Diet & Fitness

Have a question about your routine or anything fitness-related? Send it Raphael's way at askraphael@ediets.com.


Hi Raphael,

My goal is to get to around 180. Right now, I’m at 193 after being at 212 in February. My height is 5'11". I’ve been doing 30 minutes a day on an elliptical machine. I’ve been doing my best to eat better, which usually includes oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and a reasonable dinner.

The only thing is I find myself starving by dinner and probably eat more than I should, even if I snack on veggies in between. I’m guessing that the hunger is caused from working out, so how do I control it and what should my calorie intake be per day to help me reach my goal? Also one of the main areas I’d like to lose fat is under the chin. Is there an exercise for that?

Thanks,
Steve


Steve,

All kinds of red flags jumped out at me when I read your email. You mention you use the elliptical trainer 30 minutes a day and that’s good, but you didn’t mention anything about strength training. If you omitted it from your email, that’s fine but I have to go on the assumption that you aren’t working out with weights.

One of the biggest myths in the fitness industry is that all a person needs is cardiovascular exercise to lose body fat and get in better shape. Cardio is required to burn calories, but strength training is very much necessary to build muscle, get a leaner-looking physique and burn even more calories. Even a slight bit of added muscle stimulates the metabolism. Plus, by not strength training, a person may actually lose muscle and get thin but look soft. The goal should be a leaner and tighter physique

Onto the next issue: food. The reason you’re starving by dinner time is because you aren’t eating enough. Oatmeal for breakfast, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch and a reasonable dinner aren’t enough calories for someone your height and weight. And it’s setting you up for a binge. The other problem is that you’re only eating three times a day. Losing fat requires control of blood sugar levels, and one of the best ways to accomplish this is to consume 5-6 meals and snacks per day. A typical day might look like this

6 a.m. - Breakfast
9 a.m. - Snack
12 p.m. - Lunch
3 p.m. - Snack
6 p.m. - Dinner
8:30 p.m. - Snack (contrary to popular belief, there is nothing negative about eating after 7 p.m., assuming it’s not a large meal)

The above suggestions look like a lot, but snacks can easily be a protein shake with some fruit, cottage cheese with some nuts, protein bar (not ideal but good in a pinch), and so on. The key is to combine some protein with each of your meals and snacks. The added protein will help preserve lean body mass and curb hunger pangs.

A lot of people think that simply reducing calories will get them to their goal. In reality, it’s more than just that. The key is to reduce calories to the correct amount and to eat 5-6 times per day with each meal/snack spread every three hours or so.

Recommending a specific calorie amount requires an assessment. eDiets would take into consideration your exact activity level, height, weight, lifestyle and several other factors. So it’s difficult for me to recommend a caloric amount.

At this point your best bet would be to include some snacks into your program that do not exceed 200-300 calories per snack. However, for an accurate calorie assessment, you would need to fill out a diet profile on eDiets. This will allow our registered dietitians to analyze your specific requirements.

Onto your last question: Which exercise will reduce fat under the chin? Again we find another common myth that many people believe -- that spot reduction is possible. When a person loses fat, they’ll lose fat all over the body and the first place one gains fat is normally the last place it’s lost.

In your case, you may find that as you reduce body fat that your chin area also reduces. However, in some cases, this might be a genetic issue where one tends to have a bit of excess skin under the chin and it is not related to body fat. The only way to find out is to get to your weight-loss goal. So don’t focus on the chin issue but focus on total body fat reduction.

To summarize my recommendations:

1. Begin adding snacks into your program that do not exceed 300 calories.
2. Make sure the snacks contain a protein source.
3. Begin strength training with weights on three non-consecutive days of the week. eDiets has a fitness program should you wish to join. I also have a support board called Exercise and Fitness where you can ask me questions and I will assist you in any way possible.
4. Focus on total body fat reduction and do not attempt spot reduction.

It doesn’t sound like it would be difficult to get you to 180, but again it would require more analysis by our registered dietitians.

Best of luck, Steve, and I hope to see you on eDiets!

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