In order to lose weight through your diet, it really comes down to a simple math equation. Are the calories that you are consuming equal less than the calories that your body needs? If the answer is yes, than you will lose weight. If the answer is no, than you will either keep your weight the same or you will gain weight. It is truly that simple.
However, the trick comes to determining "how much do I need?" The answer to this question becomes a little challenging to determine precisely. Some questions need to be answered before we know the answer to this equation, for example: how many days of active exercise am I doing? How old am I? How much do I currently weigh? How tall am I?
There have been many metabolic equations established to help determine the answer to this question. It seems a bit math intensive, but the real bottom line is that as long as you keep your calories below what is recommended for you to consume that day, you will lose weight!
If anyone is interested in determining what your estimated metabolic needs are, please answer the above questions and let me know.
An example: A woman who is 45 years old, who weighs 160lbs and is 5'5" tall and is active with cardiovascular and resistance training exercise 3 days each week will need to consume 1500 calories or less to lose weight (approximately 1lb/week).
Of course if she consumes significantly less than that (1000 calories for example), she will begin to burn off too much muscle and go into "starvation mode" where the body reduces its metabolism to help keep the body alive.
The last and most important piece to this is knowing that you are on track. It's not that helpful to know what your target is and never really aim at it. In order for you to know if you are on track to lose weight, you have to keep track of your diet. People who keep track through some type of a food journal (can be an online tracker) are significantly more successful at losing weight. In fact, this is usually the number one way that I can tell if a client will be successful or not, is by the way that he or she keeps track. Once you are keeping track, it's just a matter or steering your direction. If you don't keep track, you are truly shooting in the dark!
I would recommend using some of the free online resources available to you for helping you keep track of your intake and know if your calorie targets are where they should be. Some of the best websites are: www.myfitnesspal.com and http://mypyramid.gov/. These websites will calculate all of your calories, macronutrients and even micronutrients from the food and beverages that you enter. It's a great resource and it allows you to not have to know everything that you put into your mouth.
Doing this consistently will dramatically increase your chances for success in weight loss. Stay consistent and focused on your goals and you will achieve them!
"No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
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Hi Jon,
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying your blog and am looking forward to using the online tracker. I just wanted to say that the First Place 4 Health group meets to do a one mile walk video (we are hoping to get the majority up to doing the 2 mile section within another week or so) on Wednesdays at 6pm and Saturdays at 9am at the church. Anyone can join us for the video if they would like. We encourage everyone to do some exercise at home on the other days ... this is just to do something fun together :-)
Thanks for all you do,
Kathy Boston
That is a great tip! I would highly encourage as many people that can make it to the "First Place for Health" group to attend! It's always easier to stay accountable to your goals when you have others there who are going through similar situations.
ReplyDeleteJon here is the information you requested.
ReplyDeleteVeronica DOB 08/13/1969
Height 5'4"
Weight 145
currently flying by the seat of my pants with working out...
trying to count calories and fat grams. trying not putting any carbonated drinks such as beer or soda in my diet what so ever. have had two this month.
working out on the wii for 30 consectutive aerobic. adding small weights to legs for basic floor exercises ex:leg lifts, reverse sit ups with a child on me..total about 45 minutes start to finish...then my regular routines of making beds everyday (don't ever miss this) cleaning bathroom daily (sometimes up to 3 times) vacuuming entire house at least once a day but livingroom/dining/kitchen/play area twice a day with a KIRBY..I hope that counts for something that thing weighs a ton! LOL. Two loads of laundry twice a day up and down the stairs..
I guess that is about it..besides the normal and obvious of my job. Thank you for all your help and advice.
Wow, you want to "workout" my house! :) Yes a Kirby does weigh a ton. As the son of an Electrolux store owner, I am very familiar with the weight differences between machines!
ReplyDeleteBased on the activity that you outlined that you do, you should try to shoot for 1400 calories each day to help you lose 1lb/week. If you would like to increase that rate a little bit, try to drop your calories to 1200/day but no lower. Once you get to about 1000/day you may start to become too deficient in nutrients and your body may start burning off muscle which will lower your metabolism.
Try also to keep track on either www.myfitnesspal.com or mypyramid.gov. These sites can really help you stay on track. Also, as we talked about before, try to consume a little more protein to help satisfy hunger cravings.
Hope that helps!
Jon
Jon, I know this might sound silly, but there are things that I do that burn calories and are of good physical exercise that aren't on the list on those websites? Is there a general rule of thumb that you can add at the end of the day for added calories burned. Ex. vacuuming, laundry, washing tub, toilet, changing a baby(ies), dishes, wiping my table @7'in lenght? Just wondering? these things on top of my working out?
ReplyDeleteVeronica, you definitely stay active all day! Each activity will burn calories and depending on how hard you move and lift and exhaust yourself, you can burn a good amount of calories just taking care of your household. There is no general rule of thumb to follow, however you could easily expect to burn up a good 200 maybe even 500 calories each day from doing house chores throughout the day. It's something to be aware of, but I wouldn't necessarily count it against anything, if that makes sense. Think of it as the icing on the cake! Oops, I mean the Basil on your chicken breast! :)
ReplyDelete