Math has an answer for everything. It took us to the moon, can tell us the probability of being able to get a date, and without it I couldn't post this article. Most math is well beyond my comprehension: algorithms and computations can be left to the mathematicians, it's not for me. It can, in a more simple form however, help you with your weight loss. I will teach you how to crunch the numbers to be able to reach your goals.
For a healthy weight loss you want to aim for about one pound a week - two tops. Since one pound is the equivalent of 3500 calories, you will need to be in a 500 calorie deficit a day to reach your goal of one pound at the end of the week. You can do that by either increasing your calorie expenditure or by decreasing the calories consumed. It is most beneficial if you do both.
Okay, now stick with me, cause here we go. It's going to sound confusing at first, but once you wrap your brain around it, it's really simple. Here are the steps you will need to optimize, and take control, of your weight loss.
- The first thing you will need to do is figure out how many calories your body needs to function each day: how much energy it takes to keep your heart pumping, your digestive system functioning and your blood pumping. This is called your Base Metabolic Rate (BMR). There is a complicated equation for this number, but fortunately there are a lot of BMR calculators online that will do this for you - just more of those amazing mathematicians making our lives easier! These calculators will give you a ballpark figure, but they will not calculate in your body mass, so it is just a ballpark (because they more muscle you have the more calories you will be burning in a resting state). The other thing to keep in mind is the smaller we are the less calories we need, so as you lose weight this number will go down. My BMR is around 1245 calories. Go HERE for a free online calculator.
- Now you have your base. With that number, if I did nothing but sit on my backside all day long, that is how many calories I would need - but, no one just sits and does nothing all day (I hope anyway ;o). So, the next thing you need to do is keep track of all your food consumption and energy expenditure for the day. There are a lot of free apps that can help you with this, my favorite is CALORIE COUNTER - but I spent many a year keeping track of this on paper. So, a typical equation for me would look like this at the end of the day:
- Take your BMR and add to it any activity for the day - exercise, work (including house and yard as well), afternoon walks, shopping - whatever you are doing throughout the day. This is how many calories you have burned.
- Keep track of what you are eating throughout the day and how many calories. Everyone, including myself, tends to underestimate how many calories are in the food we eat. If you keep track of everything that goes in your mouth, then there isn't any mistaking how many calories you consume. Take your total number of calories and subtract that from the calories you have burned.
- You should have burned more calories at the end of the day than you consumed. Once you have reached a deficit of 3500 calories you should lose a pound.
Several things to keep in mind as you are doing this. You should never have your calorie consumption below around 1300 calories and don't have your deficit more than 1,000 max. I really like to stay around a 500 calorie deficit a day. This will give you about a pound of weight loss per week, is safer and healthier for you, and just plain more comfortable. You don't want to starve yourself because that will just lead to discouragement and binging in the end.
The great thing about keeping track as well, is at the end of the day you will know exactly where you stand. If you need to drag your can out the door for an evening walk, because your deficit isn't where you want it to be, you will know it.
Math is your friend when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals and will keep you on track. So, get out the paper and pencil, it's time to make things happen.
