The Science Behind Losing Weight—Lose 1 LB in 1 week

To put it simply and state the obvious, to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you consume. Now, I know what you may be thinking—‘I eat 2,000 calories a day, there’s no way I can burn close to that much!’ However, this task isn’t nearly as daunting as you think. Believe it or not, you are CONSTANTLY burning calories, when you’re sitting still, sleeping, or even eating! Everyone burns a different amount of calories, depending on your gender, age, height, and weight, as well as your personal metabolism activity levels. To get a number for about how many calories you expend at REST, while not doing anything, you have to calculate your BMR—Basal Metabolic Rate. You can find your BMR simply in about 10 seconds by using this: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Now that you know how many calories you are burning by doing nothing, let’s get a feel for how many calories you expend on a typical day. Use the following scale to determine your needed caloric intake to maintain weight.

·         Sedentary (little to no exercise): BMR x 1.2

·         Lightly active (light exercise, 1-2 times per week): BMR x 1.3

·         Moderately active (moderate exercise, 3-5 times per week): BMR x 1.5

·         Very active (heavy exercise, 6-7 times per week): BM R x 1.7

Let’s say you are a 25 year old, 5’4” female who weighs 125 pounds. If you are lightly active (you run for 30 minutes, twice a week) you can calculate your needed caloric intake to maintain weight as follows:

BMR = 1382.05

1382.05 * 1.3 = 1796.665. This means that you could consume approximately 1800 calories per day and maintain your current weight (assuming you exercise twice a week, lightly). But what if you want to lose weight? Yes, you need to eat less, or workout more…but how much more?

One pound of body fat is approximately equal to 3,500 calories. To simplify this, if you expend 500 calories more than you consume every day, you will lose 1 LB in 1 week. (7 days * 500 calories = 3,500). Using the previous example, you would either need to consumer 1300 calories a day, burn 500 calories a day, or find a medium; such as consuming 1500 calories and burning 300 calories.

Cut out that Caramel Macchiato in the morning and that mid-day soda and there’s your 500 calories right there! It’s not as hard as it sounds—that morning muffin packs about 500 calories. Sub it for a 100 calorie protein shake with much more nutritious value and you’re almost there. Spend an extra 30 minutes in the gym; go the extra mile—literally! If you set your goals, and keep track of what you are putting into your body, and how many calories you are burning, losing weight can be THAT much easier. When you are able to track your progress, it makes the process so much easier. Who said your 2012 New Year Resolution wasn’t going to last?

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