Have you ever gone through a period where you’re eating clean, you’re exercising consistently and you still can’t seem to lose the last few pounds of fat?

I’m sure this may be something you’ve experienced.

Well one of my members asked me and Jayson Hunter, author of The Carb Rotation Diet, to examine her diet and exercise program.

So we did and we talked about some changes she should make both in her diet and workouts that should give a real shock to her metabolism.

Here was her original question…

What do you do when you need to lose fat, but your RMR is under 1,000 calories? I am a petite, 40-year old female and when I plugged in the scientific formula, I got 958 calories per day. To lose a a pound a week, I multiply by 1. There is no way I can work out and get by on that few calories without feeling very weak…so what do I do? I maintain on about 1,500 - 1,600 and currently am at 25% body fat. I don’t seem to lose when I drop to 1,200, unless I can work out twice a day, which isn’t realistic. Help! Is there any way to get fat loss going without resorting to starvation, or 4 hours of exercise?

I asked her for more details on her diet and exercises (and her goals) and she came back with this info…

Goal: lose body fat, maybe 5%. (I’m 116lbs but squishy). I think I may have slowed my metabolism through years of undereating. Workouts: M-W one hour weight training class (total body, mix of barbells/free weights, mix of regular-paced sets and super-slow protocol) followed by 20 min. moderate cardio. Fri moderate cardio (heart rate 140ish), 50-60 minutes. Sat 35 min. light cardio before breakfast, 20 minutes HIIT late afternoon. Sun yoga one hour, 30 - 40 minutes moderate cardio. If time, moderate cardio Thurs one additional hour.

Diet is pretty clean M-F, tons of vegetables, lean proteins, egg substitutes, whole-grain, high-fiber products, fat-free dairy and very little sugar. Saturday and Sun I do have a meal out or a treat, a cookie or ice cream or something like that, but stay under 2,000 cals. Do I have to eliminate all treats completely to lose fat, even just one day a week? Would cutting my carbs help?

Upon further questioning, we found out that she is 5 feet 3 1/2 inches.

Listen in on the audio as Jayson and I give some great suggestions on how to overcome this and get that metabolism spike which will help her shed the last few pounds of fat.

If you have a question on your specific needs, just write them in the comments section and Jayson and I will help you.

Have an amazing day.

Scott

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One of the questions I get a lot is how to calculate how many calories you should be eating for fat loss, and to get a flat stomach and six-pack abs.

There are a lot of formulas out on the internet, so how do you know which one is right?

Jayson Hunter, author of The Carb Rotation Diet, and I discussed this on our latest Q&A call which you can listen to below.

The information below is a summary of what we talked about on the call.

There are scientific and non scientific ways to calculate calories.

Scientific Method:

Men: BMR= 293 – 3.8(age) + (456.4 x height in meters) + (10.12 x weight in kg)

Women: BMR= 247 – (2.67 x age) + (401.5 x height in meters) + (8.6 x weight in kg)

1in = 0.0254 meters

1kg= 2.2lbs

How to use the RMR in Weight Loss/Maintenance Programs

RMR x 0.85 = 1-1.5 pounds weight loss per week (for obese individuals)

RMR x 1.0 = 0.5-0.75 pounds weight loss per week.

RMR x 1.3 = 0-0.5 pounds weight loss per week

RMR x 1.4-1.6 = weight maintenance for most people (low activity)

RMR x 1.6-1.9 = weight maintenance for moderately active people

RMR x 1.9-2.5 = weight maintenance for very active people (athletes)

Source: Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, Amino Acids (Macronutrients). Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press, 2002.

Non-Scientific Method

Estimating Calorie Needs for Men

Example: 200 pound (91 kg) Man

Multiply your current body weight in pounds times 11.

* In this example, you would multiply 200 number by 11: 200 * 11 = 2200 calories each day as a daily goal for fat loss

Now, I understand this is not exactly a scientific equation. It does correlate fairly well with many of the more comprehensive formulas available, though.

For most, the number you come up with will be a moderate Calorie reduction for you, but that’s what the goal is.

Estimating Calorie Needs Females

Example: 150 pound (68 kg) Female

Multiply current body weight in pounds by 11

• In this example, you would multiply 150 * 11:

150 * 11 = 1650 calories each day as a daily goal for fat loss

Calorie Recommendations for Obese Individuals

The above calculations are not appropriate for obese individuals, as the equations would significantly over-estimate calorie needs.

With most behavioral weight loss studies, we use 1200-1 800 calories/day—a pretty drastic reduction, but when folks are morbidly obese, they need to get that weight off so they can even function! For those men and women that are over 300 pounds, use the 1800 calories/day.

Now when I got my six-pack abs, I didn’t even count calories.

There is a way to get a flat stomach without having to count calories or log in your foods and Jayson and I discussed this as well.

Let me know what you think and what has worked for you.

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Almost every Saturday I lead a group exercise class in the community.

It doesn’t cost anything to participate and I make sure we get in a great workout.

We always try and do some anaerobic conditioning so that our metabolism is elevated for the rest of the day, meaning we are burning fat for hours and hours after the workout has ended.

We also include exercises where our abs really have to work hard for the entire workout, which is way more effective than doing crunches, sit-ups, etc.

Here is the circuit we did a couple days ago.

Stairs - 8 times up and down
Bear Crawl x 25 yards
Walking Lunges x 30 yards
Push Ups x 20
Rest til you catch your breath.

Do this 4 times as fast as you can.

These types of workouts really work.

There is no excuses not to do it.

You don’t need a gym, you don’t need any equipment.

If it’s hot out, who cares? Do the workout early in the morning and enjoy the rest of your day.

Check out the video clip of the workout. If you try it, I would love to know what you think.

It’s these types of workouts that allowed me to change my body in 12 weeks, and helped me obtain a nice flat stomach, like you see below.

These workouts and a Carb Rotation Diet really can get you a six-pack in a matter of weeks.

It’s not too late to start. We’re only a couple of weeks into May.

You still have time to look sleek and sexy this summer. : )

Have an amazing day.

Scott