About 3 o’clock this morning, I woke up with what seemed like a sinus migraine, so there was not a workout this morning. It has been delayed until this evening. (Yay – I get to run in the heat and humidity!) Sarcasm font… From now on, I think we will have Torture T-days (Tuesday & Thursday). So I have that to look forward to in the morning – oh boy!
In light of today’s Health Tip below, I will contemplate the whole calorie consumed vs. burned theory.
In an article from livestrong.com, I read that 3,500 calories = 1lb of fat. So, to lose 1lb of fat every week, you need to burn 3,500 calories. Okay, this makes sense, but it really puts the pressure on counting calories – if this is the way I choose to calculate my future weight loss goals. Stay with me…writing out loud here…
Okay, so if I eat 2,000 calories a day for 7 days – I would have to burn 2,500 calories a day for 7 days to lose 1 lb. Burning 500 extra calories a day times 7 = 3,500 calories = 1lb of fat loss.
OR, eating 1,500 calories a day for 7 days – I would have to burn 2,000 calories a day for 7 days to lose 1lb.
Now, when I look up on caloriesperhour.com and use the calorie burn calculator BMR/RMR, I find that I can burn this many calories with my activity level every day: (we forget that we burn calories even when we are asleep – yay!)
Calculator Status:
The results of your calculations are: BMR 1,544 RMR 1,511 (calories)
For an explanation of BMR and RMR and important notes on the accuracy of these calculations, see Calculating BMR and RMR. We also explain why RMR is likely to be more appropriate for your needs.
As BMR and RMR only represent resting energy expenditure or calories burned during a day of rest, an adjustment must be made to reflect activity level. This can be done by multiplying by an activity factor:
Factor----Active Category-----Definition-----BMR-----RMR
1.2---Sedentary---Little or no exercise desk job---1,853---1,813
1.375-Lightly-Light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week-2,123-2,078
1.55-Moderately-Mod exercise/sports 3-5 days/week--2,393--2,342
1.725--Very--Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/week--2,663--2,606
1.9--Extremely--Hard daily exercise/sports/job--2,934--2,871
In Theory
1. If you use your current weight to calculate your activities and consume the number of calories indicated, your weight will stay the same. If you consume fewer calories than indicated, you will lose weight.
2. If you use your goal weight to calculate your activities and consume the number of calories indicated, in time your weight will match your goal. But be careful. As explained in What It Takes to Lose It All, it is very important not to try to lose weight too fast. It will backfire.
3. Because your body burns additional calories digesting food, you should be able to eat a little more than indicated by the calories burned calculations. You will learn more about this in The Thermic Effect of Food.
I know all of this information is estimated, but if I choose the Moderately Active column and guess that I’m consuming about 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day, then my weight loss is consistent with my results.
Now I just have to choose if I want to continue the speed at which my body is losing weight and lower my food consumption or increase my workout times. In the What it Takes to Lose it All section of this website, it explains why we begin to see our progress taper off and what to do when we hit plateaus.
-eat less workout the same = weight loss
-eat same workout more = weight loss
-eat less workout more = weight loss
Got it!
It’s very cool to see that even though I have not counted any calories (AT ALL!) – I have adjusted my food intake which resulted in the same (less detailed) effects. Maybe one day I will get to the point where I count calories – maybe not…common sense seems to be working for me right now!
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