| To figure out how many calories you should
have, first start with where you
are. In other words, figure out
how many calories it takes to
maintain your present size and
then reduce from there. You can
go about this in many ways. Most
people simply choose an arbitrary
number like 1200 calories and
that's what they eat, but in nearly
every case that's not nearly enough
calories to ensure adequate nutrition,
not to mention the deprivation
that sets up. While losing weight
and to this day, I eat over 2000
calories a day on average and
I've maintained a good weight
for my height for over 17 years.
Remember, your body requires calories
to maintain itself. Basic Calorie
Requirements Calculation Based
on Activity Level: Sedentary :
13 X Weight = Avg. cal/day Sedentary
is not exercising at all Moderately
Active: 16 X Weight = Avg. cal/day
Moderately Active is exercising
approximately 3-4 times per week
Very Active: 19 X Weight = Avg.
cal/day Very Active is 5-7 strenuous
exercise sessions per week. If
you weigh over 200 pound now,
and you'd like to weigh closer
to 150, here is a calculation
you could use to get started:
Assuming you are going to be adding
enough exercise to quality as
Moderately Active, we'll use 16
as our modifier: 150 pounds X
16 calories per pound = 2400 calories
Less 500 (Using the common 500
calories per day reduction) gives
us a total of 1900 average calories
per day If you started to incorporate
a plan that allowed an average
of 1900 calories every day, you'd
start to lose weight. The mistake
most people make is to reduce
calories too much, which ultimately
sacrifices muscle plus sets you
up for feeling deprived. It's
far better in the long run to
go more slowly, keeping as much
muscle as possible while burning
calories via exercise. Remember
too, even if you don't eat quite
that many calories on many days,
you might eat more on the weekends
for instance, so it ends up being
closer to your goal of 1900 average
per day. Take the total calories
for the week divided by seven.
Remember, this average calorie
number gives you plenty of wiggle
room during the week. You can
have some treats along with everyone
else, or add more on weekends.
Instead of constantly saying,
"I can't, I'm on a diet," now
you can say, "Thank you, that
looks delicious," and enjoy some.
It doesn't ruin your diet plan
because you've got a large enough
calorie allowance that if you
are more careful some days than
others, it will work out to the
average number of calories you
want. I tend to eat far less calories
during the week than on weekends
and my totals generally average
out to 2000 to 2200 calories per
day. The 500 calorie reduction
is a well accepted amount. You
can reduce your calories further,
but I wouldn't recommend it. It
doesn't benefit anyone to try
for faster weight loss, in fact,
if you reduce your calories too
much you end up wasting muscle
in the process, which is exactly
what you do not want to do. If
you want faster results, it's
better to add more activity, thereby
burning more calories at rest.
You may be thinking I'm nuts,
recommending 1900 calories per
day, but I can say for a fact
that if you eat too little (1000
- 1200 calories is too few, IMO)
then you set yourself up for all
of the following: Deprivation.
You're going to feel deprived,
mentally and physically. 1000
calories isn't enough for your
basic metabolic needs, much less
to fuel yourself for your activity
needs. Add more food! Just have
a bit more than you're already
having, so for instance, if you
are allowed 1/2 cup of vegetables
is a whole cup going to ruin all
your progress? I doubt it. Eat
a whole cup, or go ahead and have
two oranges. Fruits and vegetables
are very low calorie but provide
high nutrition. Sure, some vegis
and fruits are high in sugar,
but it's natural sugar. I seriously
doubt our planet grows any killer
foods - it is more likely the
food industry which has processed
those foods to become nothing
more than a dried powder, then
add back more sugars, and chemicals
so it will resemble the original
product, is more harmful than
a simple apple or banana? If you
are diabetic or must watch the
sugars, have a small bit of protein
along with the higher glycemic
food, such as an ounce of cheese
with your apple. Notice I said
an ounce of cheese, not a slab
big enough to feed a small country.
Metabolic Slow-Down Feeding yourself
too few calories sets you up for
metabolic slow-down. Studies have
shown time and again that a heavier
person can find it difficult to
lose weight, even though eating
very low calories, simply because
their body's metabolism is burning
at such a slow rate. As you probably
already know exercise helps to
speed up your metabolism but so
does eating. That's why they say
breakfast is so important, not
only to fuel yourself but because
it starts the metabolic furnace
burning, and it continues to burn
all day. If you don't eat anything
until noon, you don't stoke your
furnace to start burning until
then either. Has the ultra low
calorie approach worked for you
so far? If not, why not try something
more reasonable? Tag along with
a friend who doesn't have a weight
problem and you'll see how sometimes
they eat more, sometimes less,
but on average they eat enough
to fuel their body and maintain
their weight. Adding more food
gives you additional eye appeal.
If you split up 1000 calories
over the course of an entire day
you're looking at pretty skimpy
portions on your plate each time
you eat. I like to feel like I'm
getting enough to eat and I do
this by rounding out my plate
with extra vegetables. If I'm
having a frozen entree for instance,
I'll cook up a cup or more of
frozen vegetables to add to my
plate. The extra vegis really
fill me up, providing the satisfaction
I need, and I often have a bit
extra vegetables to throw away.
Is that wasting food? No, it's
smart. Far better for me mentally
to have extra food to toss away
than to be licking the plate because
I'm still hungry. I'm also not
likely to start wanting something
else to eat right after dinner
if I'm feeling content with the
amount I've eaten. Make an effort
to learn to like your food as
is. Plain mixed vegetables with
nothing on them are delicious.
It took me awhile to stop putting
butter on them, and then even
quitting the Molly McButter (just
chemicals and sodium). I eat them
plain and yes, they are great.
Nature made our fruits and vegetables
naturally sweet and all those
"extras" we are used to using
like butter on vegetables or potatoes
certainly make things taste all
yummy but they also make us larger
than we need to be. Those "extra"
calories add up. Start to Slowly
Make Ajustments to What You Eat
or How Much You Eat For instance
wean yourself off adding sugar
to your cold cereal. Read the
label; all processed cereals contain
a ridiculous amount of added sugar
already. There's no need to add
more. My only exception is brown
sugar on oatmeal. I don't sugar
my cereal at all anymore but it
took me awhile to make the change.
Start by adding a bit less, then
next week cut back a bit more
until you break the habit entirely.
Tiny changes make up for big results
over time. If you feed yourself
well, and focus on increasing
your activity, even if only a
little, then you will continue
to lose fat, build muscle and
get more shapely, all the while
increasing your metabolism so
you can eat more food! ~~ Kathryn
Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner,
EFT counselor, author of the free
e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your
First Step to Permanent Weight
Loss, and owner of OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com
Get The Daily Bites: Inspirational
Mini Lessons Using EFT and NLP
for Ending the Struggle with Weight
Loss. |
