Weight lose is simple math

First things first; a wise man once told me “weight lose is simple you just have to burn more calories than you eat.”

Simple right???

Then let’s get you started.

First, you need to know your “number.” There are several places on the web you can get this. In the formula I use (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598), you just fill in the information appropriate to your current weight and lifestyle (be honest), and it will shoot out a calorie number for you. The number is rounded up, but will get you in the ballpark. Memorize this number. This is YOUR number. I recommend going in once a month as your activity increases and your weight decreases to get a new number. And yes, it WILL change.

Now that you have your number, you know how many calories you can consume in a day and not lose or gain a pound. Consuming 500 calories over or under YOUR number each day equals 1 pound a week gained or lost.

So let’s do the math! If your number is 2000 and you only intake 1500 calories each day, without adjusting your activity, you WILL lose 1 pound a week (by the way, this is the recommended weight loss rate by most doctors, but there are a lot more overweight people than doctors).

I recommend a combination to speed up the process. You don’t need to change your number, only your exercise goals. If you used “inactive” as your current activity level, jump up to “active.” If you used “somewhat active,” jump up to “very active.” It’s not that big of a jump.

This site defines “active” as 20 minutes of vigorous activity at least 3 days a week. That’s one hour per week. You probably spend more time waiting in line at the drive-thru (we’ll talk more about that later lol). Bumping it up a level should burn an additional 500 calories per day, and we already know that equals 1 pound per week. Combine that with a daily intake of 500 fewer calories and you’re looking at 2 pounds per week.

Let’s not get rash. You should not go below 1200 calories per day. It’s not healthy, and the weight will just spring back when you go to a normal eating pattern (we will talk about this at length later as well).

I will get into more detail tomorrow about when and how much exercise is enough / not enough, but you know your body. It will let you know when you are doing too much.

Personal tip #1: When I think I’m done, I always add 5 more minutes to my exercise routine. The end of a workout is when you get the most benefit. Eventually, you’ll discover that “extra” 5mins has become part of your workout and you’ll need to stretch it an additional 5mins to get that bonus.

Personal tip #2: Feeling hungry in the car? Of course you are! It’s like Pavlov’s dog. Between the food commercials every 2 minutes on the radio and the smell of the last thing you ate still in the car, your brain automatically switches into eat mode (you know if I looked I could find a stale french-fry under your seat). So first, clean out your car, and add a new freshener (avoid fruit smells). Plug in the iPod or burn a CD. Keep a healthy snack in the glove box if you have to, but a general rule of thumb is to NEVER eat in the car.