Eating, working out and losing weight... I so confused!

[Blackberry]

I've started working out with a personal trainer in order to lose weight (4-5 kg) and get my body into shape and thinner figure.

She said I need to eat 1000 cals a day and exercise everyday (fast walking 10 minutes and 100 sit-ups in sets). That burns barely 150 cals. It means 800 cals stay in my body as fat. Am I right? Can someone explain to me the logic of this?

(I would ask my trainer but she's on a honeymoon for a week).

[A*O]

Sorry but your "trainer" is an idiot. What are her qualifications? If you only need to lose 5kg then eat a sensible diet with lots of fresh fruit and veggies and minimum fat and sugar and go for a brisk 30min walk every day and you should lose 1kg per week easy. The sit ups might tone up your stomach but they won't help you lose weight.

Personally, I think counting calories isn't the way to go. Focus on a healthy low carb, low fat, high fibre diet with sensible portions and no "treats" and no processed foods and you'll lose weight.

[tee-ha-ha]

Originally Posted by Blackberry

I've started working out with a personal trainer in order to lose weight (4-5 kg) and get my body into shape and thinner figure.

She said I need to eat 1000 cals a day and exercise everyday (fast walking 10 minutes and 100 sit-ups in sets). That burns barely 150 cals. It means 800 cals stay in my body as fat. Am I right? Can someone explain to me the logic of this?

(I would ask my trainer but she's on a honeymoon for a week).

If you're eating only 1000 calories a day you will probably lose weight even if you don't exercise. Even that chick on biggest loser ate more calories than that per day (probably around 1200).

If you exercise and burn 200 calories, it isn't as if the other 800 hang around to become fat. You burn 80 calories taking a 20 minute shower. You burn 40 calories sitting on the toilet for 20 minutes. You burn 80 while eating lunch. Etc. If you were 5'6" weighing 150 lbs and worked out for 30 minutes a day you would have to eat over 2,000 calories a day just to maintain your weight. That's what your body uses up just doing stuff.

[burnt_toast]

tee-ha-ha is absolutely right. I burn roughly 1300 calories a day just being alive ... when I'm working out and eating right my metabolism goes up and I burn even more. Muscle also burns more calories, so if you develop more muscle your daily calorie burn will go up as well.

I think 1000 calories a day if you are also working out vigorously is too little, but that's just me. When I lost alot of weight, I worked out 30 mins a day (primarily cardio) and ate between 1200 - 1500 calories. I lost roughly 90 lbs in just over a year. Slow and steady loss, no misery and very healthy at the end.

I wouldn't get too ate up over the scale either. If you are building muscle you aren't going to lose 'weight'. Take some measurements of your waist and hips, those will change as you tone your muscles and drop some fat. It's a better indicator of actual progress than the number on the scale.

[Rondette]

umm...yeah, your body needs energy to function, that energy comes from the food you eat! 1000 calories seems a very low amount to me, but those remaining 800 calories will be needed by your body to do all the stuff we don't think about or notice (like digesting food, organ functions, thinking, blinking breathing etc etc)
If your personal trainer told you that the excess calories will turn to fat I would recommend looking for another trainer. She sounds a bit ill-informed!

[McJag]

I agree-get a new trainer. This one is wacky.

[tee-ha-ha]

Originally Posted by McJag

I agree-get a new trainer. This one is wacky.

I agree...a 1000 calories per day diet is extremely harsh. Even if you weighed 400 lbs I'd be surprised if a dietician would put you on such a low-calorie diet. You'd have to be so careful about nutrition.

I think the OP should ditch her personal trainer and find one who knows what he/she is talking about. Maybe she should talk to people in her local area to get recommendations. I wouldn't listen to anything a PT says about diet; see a dietician for that.

To me a PT's area of expertise is proper technique and how to achieve a good fitness level, and knowing what your limitations are so you don't hurt yourself on your way to achieving your fitness goals. A PT is an excellent person to show you the proper way to use a balance ball, the proper way to lift weights, the proper way to squat, etc. I think that's really all their education involves; I don't think you need a degree to be a PT. I think in this state to be an individual PT you have to be certified but I doubt the certification program confers expertise in nutrition.

A dietician is a good candidate to work with you on caloric intake and nutrition. Dieticians in the US have to have at least a four-year degree or postgrad diploma in dietetics and they are registered and licensed. On the other hand in the US almost anyone can call themselves a nutritionist; the title isn't "legally protected" so you can't be sure of a person's qualifications/education. I know this because the mom of a childhood friend is a registered dietician and it burns her up when people confuse the two. She has a Ph.D. and goes by the title "Dr" but she's not a medical doctor.

[Just Kill Me]

That amount of calories is so low it could work against you causing your body to go into starvation mode.

[tee-ha-ha]

Originally Posted by Just Kill Me

That amount of calories is so low it could work against you causing your body to go into starvation mode.

Yep...and if you don't get enough protein in your diet your body will turn to your own muscle tissue to get it. You'd rather have muscle than fat even though muscle is denser than fat (and hence "weighs more").

Usually Americans have no problems with protein deficiencies because we eat so much meat but on 1000 calories a day it would be tempting to consume too little protein. Americans usually turn to meat for protein and if you don't get enough your body eats its own muscle. Lean muscle mass raises your basal metabolism so you DO need it.

The OP needs to get rid of that damn trainer, seriously; she's going to hurt herself on that stupid diet.

[A*O]

Anyone can go to part-time classes at a community college for 6 weeks and emerge a "qualified" personal trainer. Most of them are either clueless or downright dangerous IMO. I had a fantastic PT (sadly she's moved to another city) who spent 3 years at Uni doing a proper degree in physical education, physiology, sport nutrition, etc. She understood how the body works internally and externally and her exercise training programs were tailored to each individual client. And they worked. She is also very worried about the number of people out there who claim to be "personal trainers" when they are nothing of the sort.

[celeb_2006]

I think some 'chains' don't even require their personal fitness "trainers" to have any certification or specialized education/training. They just make them "trainers" on the spot.

I think a good thing for any personal trainer to have is a certification from those agencies like ACE and the like.

[suede]

This trainer is a threat to your health.

Get a new one.


What qualifications does she have?

[A*O]

Originally Posted by celeb_2006

I think some 'chains' don't even require their personal fitness "trainers" to have any certification or specialized education/training. They just make them "trainers" on the spot.

I think a good thing for any personal trainer to have is a certification from those agencies like ACE and the like.

Agree. I've seen PTs at my gym allowing their clients to use the machines so incorrectly it's dangerous. I saw one guy put his back out because his technique was all wrong and the PT didn't seem to notice.

[Melyanna]

I agree your trainer is indeed a bad one.
You have to consider first your Basal Metabolic Rate, which changes according to your age, height and weight, and is what your body burns just by performing basic activities (breathing, sleeping, being awake, etc.). Then you should add the calories you burn with your job and daily activities.
It is highly unlikely that 800 calories a day (1000 minus what you would burn with the suggested workout) would be enough to substain your body. You would lose weight very fast, and get these two results: 1) Losing muscles, weighting less but looking the same, only a bit more flubbery. 2) Going, as someone said, into "starvation mode", with big damages to your metabolic sytem (and with a considerable weight gain as soon as you start eating again).

[witchcurlgirl]

here's a good calorie intake guide:

ACS :: Calorie Counter


The trainer is an idiot.......lose the trainer before they hurt your health