Hello Fellow Fitness Friends!!

For a cardio guide and tips thingie straight from the peeps who make up the rules go to http://www.straightforwardfitness.com/acsm-cardio-guidelines.html! You know, the ones we are talking about when we say the proverbial "they" i.e., They say we need so and so every blah blah blah. So don't kill the messenger. If I made this stuff up, trust me it would be a whole lot easier, like a one-time thing, i.e., once fit always fit...none of this ya snooze ya lose stuff. But I guess if it was easy, we'd all look like fitness models and what fun would that be? Uh...okay I guess that would be pretty fun, but you get the gist. In a few days I will post some info from these guys about strength training. In the meantime...see ya at the gym!!

Estimating Fat Calories

Okay, here is the equation to use for figuring fat calories or, for that matter, carbs or protein too. Just decide the percentage ratio you want and go with the equation as indicated below. I feel good about 50-55% carbohydrates, 30-35% protein, and the rest fat. But it is a personal choice on how much you want. Something close to that is healthy. Just remember, carbs are your biggest source of energy; they are not all bad. The carbs that are unhealthy are the ones that come from processed foods and simple sugars. Try to eat more whole wheat grain foods, legumes, and live food such as fresh fruits and vegetables.

TO ESTIMATE FAT CALORIE INTAKE:
First, estimate your total calorie needs. It is best to calculate a range of intakes instead of a single number.

1. Multiply your weight by the appropriate factor to estimate baseline calorie needs.

Men: 11 _______lb x 11 = _______. Example: 135-lb moderately active female.

Women: 10 _______lb x 10 = _______. 135 lb x 10 = 1,350 Baseline Calories.

2. Multiply your weight by the appropriate activity factor to estimate calories needed for activity.

Men: Sedentary 3.2 / Light 6 / Moderate 7.2 / Heavy 10.5
Women: Sedentary 3.0 / Light 5 / Moderate 6 / Heavy 9

_______ lb x _______(factor) = _______. 135 lb x 6 = 810 Activity Calories.

3. Add together the calories from 1 and 2 to estimate total calorie needs per day.

_______ + _______ = _______. 1,350 + 810 = 2160 Total Calories.

4. Multiply the total calories by .10, .20, or .30 for 10%, 20%, or 30% fat calories.

_______ x .10 = _______. 2160 x .10 = 216 Fat Calories (10%)

_______ x .20 = _______. 2160 x .20 = 432 Fat Calories (20%)

_______ x .30 = _______. 2160 x .30 = 648 Fat Calories (30%)

5. Divide the calories from fat by 9 to get the number of fat grams to eat per day.

10% = _______/9 = _______. 216/9 = 24 Fat Grams for 10%.
20% = _______/9 = _______. 432/9 = 48 Fat Grams for 20%.
30% = _______/9 = _______. 648/9 = 72 Fat Grams for 30%.

You can do the same to figure carbs and proteins by using the percentage of carbs or protein you want to intake in step four and dividing by 4 instead of 9 in step five.