Wrap UP

OK, We now know how to calculate the number of cals you burn daily! If you are keeping track of the number you burn, you can figure out the difference. When that difference adds up to 3500 cals, you lose 1 pound.
Lets use an example of a 200 pound man who is 5 foot 8 inches tall, and is 40 years old. He is moderately active

66 + (6.23x200) + (12.7x68)-(6.8x40) = 1904 calories
1904 is the amount he burns at rest for 24 hours
Now multiply this time the conversion factor for moderately active (1.55)
1904x1.55 = 2951

So, our example man burns 2951 calories daily. Let's assume he is eating 1500 calories daily. The difference is 1451 calories daily. That means that over a 7 day period he will burn 10,157 calories more than he takes in. Divide this number by 3500(the number of calories in a pound - discussed in monday's post). The answer is 2.9. That is how many pounds he will lose in 7 days.

Its all in the math my friends. You should know what your numbers are.

Multiply your result from the Harris-Benedict Equation by the "Conversion Factor" below that best applies to you. This gives you the actual number of calories you burn daily.

Conversion Factors

1.2
Sedentary
Little or no exercise and desk job

1.375
Lightly Active
Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week

1.55
Moderately Active
Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week

1.725
Very Active
Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week

1.9
Extremely Active
Hard daily exercise or sports and physical job

Harris-Benedict Equation

( The young man pictured is using the equation to find out how to gain weight)


This is the Harris-Benedict Equation. You plug in your weight, height, and age. The resulting number is your Basal Metabolic Rate. This is the number of calories you burn in a day if you never got off the couch (completely physically inactive). Tommorow, I will give you a conversion factor - a number to multiply by the result of this equation. This final answer will tell you the actual number of calories you burn daily - not just the number you burn if you are physically inactive.





Equation:



Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )


Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

How Many Calories Do I Burn?

This pic is a pic of a pound of fat.

This week I am going to start a series of posts that deal with the numbers - how to figure calories burned, how many consumed, and how that relates to weight loss.

Before we start that discussion tommorow, there is one essential figure to know - 3500. If you want to lose a pound, you have to eat 3500 calories less than you burn - or burn 3500 calories more than you take in.

This week, you will learn how to figure how many cals you burn daily. If you keep a good diet log, you will know how many calories you are taking in. When the difference between calories burned and calories consumed is 3500 calories, you will be 1 pound down.

Serving Size Matters

Its true - the more food that is in front of you the more you eat. Smaller portions really are better.

Portion Size Increases

Check out this chart - it really speaks for itself. When it comes to food and drink smaller really is better.

Heart Rate While Exercising

Attached is a better pic of the DVD case covers that I talked about yesterday.

What should your heart rate be while exercising? The answer is that once warmed up you should be in a certain range. Take 220 and subract your age. We can use a 40 year old as an example. That would be 180. This is called "maximum heart rate." You should not go over this while exercising. Now take 2/3 of 180 and you have about 118. After warming up you should be above this figure but never higher than your max heart rate figure. This is the normal heart rate range while exercising. By staying in this range, you imporve heart and lung function and burn fat and calories.

Exercise DVD

The most inexpensive, yet the best bang for your buck - "Biggest Loser" exercise DVD's. They cost about $12 at places like Wal Mart, Best Buy, and Target. There are 6 total. My 2 favs are "Cardiomax" and "Bootcamp". Just start with level one which is 20 minutes. This is a great way to get going on exercise at home, and there is no big equipment or time demand. I promise that it will be very challenging, but you will burn lots of calories.

Final word on ideal plate

Now remember, it does you no good to eat a half plate of veggies if you cooke them in butter, add fat-back etc. In addition, you should not leave the skin on the chicken or fry it. No gravy, or butter on the starch.
I typically grill the chicken, and cook the veggies in a small amount of olive oil. I like to add dry seasoning like "Mrs Dash". I usually cook brown rice in 99% fat free chicken broth and I always add mushrooms.

Dinner Continued - healthy starches

What about the quarter of the plate that is a healthy starch? Brown or wild rice is a good example. Sweet potatoes or red-skinned new potatoes are a good example. Notice that the serving size here is 1/2 cup on the wild rice. Trust me, your instinct is to eat 1 cup or more. You don't need that much. Eat to live, don't live to eat.

Need a good online calorie counter for free? Try one of these:

www.nutritiondata.com

www.thedailyplate.com

www.sparkpeople.com

www.my-calorie-counter.com

Dinner "Ideal Plate" Rule

Let's talk about dinner. Don't want to count calories or have to think about it? No problem. Apply this rule: Half the plate veggies, quarter plate lean protein, and quarter plate healthy starch. I'll spend more time this week giving examples.

P.S. Charlotte and Jennifer - don't lose your mental focus while on the road. You can do this. For Linda - your efforts will pay off.

Sams Club

Went to Sam's this morning. Here is some of what I bought.

Encouragement

All right troops - I want you to stay encouraged today about keeping your calories down and getting more exercise. Over the long haul this does pay rich dividends. This morning I had a protein shake from our office. They come in a plastic container with the powder in the bottom. Just add cold water and shake well when you are ready. I also add a pack of benefiber which adds 3 grams of fiber. It is tastless and has no gritty charachter. It certaintly increaeses the sense of fullness. The whole thing is 85 calories, with no added sugar or fat and has 15 grams of protein. It tastes like chocolate milk to me. Makes a nice breakfast and pairs well with a peice of fruit. If you want to buy these shakes, we have them at the office for $10 per six pack.

Biggest Loser Wrap Up

last night was episode 4. What was the take home lesson? Something I have been teaching all of you! The contestants had to order out three times a day for a week. Using a strategy of figuring out the calories in each meal before they ordered led the contestants to another sucessful week. So, all you travelers out there - use your calorie counters to figure out the calories in your resturant food before you order it. Do not ignore this concept - it will sink you if you do. Another cool strategy was employed when the group went to a mexican resturant for dinner. They had the waiter remove the chips and salsa from the table - in other words, remove the temptation. Don't expose yourself to it. Who ever said you had to have chips and salsa with mexican anyway?

The Correct Lunch

Don't want to count the calories for luch? Just try this simple formula - large non-fat salad (that means fat free dressing like fat-free italian), 1 cup of vegetable soup (may have chicken or beef in it), and 1 piece of whole grain bread. Make sure that half the lunch is veggies. Total calories - 300.

Lunch

This week we will deal with lunch much like we did breakfast last week. Today we will start with a bad lunch. I have attatched 3 pictures of a sub sandwich and chips - 1200 cals! The first two show the components on 2 different plates. The last shows the finished product. No one needs this many calories for lunch - Do not make this mistake. Try the Subway turkey on 9 grain wheat with no mayo or cheese. Put all the veggies on it you would like. I also add vinegar and salt and pepper (avoid oil and vinegar). If you will get the 6 inch size (which is normal - not 12 inch) you are only in for 280 calories of nutritious food. Feel free to add a bag of their sliced apples as your dessert.

Lunges

Lunges are a great exercise to tone your thighs, hips, and buttocks. Because you work so many muscle cells, it is a great way to burn calories too - accelerating your rate of weight loss. You don't need equipment, and you can do them on the road or at home.

Exercise

As most of you know, I put a heavy empahsis on exercise. Anna and I do a lot of running and calasthenics at home. If we decide to try something different, it is usually a DVD. One of my favs is the Biggest Loser exercise series. The DVD's cost only about $12. Today Anna and I did Biggest Loser "Boot Camp" DVD. It has three sections on it. Wow! what a workout. If you want to try it, just start with level 1 - its only 20 minuites. When you have mastered level one, move on to level two.