The Magic Formula for Weight Loss

Here it is folks, the moment you've all been waiting for.  The magic formula is really not magic at all.   As far as weight loss goes, this is the *only* easy answer:


Total calories in - BMR (basal/resting metabolic rate) - excess physical activity = total net calories for the day


If your total calories for the day after this equation are positive... you will most certainly gain weight.  Because your activity and your intake vary from day to day, you may gain weight at a rapid pace, other times your weight will fluctuate back and forth and the pounds will creep on over time.


It takes approximately 3,500 ADDITIONAL calories burned to lose one pound.  You could do this by reducing your calorie intake by 500 calories each day for one week.  Your other alternative is to burn an extra 500 calories through physical activity.  Ideally, you would want to implement both methods because cardio and strength training can provide other weight loss advantages and health benefits.


The first step is determining your BMR.  There are many calculators online that will ask for your sex, age, weight, height and activity level.  Here is mine:


Female, 34, 150 pounds, 5' 7":

Activity Level	Description	Calories Burned Per Day
Low	You get little to no exercise	1698 Calories/Day
Light	You exercise lightly (1-3 days per week)	1946 Calories/Day
Moderate	You exercise moderately (3-5 days per week)	2193 Calories/Day
High	You exercise heavily (6-7 days per week)	2441 Calories/Day
Very High	You exercise very heavily (i.e. 2x per day, extra heavy workouts)	2689 Calories/Day

 Given these figures, and taking into account that I exercise moderately throughout the week... I would have to eat about 1700 calories a day for 7 days to lose at a safe rate of 1 pound per week.


Seems pretty simple, right?  Well, I know that this can be easier said than done.  So tomorrow, I'm going to show you some EASY examples of how to reduce your calorie intake by those magic 500 calories a day or get extra physical activity to get you closer to that equal balance of calories in and calories out.