David Bennett|
Determining why you may or may not be losing weight is complicated because of metabolism issues, muscle gain/loss, and other variables, but in the end, weight loss and gain are the result of basic math. My goal in this brief essay is to get you to think about the role of calorie counting in weight loss, and provide you with some tools to effectively gauge your daily calorie needs. Real-world complexity aside, basically, 3500 calories is equivalent to one pound of body fat. Thus, to lose a pound of body fat, you must burn 3500 more calories than you eat over a given period of time. In other words, let's say one day of the week you labor during the day and go to the Y in the evening. On this day, you burn a massive 4500 calories. However, because you have no time to eat this day, you only consume 1000 calories. In this scenario, you would in theory lose a pound of body fat. However, because you have eaten so few calories, your metabolism would soon slow and you would be in danger of burning muscle tissue...so consider this example strictly theoretical. Now, let's apply this math to weight gain. Let's say you pig out at the all-you-can-eat buffet, and after the sixth plate, you have consumed 5200 calories that day (this is high, but not impossible for people who go overboard at a buffet). However, despite eating all of these calories, you sat all day at work and at home, burning only 1700 calories. You have, in theory, just gained a pound of fat. As this example shows, in modern America, it is far easier to gain an excess 3500 calories, than to burn them, as this scenario is more plausible than the first example. This is where Fitday is helpful (or other diet tracking software programs). Fitday has a cool feature that allows you to program in a weight loss goal, and the date for that goal. Then, it calculates how many pounds a week you have to lose to reach that goal. And here comes the really cool part...Fitday also calculates you how many calories you must restrict each day to meet your goal (using the 3500 number I have mentioned). My goal, when I originally wrote this essay, was to lose 13 pounds by Labor Day. To do this, I had to burn 875 more calories per day than I consumed. Obviously, weight loss was not this simple for me, because of other variables like my muscle gain from weight lifting, but nonetheless, I find this a very helpful tool for gauging how well I do on a particular day. This allows me to eat a little more on days when I exercise a lot, because the goal is based on calorie restriction, not on a set number of calories per day. Using one magic calorie number for every single day is too static, artificial, and unhelpful, because some days we are going to burn more calories than others. Consuming a few extra calories on these active days may not hurt our goal, and even help us by keeping us satisfied. Below are some images of what I am talking about. |
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In the above image, you can see that I am on "step 5" of the Fitday weight assessment process, in which I have planned the calorie restriction needed to lose my desired weight. Fitday software does the math for me, based on what I set as my weight goals in an earlier step. Click the image to make it larger.
In the second image, above, you can see that on this day, I have consumed more calories than Fitday estimates I need to consume to meet my weight goal. However, there are no worries for this day, because I am active: in the end, I have burned 1023 more calories than I consumed, which is over the 875 I need to restrict to meet my weight goal on time. You can also see that Fitday allows for customized food, and that I even add my supplements. And by the way, yes I am a firm believer in Fitday, and I gladly paid for the software.
As you can see losing weight is about numbers: calories consumed, and calories burned. While there are other factors involved, recognizing the importance of calories, and keeping track of your calorie consumption and expenditure, will aid you in whatever weight loss efforts you undertake.
[Of note, you can also see some of my eating habits here...like adding cocoa to my coffee, drinking a lot of coffee, taking 1/2 a vitamin E softgel (it isn't always easy to do that), using fiber powder to make sure I get 30 grams of it a day, making tuna salad with light mayo and honey-roasted nuts, etc. Its not on here (because it is insignificant calorie-wise), but I put cayenne powder in the soup and tuna salad, and on the fries.]
Before I end this article, I want to mention something about metabolism. As Dr. Mark Hyman points out in his book UltraMetabolism, all calories are not necessarily equal when it comes to gaining or losing weight. 100 calories from a Coke or Pepsi is going to have a more disastrous effect on weight than 100 calories from kidney beans. The reason is that the 100 calories from cola are from high fructose corn syrup, which enters the blood stream immediately, so the calories not immediately utilized are stored as fat. The 100 calories in kidney beans are absorbed more slowly because of the fiber in the beans, so they are absorbed and utilized over an extended period of time, which means they are more likely to be burned by the body, and less likely to be stored as fat. This is why it is important to make healthy food choices, even if you do count calories (see our Weight Loss Page).
Weight Loss Tips from David
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Disclaimer: These tips reflect the insights of one or more individuals about weight loss and other issues of health. These insights are based on personal experience and scientific research, to help you live a life of greater wellness. They should not be construed as medical advice or the services of a dietician. Before beginning any weight loss or exercise program, you should consult a physician.
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