Today I happened to catch something on Martha Stewart I thought might be worth sharing. It was a weight loss chart and instructions. The chart figures out how many calories you must consume each day to stay at your current weight and then how many calories per day to maintain your goal weight. Here's the thing, it's not that big a difference! Now, if you want to lose weight, you consume less calories per day than the amount needed to maintain your current weight. This is the hard part...getting to the goal weight in the first place. The only way I have ever effectively lost weight is by counting calories with exercise. Weight loss is all about math after all. 3500 calories is equal to one pound. When you've eliminated this many calories over the course of time, you eliminate a pound. Consequently, if you eat more than the amount needed to maintain your current weight, you will gain a pound with each 3500 extra calories. If you're not following me, here's an example:
Let's say you weigh 150 lbs. It takes about 1650 calories per day to maintain that weight. If you eat 350 more calories than that per day (2000 calories) and don't exercise, in 10 days you will gain another pound (10 x 350 =3500= 1 pound) If you cut 350 calories a day and only consume 1300 calories, in 10 days you will lose one pound. Get it? Exercise and burn calories and you can cut 3500 calories even faster. Want to know how many calories you're burning for different kinds of exercise? Click here. If the 150 lb. person runs at a pace of 12 minute miles for 30 minutes, they will burn 273 calories. Add this to the calories you cut from your food and you will get to 3500 you need to cut a pound in about 5 or 6 days.
I hope this isn't too confusing. If you want more info, let me know and I will try to clarify.
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3 comments:
It's not too confusing...it's just too much work! To quote a good friend of mine from high school/college "let's just all live like the hippo: fat, dumb, and happy!" (Sidenote: I don't think hippos are all that dumb since I hear they are the only animal that communicates with two languages: one for underwater and one for above water. A bit of useless trivia for you.) By the way, this is Julie.
You crack me up. You don't need the chart anyway. Only you would have this interesting hippo information!
For those who find the chart and all the numbers too much. . . then check out Weight Watchers. Their points system has done all the numbers stuff for you. . . fat, calories, fiber, all of it. . . you have to keep up with points which factors more in than just calories. But this is great for the calorie counting! And Tracy, I know you follow this and it works! You go girl!!!
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