Secret to weight-loss = FORMULAS :P

I'm sure a lot of you are probably going through the same thing as I am. I was unsure of how many calories I needed to eat. I was unsure how to lose a pound. I really had no clue what I need to do to make sure I could to that.
So after some browsing around online, and reading an article from a fellow Laramie citizen, I now have a plan.

First things first. I needed to know what my BMI (Body Mass Index) and Daily Needs were.
Basically weight-loss is just a bunch of math and formulas. I'm not a math wiz by any means but it really made sense to me.

First you should figure out your BMI and daily needs. You can click here for the online calculator or just follow along and get an acurate BMI with just a few multiplication and addition problems.

Here is the simple math equation.
I am a 249lb(112.9 kg) woman. I'm 5'4"(162.6cm) tall, and 24 years old.

[9.99 * 112.9(wt kg)] + [6.25 * 162.6 (ht cm)] – [4.92 * 24 (age)] -161(female)

I'll explain what all these numbers mean in a minute.

9.99*112.9 = 1128 

+ 

6.25*162.6 = 1016.25

 - 

4.92*24 = 118.08 

- 

161

1128+1016.25-118.08-161 = 1865.17 BMI

Ok so a few people came up with the formula to calulate BMR.

9.99 x (weight kg) + 6.25 x (height cm) - 4.92 x (age) +5 if male or -161 if female

and so because we don't sleep 24 hrs a day we need to multiply the number by our active life style.

Activity Level	Multiplier
Little to no exercise (sedentary)	1.2
Light exercise (1-3 times a week)	1.375
Moderate exercise (3-5 times a week)	1.55
Heavy exercise (6-7 times a week)	1.725
Extra heavy exercise (twice a day)	1.9

Alright so I figured out that my BMI is 1865.17 and I don't have an active lifestyle at all so I would multiply 1865.17 x 1.2 = 2200 (rounded) which is the number of calories I would need to maintain my 249lb weight.

Well I don't want that. I want to LOSE weight.

Ok so I know that my daily needs are 2200 calories.
So then how do I lose weight?? How many calories do I need to cut back to lose 1lb??
Easy as pie. 3500 calories = 1lb. (I googled it)

So say I cut back 500 calories per day for 1 week. 500 calories x 7 days per week = 3500 which equal 1lb of weight loss.
But I don't want to lose 1lb per week. I want to lose MORE!!

So............this is why activity is so important! And there is a formula for this too!!! Ok its not that confusing.

So say you only like to walk moderately. Or ride your bike at a slow leasurely pace.
There is a chart for METS or metabolic equalivalents that gives you a number for the type of activity you do. And yes its all legit. Heres the copy thats lists hundreds of activities and their METS so then all you have to do is put it in the equation and BAMMMMM you have your answer for the amount of calories you can burn per minute.
Aweome huh??

CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART

Ok so back to what I was saying.
The formula to figure out how many calories per minute you can burn goes like this:

METS x 3.5 x (wt kg) divided by 200

So I like to walk. And bike. And swim.
Leisurely Walking:
2.5*3.5*112.9/200 = 4.94 calories burned per minute walking.

Leisurely Biking:
6.0*3.5*112.9/200 = 11.85 calories burned per minute biking leisurely.

So for me, my goal is to burn 1000 calories per day.
If I was to walk, I would have to walk for 202 minutes (3.5 hrs) to burn that many calories.
For biking it would take me 84 minutes to burn 1000 calories.

So you see the secret to weight-loss = math formulas.
No actually its a combination of eating less + exercising.

Who actually believes those bogus commercials that tell you by taking this pill you can lose 20lbs per week. BOGUS. Seriously. Its about self control.

I'm am a very lazy person. I have a hard time getting dressed for the day to be honest. I love to sit, lounge, and play on the computer. I've stayed the same weight since after my son was born over a year ago!! So I know that I'm not overeating. I just know that I'm eating enough to maintain my daily intake, with my sedentary lifestyle and that is why I'm not losing weight.
I would always complain that I was never losing a pound. That walking wasn't doing crap for me. Well the reason why was because I was still eating the same. And the calories I did burn during a walk, was so minimal that it didn't make a difference. I probably ate the amount I burned off for a snack or something. PLUS fast food has been a very BAD BAD BAD thing. There are times I'm lazy and don't want to cook so we eat Wendys. Yep a spicy chicken sandwich, large fries and a sprite. Oh and I can't forget that I always have to get an extra Jr bacon cheese burger. Do I really need all this fat? Definitely not. And its not even filling.

Want to know how many calories that is? Well I don't....well maybe I do. Lets go take a peek shall we?

• Spicy Chicken sandwich = 470 calories (OMG WHAT? thats like a meals worth and thats just the sandwich)
• Large French fries = 540 calories (making me sick now)
• Large sprite = 260 calories
• jr bacon = 310 calories

Which makes a grand total of = 1580 calories, 57 grams of fat, and more things you don't want to know.
I completely understand why fast food has made american obese.

But that doesn't mean I have to stop eating wendys. Because they do offer "good" things.

So I was looking around. And wendys even suggests some items on their website that are under 550 calories..

• Ultimate Chicken Grill (hold the sauce) with a Side Salad and fat-free dressing
• Grilled Chicken Go Wrap (hold the sauce) with a small Chili
• Large Chili with a Side Salad and fat-free dressing
• Plain Baked Potato and a small Chili

So my point is that eating out is bad, but you can make good choices and not eat 1500 calories in just 1 sitting like i had been doing.

I hope I haven't confused you or make your head hurt.....too much. And this is what is going to help me on my journey to losing weight. Counting calories and exercising.