Calculating your way to weight loss.

Do you know how to calculate your caloric intake for a day to maintain your weight? Everyone burns calories a little different throughout a day and your basal metabolic rate is the term used to define the basic calories your body burns through normal activities. Just breathing takes a specific amount of energy and burns calories but don't hold your breath hoping to lose weight! It takes a plan and committment to change your life each and every day.

To calculate your BMR using an unscientific approach as a general rule of thumb, you can take your current weight x 10 to derive the basic number of calories you should take in a day to MAINTAIN your weight. That means if you currently weigh 150 pounds then you can consume 1500 calories in a day and maintain your current weight of 150 calories. Of course there are other variables that go into it. For example if you consume a high carb diet with lots of refined sugar, your body will take the excess sugar and store it as fat so even though you may be within the caloric intake you can consume, you may actually gain weight! Shame on the 100 calorie packs as they only serve a wildly intelligent marketing plan and underserve the consumers. Wow this can be complicated.

A more accurate way to calculate your BMR is to use the women's Harris-Bennedict principle for calculating your caloric intake to maintain weight.
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Using this calculation and using a 150 pound woman who is 5 ft. 7 inches and 45 years old you derive a calorie count of 1403.

Now that we know what it takes to maintain our current weight, it is necessary to know how much deficit we must create to LOSE weight. Rule of thumb is a deficit of 500 calories a day below your BMR for 7 days or a total of 3500 calories per week. Clearly using this example with no exercise you must only consume 903 calories a day to lose just one pound a week. While this might get you the results on the scale you seek it still lacks a fully healthy approach to fitness and nobody should be eating less than 1200 calories a day.

A better approach is to incorporate exercise to create some of the deficit that you seek to lose weight. Burning calories through exercise can create added benefits, like increased muscle that will help you burn more calories in a day and maintain your strength and endurance. Cardio and heart healthy exercises reduce or eliminate diabetes tendancies or high blood pressure that can lead to more severe conditions. The good news is, if you have any of these conditions currently, you don't need to throw in the towel...it's reversable through a healthy lifestyle.

It's all about making choices and understanding the basic principles of weight loss! Here's to a healthy lifestyle and calculating a plan to lose the weight that might be holding you back from your goals.