On Losing Weight!
"Eating, Naturally!" - Personal Diet Computations!
'Destiny' by John W. Waterhouse, 1900.
This page is for those who feel they would like to follow a caloric menu plan in order to create a healthier body ratio between muscle and fat. Why didn't I just say "to lose or maintain weight"? Because you can be a normal weight and still be obese!
But first, let me ask you this. Are you ready to make changes...
...and, if so, do you really understand what makes you tick? In other words, do you know what is motivating you to lose weight? Do you really want to be healthy, feel light and radiate energy or do you want to fit into that dress by summer, look good in the mirror or make an 'X' feel jealous? All of these are good reasons to lose weight, but it is important to know what your intentions are so that in those moments of weakness or frustration you will have them to fall back on. Take a moment and write down all of your motivators. Keep your list where you can see it everyday. These are your intentions. Without them we fall prey to the sea of life, rather than being able to sail toward our goals.
If faith without works is dead, willingness without action is fantasy.
- Anonymous
Success...What Will it Mean To You?
Consider how you will feel if you are successful at losing weight and conquering your most stressful symptoms? What will happen, how will your life change if you lose weight, get your energy back and are no longer depressed? In what ways would your life change? Think about this. How would you feel? Sometimes we can be fearful of success, especially if we feel we are going to lose something we feel is valuable as a result of it.
Losing weight can be frightening, for many reasons. Our weight has been our friend, has protected us, has been our wall against a sometimes harsh world or even our memories. Sometimes, when we look better, we get more attention from the opposite sex and we don't know how to handle it. People may expect more of us as we become healthier, which can make us feel we are losing our support structures or our comfy space. What attitudes, behaviors or excuses will have to change? What might you lose by becoming a healthier, more fit individual? What might you gain? These are important matters to consider. It might benefit you to consider that without your health and vitality you will never be a secure person. What we put in our mouths either center and ground us or leave us dis-stressed or dis-eased. If you are having problems with negative feelings or situations, please visit 'Dealing with Negativity'.
Is Now a Good Time To Lose Weight?
Are there things in your life you need to get beyond before dedicating a new eating style to yourself? Things like new jobs, a new baby, a death of a loved one, moving to a new residence or divorce need time to settle with us before trying to change our habits. Don't feel bad about waiting! Sometimes we need time to adjust even if we are excited about making changes for the future. That's OK. But, if you are ready, step into my office!
BMI: Body Mass Index
Your BMI does not directly measure body fat. It judges your weight in relation to your height and your risks for weight related health problems. I might also mention that you don't have to look overweight to be obese. Normal Weight Obesity is a growing concern, especially for Americans.
What Normal Weight Obesity means is that you are a normal weight but you have far too much fat on your body compared to muscle. This leads to heart disease, diabetes and other related obesity related diseases.
A BMI of 20-24.9 is considered healthy. Someone with a BMI between 25-29.9 is considered approximately 20% overweight with moderate health risks, but not obese. However, if you are female with a waist measurement over 35" or a male with a waist measurement over 40", a BMI between 25-34.9 is considered high risk as well. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese and additional health problems may set in such as heart disease, diabetes or high blood pressure. I have provided the following method to calculate your body mass index.
1. Multiply your weight (in pounds) times 703.
2. Multiply your height (in inches) times itself.
3. Take the number that you got in Step 1
and divide it by the number you got in Step 2.
The result you get is your BMI.
How Many Calories Do You Need Every Day?
Eating all natural foods in moderate amounts will only lead to natural weight loss and natural stabilization of body weight. Unless you have doctor's orders, the only reason for counting calories or food groups is preference. However, most of us would like to have a little more control over pounds lost each week. For those having more than 20-25 pounds to lose, it is can be of benefit have a daily plan to follow to ensure a healthy rate of weight loss while you are adjusting to a new way of eating.
When you are desiring to count calories or food exchanges in order to lose weight, the following formula will help you to figure out your BMR (Basal Metabolism Requirements), which is how many calories your body currently requires on a daily basis to maintain your current weight. This will help you to determine how many calories you need in order to start losing pounds!
To Calculate Your Present BMR & Daily Caloric Needs
For example, let's say Sayuri weighs 170 lbs.
She would multiply her current weight of 170 lbs x 10 = 1,700 Calories (your BMR)
Next, she will multiply her BMR x her Activity Level:
Sedentary x 20%
Lightly Active x 30%
Moderately Active x 40%
Very Active x 50%
1700 x 30% (Sayuri is lightly active) = 510 Calories for Physical Activity
Add 1700 (BMR) + 510 = 2210 Calories
Then she multiplies 2210 x 10% (for digestion) = 221 Calories for Digestion
Now, she adds her BMR (1700), Physical Activity (510) & Digestion (221) requirements together:
1700 + 510 + 221 = 2431, which is the Total Calorie Need for Sayuri to maintain your current weight.
How To Begin Losing Weight!
Subtract 500 calories from your final number above. For example, Sayuri's final BMR number of calories above is 2431. So, 500 calories less than 2431 would be 1931 calories. Sayuri would then begin to lose weight by choosing the 1900 Calorie Menu Plan (below).
What's yours? Subtract 500 calories from your BMR. It takes a loss of 3,500 calories to lose 1 pound! If you drop 500 calories per day for 7 days, you will lose 1 pound. That is 4 pounds per month!
To Determine a Healthy Goal Weight
Women: Calculate 100 lbs for your first 5 ft. and 5 lbs for every inch after.
Men: Calculate 106 lbs for your first 5 ft and 6 lbs for every inch thereafter.
Add 10% to this weight to find your highest range of weight.
(This does not take into account your frame size.)
To Determine Half-Way Weight
Determine Total Pounds to Lose and divide by 2.
Subtract this amount from your starting weight.
To Determine Goal Dates
Divide Total Pounds to Lose by 2 lbs per week. This equals how many weeks (estimated at 2 lbs per week) it will take to lose your weight. To determine how many weeks it will take to get to half-way goal date, divide total weeks by 2. Then, count the weeks down on a calendar.
To Determine Weight Loss Menu Calorie Levels
Please, don't ever assume that you are to start out on a very strict calorie level in order to lose weight. The more pounds you have to lose, the higher the beginning weight loss calorie level and menu plan calories are in order to keep you healthy and not throw your body into starvation mode.
If you are counting calories or food exchanges while losing weight, it is important that you know how many calories you need at different phases of your weight loss in order to adjust your menu plan calories accordingly. Don't worry! I have done it for you!
How To Adjust Calories Levels As You Lose!
In the example above, Sayuri started out on the 1900 Calorie Menu. However, her goal weight is 120 pounds. This means at some point she will need to graduate to a reduced calorie level to continue losing weight. Use the charts below to help you to determine when to move down to the next Menu Plan.
According to the charts, Sayuri had a total of 50 pounds to lose. However, her BMR showed she needed 1931 calories to begin to lose weight. To be on the safe side, Sayuri will begin her first week on the 1900 Calorie Menu Plan and graduate to the 1500 Calorie Menu Plan on her second week.
I have found that if you are not sure which plan to begin with, start with the higher. It is better to eat a little more than not enough.
The following charts are based on averages and not precise calories. If you would like to know precisely how many calories you need at any given time to lose weight, just repeat the BMR formula (above) or email me at driftinggallion@yahoo.com and I will be happy to compute it for you!
Female 18+ Years Old
100+ lbs to lose: 1800 Calorie Menu Plan
50-100 lbs to lose: 1500 Calorie Menu Plan
0-49 lbs to lose: 1200 Calorie Menu Plan
Male 18+ Years Old
100 lbs to lose: 2200 Calorie Menu Plan
50-100 lbs to lose: 1800 Calorie Menu Plan
0-49 lbs to lose: 1500 Calorie Menu Plan
Young People Under 18 Years Old
100+ lbs to lose: 2200 Calorie Menu Plan
50-100 lbs to lose 1800 Calorie Menu Plan
0-49 lbs to lose: 1400 Calorie Menu Plan
As you lose weight and drop down into the next 'Pounds to Lose' category, you will want to adjust your calories accordingly. For example, if you are Female, once you drop below 100 pounds to lose, you will change to the 1500 Calorie Level Menu. Once you drop below the 50 pounds to lose, you will drop down the 1200 Calorie Level Menu.
Only use a 1000 calorie menu if you are an adult, shorter than 5' 2", have less than 10 lbs to lose, and are not able to lose any more weight on the 1200 calorie plan. Please, obtain doctor permission first.
Note! This information does not apply to children!
Pregnant or Lactating Moms
300-500 extra calories per day must absolutely be added to your daily caloric requirement. This is for baby!
Personal Menu Plans
If you are diabetic or hypoglycemic, do not drop below 1200 calories per day, even if you are short in stature or small boned. If your diet computations show that you need less than 1200 calories per day in order to lose weight, you will need to compensate by burning off those extra calories in your diet through exercise. For example. if your weight loss calories level is 1150 calories per day, then you will need to follow the 1200 calorie menu and burn off at least 50 calories per day through exercise.
What is also important is dividing your calories throughout your day into 6 smaller meals rather than 3 large ones, or 3 meals and 3 snacks. It is critical that you eat something every 4 hours to keep your metabolism running at peak performance. if your body thinks you are going to starve, you will not lose weight. We are engineered that way!
1000 Calorie Menu Plan - 3 Fruit, 3 Veggies, 3 Grain, 2 Milk, 6 Protein
1200 Calorie Menu Plan - 3 Fruit, 3 Veggies, 4 Grain, 2 Milk, 6 Protein, 1 Fat
1400 Calorie Menu Plan - 4 Fruit, 4 Veggies, 5 Grain, 2 Milk, 8 Protein, 1 Fat
1500 Calorie Menu Plan - 4 Fruit, 4 Veggies, 5 Grain, 3 Milk, 8 Protein, 1 Fat
1800 Calorie Menu Plan - 4 Fruit, 4 Veggies, 7 Grain, 3 Milk, 9 Protein, 2 Fat
1900 Calorie Menu Plan - 4 Fruit, 5 Veggies, 7 Grain, 3 Milk, 10 Protein, 2 Fat
2200 Calorie Menu Plan - 5 Fruit, 7 Veggies, 8 Grain, 3 Milk, 12 Protein, 3 Fat
Incorporate These Everyday Guidelines!
Fruit (Fresh, frozen or fresh squeezed juice. 1 should be citrus.)
Veggies (At least 1 should be leafy green.)
Grains (At least 1 should be whole grain.)
Protein - Red meat only 2 x per week, otherwise Wild Salmon, Turkey Breast, Organic Chicken, Albacore Tuna, 'deep sea' Seafood and Tofu are best.
Milk can be replaced with Protein if you like.
Fats should never be skimped on! Use Virgin Olive Oil and real Butter!
Water - You be the judge. As long as your urine is clear, you are fine. If it is pale yellow or darker, drink enough water to make it run clear again.
Note! Vitamin B will make your urine very yellow. there may also be certain medications, such as bladder medications, that can effect the color of your urine.
Also...
...in order to give your body an added boost toward energy and vitality, I recommend adding the following to your adult daily regimen:
Fiber - 35 grams (increase slowly over time to prevent constipation or diarreah).
Omega-3s - 1000-2000 mg per day (essential fatty acids).
Probiotics Acidophilus - 6 billion live cultures per day (keeps digestive tract healthy).
Multiple Dietary Enzymes (to curb enzyme loss and to help digest your food).
Personal Maintenance Phase
Over a period of 8 weeks, you will want to gradually wean yourself off of your weight loss (low) calorie level and onto a maintenance (normal) calorie level.
Do this by mixing your Weight Loss Calorie Menu Days with Maintenance Calorie Menu Days during the week. During the first 7 weeks you will also want to add at Pre-Maintenance Calorie Days. These days total 100 calories less than your Maintenance Calorie Days. Try not to eat all of your high calorie days in a row! Instead, have a low calorie, then a higher, then highest, then low again before having another high day. You may find that you are already stabilized before the end of your 6th week and doing your own thing. That is fine! If you begin to gain weight, go back to last weeks planned schedule and start over from there.
Personal Maintenance Schedule
Weeks 1 & 2:
4 Weight Loss Menu Days, 2 Pre-Maintenance Level Days, 1 Maintenance Level Day.
Week 3:
3 Weight Loss Menu Days, 2 Pre-Maintenance Level Days, 2 Maintenance Level Days.
Week 4:
2 Weight Loss Menu Days, 2 Pre-Maintenance Level Days, 3 Maintenance Level Days.
Week 5:
1 Weight Loss Menu Day, 2 Pre-Maintenance Level Day, 4 Maintenance Level Days.
Week 6:
0 Weight Loss Menu Days, 2 Pre-Maintenance Level Days, 5 Maintenance Level Days.
Week 7 & 8:
0 Weight Loss Menu Days, 1 Pre-Maintenance Level Days, 6 Maintenance Level Days.
Week 9:
0 Weight Loss Menu Days, 0 Pre-Maintenance Level Day, 7 Maintenance Level Days.
Ready To Commit To "Eating, Naturally!"?
