By Priya,
Balanced Diet for a 47 Year Old
I am a 47 year-old female, weighing 150 lbs. and I exercise at least 5 times a week.
I cross train between the elliptical machine (40 minutes), the recumbent bike (40 minutes) and power-walking 3.5 miles on the weekend in 52-54 minutes. I have been following a 1,300+/- calorie diet from the American Heart Association, I drink a lot of water, take a multi-vitamin, and yet I am only losing about 1 to 1.5 monthly.
Can you give me an idea of what I can possibly be doing wrong, or need to do, or change? Thanks!
Answer:
I think you’re doing pretty well! Take a closer look at the numbers:
It takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose 1 pound of body fat. If you’re losing 1.5 pounds per month, that means you’re creating a 5250 calorie deficit per month (or ~ 175 calorie deficit per day) as a result of your current exercise regimen and 1300 calorie diet. That’s actually pretty reasonable!
If you wanted to lose 5 pounds per month, you’d have to create a 17,500 calorie deficit per month, or ~600 calorie deficit per day. That’s more than 3x the calorie deficit you’re achieving now.
I’d suggest you take a closer look at your 1300 “+/-” calorie diet and see where you can eliminate some of the “+”
It’s not uncommon for the extra “+” to add up over time and slow down the rate of weight loss.
It sounds like you’re exercising ~ 3.5 hrs per week (40 minutes x 4 days and a little longer on the weekend). For a rough estimate, figure that you burn 6-8 calories per minute.
(You can also wear a heart rate monitor to get a more accurate figure.)
That means you’re expending 1260-1680 calories per week in exercise (avg. 180-240 calories per day…I’d call it ~ 200 calories per day). That’s pretty good! However, there is room to improve that number…but that means putting even more time into exercising.
Overall, I think you’re doing just fine! If you keep up your pace, you’ll lose almost 20 pounds in a year. That’s fabulous!! However, if you want to lose faster, I think you’ll have to be willing to pay a bigger “price”…watching your calories more closely and/or putting in more minutes in the gym!