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Natalie
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Height: 5’2.25” (62.25”)
Starting weight: 142 lbs
Goal weight: 130 pounds
Fitness plan: 6 45-minutes cardio sessions per week
All of the following formulas use height in centimeters and meters, and weight in kilograms; so I have to convert my height and weight.
Height: 62.25” x 2.54 (cm/in)= 158.115 cm, rounded to 158 cm (1.58 meters) to make it easier
Weight: 142 lbs / 2.2 (lbs/kg)= 64.54 kg, rounded to 64.5 kg
1. Determining your Body Mass Index
Even though I don’t personally believe in BMI as a proper measure of obesity, it is still good to know where you stand on the scale. BMI=weight in kg divided by height squared in meters.
So for me: 64.5 kg / (1.58 m)(1.58 m) = 25.8
USDA guidelines say that anything under 25 is healthy, 25-29 is overweight and anything above 29 is obese. You can now see why this is not always accurate because I happen to know that my body fat is 31%, which is in the normal healthy adult range; but because I train and workout I have a higher lean mass which typically puts me on the cusp of the BMI scale. Think of all the athletes who would be rated as obese because of this scale! Again, it is nice to know, though.
2. Setting your Weight Loss Goal
To reach 130 I will have to lose 12 pounds. Healthy and lasting weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. Because I am starting off with a detox, I will put my goals at 2 pounds a week because you will lose weight a little faster at first when you detox. If you put your plan at one pound, you take a little longer, but it is still lasting and you get to eat more! So, if I lose 2 pounds per week and have to lose 12 pounds total, it should take me 6 weeks to reach my goal.
3. The Fitness Plan
I plan to exercise 6 days a week at least 45 minutes per day. I plan to deficit 300-500 calories in each session. Weekly caloric deficit from exercise for me will be 1800-3000 calories. (I know that for someone my weight it takes a little over 10 minutes on a stepper at level 9 to burn 100 calories. I know this because I am a gym rat. I also use a treadmill, and for every mile ran/walked is 100 calories. That goes for anyone, all shapes and sizes.)
***Remember that a pound of fat is 3500 calories. You burn 100 calories in a mile, whether you walk or run it is the same; you just burn it quicker if you run. That means that you have to walk 35 miles to burn off a pound of fat. Keep that in mind. It makes a large margarita seem different when you know it will take 6 miles to work it off.***
4. Meeting Basal Metabolic Needs
Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to perform basic functions like blood circulation, food digestion, etc. ACE uses the Harris Benedict formula to calculate BMR, which differs for men and women.
Women: 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg.) + (1.8 x height in cm.) – (4.7 x age in years)
Men: 66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5 x height in cm.) - (6.8 x age in years)
So for me: 655 + (9.6 x 64.5 kg) + (1.8 x 158 cm) – (4.7 x 27 years old)
= 655 + 619.2 + 284.4 – 126.9 = 1431.7 calories
In other words, I need at least 1432 calories a day just for my body to function properly.
5. Assumption of a Sedentary Lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle assumption just means that we can assume that everyone has a little bit of light activity throughout the day; whether it be desk work or running errands, housekeeping or walking on the job. All of these activities require more calories. All you do to figure this out is multiply your BMR by 1.2. This gives you the calories you need for basic function as well as this light activity.
So for me: 1432 x 1.2 = 1718 calories
6. Total Daily Needs
Your total above is not the end! Since you are exercising (as outlined in Step 3), your body needs even more calories. To account for these calories, first divide your weekly calories burned goal by 7, which gives the average number of calories you burn through exercise each day. These fitness calories must be added to get your total daily calorie needs. So, add Sedentary Lifestyle Calories + Fitness Calories. I will go with the lower end of the scale I chose since time constraints do change in my schedule. I would rather assume the least and do more than the opposite.
So for me: 1800/7 = 257 fitness calories 257 + 1718 = 1975 total calories
I can eat this much daily and maintain my weight, but in order to lose weight, I need to eat less than this. On to the next step!
7. The Rate of Weight Loss
Remember that a pound of fat is 3500 calories. In order to lose one pound a week, you have to deficit 500 calories a day. In order to lose two pounds a week, you have to deficit 1000 calories a day. This deficit comes from both burning more calories by exercising as well as eating less.
THE AMAZING SECRET TO WEIGHT LOSS!!!!
~CONSUME LESS, EXERCISE MORE~
CRAZY, I KNOW!
All you have to do to figure out your caloric intake for weight loss is subtract your daily deficit from the total maintenance calories we just figured out in the last step. Also, add 100 calories to the total so you have a range that you can follow for the day. Finally, round up the numbers to the nearest ten.
So for me: 1975 – 1000 = 975-1075, rounded up to 980-1080 calories per day.
Give or take a few calories, this is where I need to stay during my detox. HOWEVER, no female should dip beneath 1200 calories a day, 1500 calories a day for males. Your brain thinks that you are starving and flips a metabolic switch. In order to conserve energy, the body lowers your metabolism and you will not burn calories as quickly. This may be hard to do during the detox because of dietary restrictions. It can be difficult to eat 1200 calories of green vegetables!
As long as you make the time to stop and eat every two hours, you will never be hungry. You WILL crave, but you will NOT be hungry. You will learn the difference quickly when you are more aware. Also, remember that this section of the blog refers to WEIGHT LOSS. Once you are finished with your weight loss, you enter into what is referred to as maintenance. The rules will then change somewhat.
Always know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. That light is not only when you can exercise and eat to maintain, but also a happy and healthy YOU; your best self! You have one life - one body - life is short, so live it! Now that you know the basics, let’s take a look at six days worth of food!
