2/27/2010 BMI update: last week 23.7; this week: 23.6 (slow progress but still progress)
To lose weight, you must expend more calories than you take in on a sustained basis. From just a simple weight loss standpoint, it does matter much what you take in, healthy or not, it is only the calories that matter. This is way weird diets can work, at least temporarily. [I am not advocating loosing weight unhealthfully. The best diet is one that provides the essential nutrition the body needs for long-term health and is one that leads you to a healthy diet that you can sustain. More on this later.]
1 pound is approx. 3500 calories.
So if you want to loss 1 pound a week. You must take in 500 calories a day less than take in expend (500 cal/day x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficient). For 2 pounds a week that is 1000 calories a day. For 1.5 pounds, 750 calories a day.
So how many calories does a person expend? It depends on your sex, weight and activity level. Here are three options to determine an estimate of your calorie needs.
- http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598
- http://www.webmd.com/diet/diet-health-check/default.htm WebMD – personal diet evaluator – worth the 20 minutes.
- http://www.dietitian.com/calcbody.php
For me: These calculators gave a range of 2100 to 2600. Let’s just say 2500 calories a day is the right average calorie expenditure for me. So for me to lose 1 ½ pounds a week, I need to subtract 750 calories a day from this or 1750 calories a day.
So I can reduce my calorie intake to this. The other alternative I have is to increase my activity level. My calculation above is based on the moderate activity level I currently have. If I increase it on a consistent basis, I can use those to widen the intake vs. outgo gap.
But this blog is not just about losing weight but about growing in health. For me and my journey, that will include reducing my weight but I have a particular way I want to do it. It will include more activity and it will include eating a healthful diet that I can continue on after I am at the weight I desire.
I have posted a couple of new healthy recipes on Cathy and my web site at: http://dcbarfield.org/recipes/. The new recipes are Sesame Chicken Rice Salad and Mini-pizzas (quick and easy; good for portion control). Enjoy.