Some people reading this are going to say, "Well ya... it's easy to say that when you're skinny." Honestly, I've gotten that more times then I can count. It's as if all I do is go home, sit on the couch, and watch TV and the pounds fall off. For years i've been spending time in the gym busting my ass to stay in shape so i can do the physical activities that i enjoy. What is really interesting, I get teased a lot from the way i look, to working out too much (as if an hour a day is a lot), to what I eat/don't eat, and more. It's kind of a social taboo in the adult world to openly make fun of people that are out of shape, yet, it's interesting how much flack I see people get for combating weight gain. The psychology behind that is a whole different blog so I'll get to the real point of this blog and save my mindless ranting.
CALORIES IN vs. CALORIES OUT. Thats all it is... i can't repeat that enough times. You could eat Honey Buns all day if you wanted to and you will lose weight as long as you burn more calories than you consume eating Honey Buns. One of my bosses that lost a lot of weight used to say, "If you don't eat like a chunky butt ... you won't be a chunky butt." I had mad respects for this because he openly acknowledge what was a fault in his mind (didn't beat around the bush) and took action to fix it. You can't ask for anything more. Furthermore, he didn't do anything but limit the calories going in. I think he lost something like 70-80lbs.
You're starting point should be figuring out your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). It's is essentially how much energy your body consumes at rest. There are various formulas for calculating it, here is the one I have used:
For Men
For Women
P = Total heat production at rest, m = Weight, h = Height, a = Age
So for me at 184lbs (83kg), 6'2 (188cm), and 27 years old my Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is roughly 1,966. Remember though... this is just my body at rest. Futhermore, there are some common things that effect your BMR:
Genetics - Surprise surprise.
Weather - Cold increases your BMR.
Pregnancy - You gotta feed another person duh!
Meals - Small meals more often will increase it.
Age - BMR decreases with age.
Muscle - Increases your BMR.
Crash Diets - I like to call them starvation diets. They decrease your BMR.
Your BMR is really just a starting point. You also have to figure in your daily lifestyle to your weightloss goals. While my BMR is roughly 2000 calories i need to eat probably twice that to maintain my current weight because of my lifestyle. You can use the Harris Benedict Formula to help with that:
|
If you take into account your daily activities by using the calculations above. I would guesstimate that if you are the average person that does light activity (#2 above) on a daily basis, then eating at your BMR should put you in enough deficit to drop a pound a week. So for me, when you factor in #2 to my BMR of 2,000 you get 2,750. If i just ate my BMR of 2,000 a day i would be at best -750 calories a day or 5,250 a week. Since a lb of fat is equivalent to 3500 calories then that is at best 1.5lbs a week of fat loss. Realistically its probably more like a pound a week.
Now here is the big kicker and it's something that makes me bertstare all the time...
You CANNOT run to the gym and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes and then go have Honey Bun and expect to lose weight. I see this a lot at the gym. Someone will walk in, jump on the treadmill for 30 minutes, and then they will go grab a smoothie. Basically, they did nothing but waste their time. The people doing this, i'm guessing, have a big misconception as to how many calories are burned while exercising versus what they're consuming in that smoothie. Walking for 30 minutes burns around 200 calories, while the smoothie they are slurping down is at least equal, double, and possibly triple that amount. Do the math... they're in for a dissapointment.
The best thing you can do is pick up some weights and mix it in with cardio. I'm talking real weights ladies. Not those pink 2.5lb things i see. Trust me, you are not going to look like the lady below without some hormonal magic.
I hate hearing "I don't want big bulky muscles" from women. Sorry, but you're worried about something that isn't going to happen. At worst if you went to the gym every day for a year and mixed weights with cardio you will look like this:
Yes... i'm aware she has one of those dinky 5lb weights in her hand. Trust me, its for show. She looks good and that is from weights, cardio, and eating good. Muscle is the key to looking younger and feeling younger. Don't believe me? Both these women are in there 50's... note the muscle definition...
I'm going to end my rant with a few points:
1. Burn MORE calories than you take in and you will lose weight regardless.
2. Muscle makes it easier to maintain weight.
2. Muscle makes it easier to maintain weight.
3. Muscle tightens and lifts the skin making you look younger.
4. Being fit and having muscles will make you feel younger.
5. Proper nutrition makes a huge impact.
Edit on May 31, 2011 - I just noticed that I put 'Burn less' ... major typo. I can't believe I missed that. Fixed now though.
5. Proper nutrition makes a huge impact.
Edit on May 31, 2011 - I just noticed that I put 'Burn less' ... major typo. I can't believe I missed that. Fixed now though.
No comments:
Post a Comment