanted to a site for the average woman.

I am trying not to take offense to your post, but I find it awfully presumptuous of you to start posting here and blast 5 general health and fitness tips for newbies... you have no idea how many times I have received private "Thank You" messages... let alone those ones posted here on the forums.

No hard feelings, Larrabee. Just take some time to get to know the forum before you go blasting one of the main contributors.

I am not trying to start any arguments, just clear things up.

Hi, Larrabee.

First things first... thank you for reading my 5 tips to fat loss and providing your views and opinions. I am not plugging my site. The exercises and information are free. I spend an hour a day on this board helping people. No money is earned.
Its great you are helping, it just depends if the advice is worth the time to post. I just had some issues with your comments.
And quite honestly if fitness.com has a problem with the amount of time I spend here offering free advice... they can contact me directly. In fact, they have. And guess what... they never said a word about my link to my site. They offered nothing but praise.

Drinking water throughout the day is recommended. I disagree with the ice water comment. However, most people reading this forum, and in particular this thread, are new to fat loss. So I provide the 5 tips to help them get started.
If you are trying to lose weight it helps to drink ice water because your body will in turn burn more caloires to heat that water up. Not many calories, but every bit helps.
I never said you need a day of sitting on the couch.

You mis-labeled HIIT. HIIT is NOT for everyone, and in fact should be used no more than a few times per week only by those that can handle it. HIIT is 30 second intervals of a 1:1 or 2 ratio of hard/easy intervals. Anything not in a 1:1 or 2 ratio is NOT HIIT... it may be HIT which is a whole other beast.
The poster is not very overweight and there is no reason everyone but people with heart conditions can not do HIIT. Even new comers can jump on a stationary bike and do HIIT and it is perfectly safe.
Dismissing low intensity cardio is wrong. Many many many people need low intensity cardio for many many many reasons.
Which are? Only if you are 60 or more lbs overweight. You get heart health benifits from HIIT too! Not to mention the benifits of weight lifting
If you know anything about me, then you would know that I always say women need to workout with weights and not be afraid of bulking up. I also say that women can use the same routines as men. My site that offers fitness.com forum readers exercises... is geared towards women because that's who I train in the real world.
agreed
Women, athletes, models, and more. Men have enough bodybuilding/weight lifting sites. I wanted to a site for the average woman.
agreed as well
I am trying not to take offense to your post, but I find it awfully presumptuous of you to start posting here and blast 5 general health and fitness tips for newbies... you have no idea how many times I have received private "Thank You" messages... let alone those ones posted here on the forums.
Well, if I feel the info is not very clear then I feel I must post to correct or more so clarify the information. I am sorry if it sounded like attacking you. I am just very passionate about fitness.
No hard feelings, Larrabee. Just take some time to get to know the forum before you go blasting one of the main contributors.
I think I did an ok job in one day with over 100 posts. At least you must admit this place needs cleaning up. There is some bad advice being spread around, and I do not mean yours.

Take care,
kevin

Ultimately, what it boils down to is that everyones body is different. Yes, there are general proven studies/guidlines to help people get started, but what works for one, may not work for another. For me, fasted, low intensity cardio works best but again, everyone is different.

It's all about trial and error in this game.