Figure out EXACTLY how many calories you need to eat and burn in order to LOSE WEIGHT!!!
This post is inspired by a message I got from an anonymous member of my Pilates class and I thank her (assuming, it’s a her) for it.
First off, I’m going to say that I am not a nutritionist (although now that I’m thinking about it…maybe I should go back to school and get a masters in nutrition…hmm), so please don’t assume that everything I say is suitable for your own diet plan. Consult with your doctor before making any drastic changes. However, I will put out there that I am well-read in the topics I write about, so my posts and videos are backed by heavy research from trusted sites and books. I spend a lot of time reading and understanding before I publish anything. This is for my own personal knowledge gain and for the safety of my readers. I link to where I got the info on the bottom of each post if you’re ever curious.
Okay…so now that that’s all said and done, ready to figure out exactly how to lose weight? Once you do the following, there is no reason why the pounds won’t come shedding off:
1. CONSUME LESS CALORIES THAN YOU BURN AND YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT.
2. Know that you have to create a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 lb
3. Know your basal metabolic rate
4. Know your daily energy requirement
5. Keep a food and exercise journal
Okay, now let’s get to the details.
1. CONSUME LESS CALORIES THAN YOU BURN AND YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT.
This means eat less calories (energy) than you burn. But I think a lot of you may be confused as to how you can actually “burn” the calories. You don’t just burn when you workout. You burn calories throughout the day even if you don’t workout. Do you know that it requires energy to “just live”? That’s right. Even if you stayed in bed all day and did nothing, you’d still burn calories. (That’s called Basal Metabolic Rate) When we workout, we are burning EXTRA calories by engaging ourselves in highly intensive activities that will torch our energy stores quicker, therefore leading to quicker weight loss.
So when I say “consume less calories than you burn” I need you to consume less calories than it takes to “just live” + “workout” (Daily Energy Requirement). See Basal Metabolic Rate and Daily Energy Requirement definitions below.
2. Know that you have to create a deficit of 3500 calories to lose 1 lb
You can create a deficit of 3500 calories in one week by cutting 500 calories out of your life each day. The best way is to burn 250 calories through exercise and eat 250 calories less. 500 cals x 7 days a week = 3500 cals per week = 1 lb loss per week.
3. Know your basal metabolic rate
Your BMR is the amount of calories you need to just live. Or, in more technical terms, the amount of calories needed to keep you alive at rest. This is based on factors like your sex, age, weight, and height. Use the calculator below to find your number. Remember, this is the amount of calories you need to consume to stay in bed all day, do nothing, and maintain your current weight. Do not use this number to plan your meals around!!!
http://allnutri.com/bmrcalculator.aspx
4. Know your daily energy requirement
This is the number you want to pay attention to. The calculator I mentioned above will also shoot out your daily energy requirement to maintain your current weight based on factors like age, sex, weight, height, AND activity level. The more active you are, the more calories you’re going to need. Here are the options you can choose from:
Sedentary - Little or no exercise
Lightly Active - Light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk
Moderately Active - Moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk
Very Active - Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk
Extra Active - Hard exercise/sports/job daily
Now, I know most of us reading this probably are looking to LOSE weight, not maintain. So, take that Daily Energy Requirement number and minus 500 cals from it if you want to lose 1 lb a week. Minus 1000 cals from it if you want to lose 2 lbs a week. I do not suggest losing more than 1-2 lbs a week.
http://allnutri.com/bmrcalculator.aspx
5. Keep a food and exercise journal
Finally, keep a journal! You’ll never know how much you’re burning or consuming unless you write it down! My favorite tools to use are MyNetDiary.com, MyFitnessPal.com, or Loseit.com. If you have an iPhone or smart phone, download the apps, they’re free, and logging in food and exercise is EASY!!! It will even break down how many grams of fat or carbs you took in that day based on the foods you ate. It goes way beyond just calorie counting. There’s even a feature in there where you can tell it your goal weight, your date of goal weight achievement, and it will spit out how many calories you should be eating per day and how many calories you should be burning. It’s so easy, you don’t have to calculate anything!
Oh and side note, if you’re wondering how many calories Pop Pilates or Pop Cardio burns - choose calisthenics for Pop Pilates and choose circuit training for Pop Cardio. With your age, height, and weight, you’ll be able to pretty accurately gauge how much you burned doing my videos.
Good luck guys!
Cassey
References: nothing to link to as I compiled this post from previous knowledge.
