I have no clue how the body burns a calorie I started doing some research. So far I have read "Carbs turn to sugar which your body stores as fat so keep your carb intake low". Than I read "Your body needs fat to burn fat so make sure you are eating enough natural fats". Than the next article says "To burn fat your calories should be comprised mostly of proteins, moderate carbs and low fat (40%-40%-20%)" I'M SO CONFUSED!! Can someone tell me from experience what they found the best ratios were to burn those last 5 or so pounds??

None of what you just posted conflicts with what you posted.

Yes, eat moderate amount of healthy fats, and some saturated fat.
Yes, lower starchy/sugary carb intake is ideal for cutting.
Yes, increased protein is good for cutting and retaining the muslce you already have.

Losing that last 5 pounds or so- Here's what I did...

Ate 6 meals per day, every 3 hours. Each meal had a protein and a good carb. I ate about 150-200 more calories per day than my maintenance levels. This helps build lean muscle.

I did a split routine pyramid lifting program. I lifted heavy.

My cardio was intervals.

1 day of rest per week.

Secret to losing last 5 pounds: focus on adding some lean muscle. Lift heavy, eat enough protein/calories to build the muscle. DO NOT GO ON A FAT LOSS PROGRAM. Go on a LEAN MUSCLE BUILDING PROGRAM.

Thanks Malkore and Trainer Lynn. I guess I am at that frustration point where I just want someone to tell me the magic numbers that would make my fat go away!

Lynn, the eating more calories than my maintance level advice scares me a bit but in reality it make sense. I just gotta get that mental block of cutting calories out of my head. I'm not sure what you mean by Interval cardio though?? Could you give me some examples?

Thanks!

sadly there aren't magic numbers. some people need to really restrict carbs to shed fat at a good pace....others don't.

some tolerate a lot of protein, others don't.

we can speak in general terms, but at the end of the day, you'll just have to track what you eat, and track your progress and then tweak as necessary, track again, note progress, and tweak if necessary.

Interval cardio means you don't just keep the same pace the entire cardio session. Using jogging as an example...you wouldn't jog a steady 5mph for 20 mins...instead you'd start at a brisk 3.5mph walk. then you'd run at 6-7mph for a few mins, then slow back down for a few mins, then run again.

HIIT is just a more intense interval cardio method, where you basically run 'balls to the wall', then cool down, repeat. its more formulaic than that.

but essentially, instead of plodding along at a pace you can maintain for the cardio session, kick it up several notches, until you can't maintain, then take an appropriate breather...and repeat.

most all gym grade cardio machiens have interval workouts build in, that increase speed, resistance and/or incline.

riding a bicycle up and down hills would be 'interval style' ...vs. flat road biking, which'd be considered 'steady state' cardio.

What Malkore said

Just to re-iterate calories are necessary. They are not evil or bad. Think of your body as a car and your stomach as a gas tank. If you are driving 100 miles then you need 100 miles worth of fuel. Right?

Restricting calories is the most basic way to lose weight. But it isn't always the answer. When you have those last few pounds to lose...my experience has almost always been to increase calories, lift heavy and focus on building lean muscle.

Increasing calories to halt a stalling point in dieting has nothing to do with building muscle.

It does however have a lot to do with upregulating leptin and the entire regulatory cascade it controls.

Actually your wrong.

3 is the magic number. "Oh yes it is. Oh yes it is."

friends don't let friends post when they get home from the pub

sorry. I should sign out.