Anonymous asked: Hi, when you say to burn more calories than you eat, what do you mean by that? Like are you supposed to almost eat like 400 and burn 500, i know that sounds dumb but i don't know what you mean?

Just through living you’ll burn at least a set amount of calories. This amount is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR): how many calories the average person your size burns while they’re lying down (not moving) for 24 hours.

You can calculate this number here, here, and here. If the numbers end up being different, average them. Mine comes out to around 1335.

Then, on top of that amount, you’ll burn calories from walking, digesting, talking, standing, exercising, etc. These calories plus your BMR are called your AMR, active metabolic rate, which is approximately ALL the calories you’ll burn in one day. AMR is sometimes referred to as total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). There are AMR calculators on those links, too or you can calculate it here. 

So if I do an hour of moderate exercise, my total calories burned for the day is around 2,078. If I don’t exercise, my total calories burned for the day is around 1,732. Which means that I will lose weight if I eat any less than that number, hence the burn more calories than I eat. To lose 1 pound a week, I would eat 2078-500=1578 on the days I work out. And for the days I don’t work out, 1,232.

I hope this clears it up!

Anonymous asked: what workout did you do today?

You can see it here and I have some other ones logged here

Anonymous asked: When you were in the process of trying to lose weight did you not eat alot?

I’m not sure what you mean by “eat a lot,” I ate 1200-1600 cals depending on the day and if I worked out. Does that answer your question? My food is kind of logged here

Anonymous asked: how many calories are you shooting for per day now that you are trying to gain muscle?

I’m slowly going to raise the amount that I eat over the next few weeks, I don’t want to like shock my body. I’ll probably aim for 1900-2000, but get up there slowly.

Anonymous asked: Hi :) how many minutes of exercising do you recommend per day? I usually do 30 minutes or a little more than 3 miles on the elliptical, insanity or a bit of weights 5x a week, (so usually around 30 minutes every time i workout) is that okay/enough? What do you do? P.S. i'm maintaining, not loosing

How much you work out depends on your goals! That should be fine for maintaining, depending on what you eat.

I usually hit the gym for 45 mins to an hour. If I’m doing cardio, I’ll do 30-40 mins then do abs, and if I do weights I take as long as I need to finish my routine for the day. I try for 4-5 times a week, but I often don’t make it haha

Anonymous asked: What are some really good cardio exercises to do at home, even though it is warm weather, but the airconditioner helps. I usually skip or run but it's warm outside and i don't have a treadmill. or even ab workouts would be good :)

• Home workout DVDs there are links to insanity, the 30 day shred, and others on my blog.
• Cardio alternatives
• Dance workout DVDs
• Home workouts
• Ab work outs
• POP Pilates 

Anonymous asked: should i eat greek yogurt everyday? what about peanut butteR? for some reason i limit myself to eating these things every other day but i cant remember why.. any input?

If you like eating it, then sure! Greek yogurt has lots of protein and calcium, I see no reason to limit it! Try to get plain non-fat and add your own toppings, a lot of the time there’s a lot of extra added sugar.

Peanut butter is great, but it’s also high in fats. It’s good to limit the serving size (1-2tbsp), but there’s no real good reason to have it only every other day! For PB, look for natural peanut butter or ones made without corn syrup and hydrogenated oils.

Anonymous asked: I genetically build muscle very easily. I hate feeling masculine, especially in my legs and shoulders. Are there any exercises that will limit building bulky muscle but keep it lean? I get very self conscious about it, especially because I swim and have to be seen in bathers. Thanks x

Female swimmers typically have a muscular body type with a broad back and strong shoulders. This body type is advantageous for swimming. However, during the off season, many female swimmers slim down, desiring not to maintain a muscular physique all year round. It is common for female swimmers to slim down by switching from weight training to cardio in order to avoid putting on any extra muscle.

Weight Training

Salo recommends reducing the amount of weight that you use by 50 percent. For example, if you bench press 150 pounds during competition season, reduce it to 75 pounds. Avoid doing more than three sets of 10 reps, says Salo.

Reduce Protein Consumption

During competition season, you must consume enough protein to support your muscular body type. If you continue to consume the same amount of protein during the off season, it will make it difficult to slim down, according to Bill Sweetenham, author of “Championship Swim Training.” Reducing your protein intake will help you slim down by shedding some unneeded muscle. 

Do Cardio

 Cardio is effective for fat burning and will help you get rid of unwanted fat. Furthermore, cardio does not stimulate or contribute to the growth of new muscle, which is important for slimming down a muscular figure. If you have a sports trainer, talk to him about designing a cardio regimen for you to follow.

What to Avoid

The back and shoulders of a female swimmer are typically bulky. As you’re reducing the size of your physique, avoid exercises that work those areas, says Sweetenham. The goal is to trim down your shoulders and back so that you appear less bulky. You can continue to train your abdominals, legs and arms, but avoid using heavy weights. You want to avoid adding new muscle, explains Sweetenham.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/552427-how-a-female-swimmer-body-can-slim-down/#ixzz2BPiMZuYm

Anonymous asked: are you a long distance runner?

I did track (400m and 800m) and cross country in high school, and I’ll do 3-5 miles on the treadmill now. I’m not a marathon runner by any means, though!

Anonymous asked: Let me re-phrase that what are some good exercises that i can do that will help my problem its obvious that you cant just lose fat in one place in your body.

Cardio and calorie deficit through eating better/healthier/less.

If you’re stuck for cardio ideas, try:

• Running, doing intervals, or long distance.
• HIIT (high intensity interval training)
• Home workout DVDs there are links to insanity, the 30 day shred, and others on my blog.
• Cardio alternatives
• Dance workout DVDs

Anonymous asked: You know how all the fitspo blogs promote green tea, are other teas good for you as well?

Yes! All bagged tea is good for you - black is high in antioxidants. The only tea you need to look out for is the ones that are bottled like Snapple or Nestle because they’re often SO full of sugar! If you’re interested in learning more about tea, try here.

Anonymous asked: Everyone always says you should stop eating when you are full, but how do you know you are full? I usually just eat until I'm stuffed! thanks :)

Umm I don’t even….??

Here are some tips, though:

• Eat slower so your body has time to figure out that it’s full. 
• Chew each bite at least 20 times.
• Drink lots of water with your meals.
• Follow portion sizes on the backs of food packages. A serving of pasta is NOT the whole box!

Anonymous asked: Hi, I've been working out for a couple of weeks again (crawled back on the bandwagon) and perhaps fit in 45-60mins of cardio/interval 6 days a week. I've been experiencing heart palpitations and insomnia - sometimes only getting a few hours of sleep and my heart feels like it's exploding in my chest. What am I doing wrong?

Have you been drinking/eating food with caffeine in it? Check your supplements/multi-vitamin if you’re taking one.

Otherwise, go to the doctor.

Anonymous asked: How do you start running and don't stop? I tend to get tired and just stop because I tell myself, I'm tired. I just don't know how to push myself, do you have any advice?

Hmm…

• Just force yourself to do it
• Make goals (eg 3 miles, 30 mins)
• Make a conscious decision to stop being lazy
• Exercise your will power to become stronger
• Use some type of reward system

Anyone else have any ideas?

• Make a kickass music playlist and BLAST it!
• “If you can walk you can run” unless your heart is going to explode, you probably won’t die from being “tired.” Keep going!
• “I had to build up to it. I started doing 5 minutes running, 2 minutes walking. When I could consistently run, I would make it interesting with cool beats. I run faster for songs and try to challenge myself with goals. If you think you can, you can.”

Anonymous asked: please hep me im 12 years old and i am fat and i need help me tell me what to do workouts and eating write i am clueless

I highly suggest you don’t eat write, that could cause indigestion..

http://sweatsalty.tumblr.com/FAQ