Lose weight/tone up

Question
I'm a 4'10''college student who weighs around 135 pounds. I've gained the weight due to college stress and poor eating habits. My semester is winding down and I'm taking summer off. I'll be working some and I will have access to a gym. Do you have any diet and exercise suggestions so that I might slim down and tone up quickly, possibly by early July? I really would like to be down to 108 pounds like I was in high school and it seems to be really hard for me to get motivated because I feel let down easily since I'm so small.

Answer
Hello Lauren,
The stress of college can wreak havoc on even the fittest body.  And I am not telling you anything you don't already know - but the shorter you are the faster the pounds show.  However, I also know that when someone of your height does lose weight, they tend to look fabulous, and are the envy of all their friends.  So lets see if this summer you can't get back that 108 pound physique!  Now it won't be easy - but you can do it with some determination and dedication.

Lets talk about diet first, as it is the most important component to weight loss.  You need to create a calorie deficit in order to have weight loss.  This means the number of calories you consume through food and drinks has to be less than the number you burn through daily life activities and exercise.  For a woman of your height and weight that would mean eating about 1,200 calories per day.  If you are not familiar with calories in foods, start looking at labels.  You can also use a calorie counting website such as Calorie King.com.  I know that counting calories is a drag and a bore, but it is necessary if you want to not only lose weight but also learn how to avoid gaining the weight back.  Once you learn that an apple has about 90 calories, you will know it for the rest of your life!  Think of it as nutritional education.  I recommend that you consume 5 to 6 "meals" per day, about every 3 hours while awake, consisting of 200 to 240 calories.  These "mini meals" will help keep you satiated so that hunger will not get the best of you.  They will also keep you from eating too much at one meal and storing excess calories as body fat.

Your food choices should be lean meats (chicken, fish, turkey, etc.), vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.  As you will be working some of your meals may be nutrition bars or shakes.  One bar I would recommend is called Luna, and you can buy them at the grocery store, or nutrition stores.  I do not want to bore you with specific foods in case you already have a good handle on them, but please feel free to respond with more questions and I can send you food lists and more detailed information.  Just let me know.  Now, on to the exercise.

You mentioned having access to a gym.  This is great.  You will have your choice of different exercise machines.  Ideally you would go to the gym 5 or 6 days per week (the more you go the quicker you will lose weight).  I think you are pretty serious about this, so I am going to assume you will be going 6 days per week.  Four of those days do 30 to 60 minutes of cardiovascular activity.  This can be the treadmill, elliptical, stepper, or an aerobics class.  Make the workout intense.  Give it 100%.  The other two days utilize the weights and weight machines.  On your "weight" days alternate between upper and lower body exercises.  Spend about 45 minutes moving steadily from exercise to exercise.  Perform between 15 and 20 repetitions for each exercise.  The weight workout should be intense as well.  Keep the rest between exercises short, 15 to 20 seconds.

I am going to give you one other piece of advice, and this is quite possibly the most important.  Perform your exercise on an empty stomach.  What I mean by this is do not eat before you exercise.  By not having food in your system, your body will utilize body fat for energy.  Drink plenty of water, but don't eat.  This will greatly increase your body fat utilization.  Wait about 30 minutes after exercise and then consume a meal.  The 30 minutes after exercise, the body will continue to burn fat!  it is like free fat loss.  

I commend you for your commitment to make this change.  Think about how great it will feel to go back to school next fall with the body you want.  As a psychologist I have seen the remarkable changes in self-esteem and self-confidence a fit and healthy body can bring.  This is a time limited task for you, so really give it your all.  Set your mind to make it happen and then do it!  

Motivation will come from results.  Don't let your small size get you down.  Keep thinking about how great you will look when you reach your goal!  You can do this!

Let me stop here, and see if you have any questions about what I have written so far.  Please let me know if I can clarify anything.  I would be happy to go into more detail or answer any specifics you may have.

All the best - Dr. Bret  

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