Need help for my girlfriend

[madhops22]

Hey everyone,
I just wanted to ask a few questions regarding diet for my girlfriend. She just created an account with www.fitday.com and is unsure of a few things. First, what is "basal"? Does anyone know what the word means? It's on her "calories burned today" page and a percentage of her burned calories comes from "basal". Second, she wants to lose 5-10 pounds and wants to know how many calories she should be consuming in a day/how many grams of fat she should be having a day/how much protien a day. She's 5'3/125lbs. She does areobics 3 times a week for an hour a time. Can you suggest an adequate diet for her, so she can meet her goals (losing 5-10 pounds).

thanks for your help,

Madhops

 

[Gladiola]

Check out the thread "how many calories do you really need?' posted by Spatterson.

'Basal' is how much her body burns without any activity (her heart beating, breathing, etc.).

Doesn't she lift weights?????

 

[BronzedGoddess]

http://www.hussman.org/fitness/index.htm

Thats a very good site, lot of info!
BG

 

[FitFossil]

Is her goal "to lose 5-10 pounds" really because she wants to fit into a smaller size, or does she need to drop weight for a sport like being a jockey where she has to make a certain weight class?

Basal metabolism is affected by body composition. A big factor is the amount of muscle mass one carries, as muscle burns calories even at rest, whereas fat just sits there.

If she's like most women and wants to lose bodyfat and inches, then weight training is of utmost importance, because building/maintaining muscle will help keep up her metabolism. If she's only dieting and doing cardio, she's losing both fat and muscle, which will make keeping the weight off harder and harder. Print out the thread at the top of the Women's Board "Reasons why Women need Weight Training" for her.

If she's afraid of getting bulky, remind her how muscle is denser than fat, so if she trades 5 pounds of fat for 5 pounds of muscle, she'll be smaller AND she'll have a higher metabolism, which will make keeping the fat off much easier. Good luck to you both. We'd love to have her join us on the board!