Diary of a Loser: April 2012

Monday, April 23, 2012

Entry 4/20/2012

Weight 217.4

Was on a plateau around 223-225 pound for about 2 months. Did some minor tweaking and broke through it. Simple things. Like when I go to the restroom (4-5 times a day), instead of coming back to my office the same way, I walk briskly outside and around the building. It only takes an extra 3 minutes but it revs up the metabolism after sitting at my desk. I was snacking on nuts indiscriminately during the day and now I measure them out and eat less. Picked some better bad choices for late night snacks and try not to eat within 2 hours of bedtime.

Even though I was following my fitness routine faithfully (at least 45 minutes for at least 6 days a week) and eating reasonably, these small changes got me back on downward trend.

Some Basics (changes in review)

There is no such thing as a quick loss diet with lasting results. Forget about the fads if you want to lose weight and keep off the fat in a healthy way. There are a few inescapable facts concerning weight loss.

First of all, a pound of fat contains 3500 calories. If you want to lose a pound of fat, you must burn 3500 more calories than you consume. Here's the equation : Fat lost or gained = (Calories consumed - Calories burned) / 3500. If you want to lose a pound fat a week, you must on average burn 500 calories a day more than you consume.

Second, you must consume enough calories each day to keep your body from thinking it may starve. If you don't get enough calories your metabolism will slow down thereby burning less calories and you'll just feel tired and hungry. Also, if the deficit is too large and last more than a few days, your body will start consuming muscle, the organ that burns the calories. The accepted wisdom seems to be 1200 calories for females and 1800 for males. One to three pounds a week is a healthy rate of fat loss.

Third, muscles burn the calories (your brain burns some also but for some people its negligible :) ), therefore exercise is a important part of any weight loss effort. It does not have to be strenuous. Walking is wonderful, it will burn extra calories and build muscles in your legs. Try to work up to at least 2 miles a day. If you walk 2 miles in 34 minutes (3.5 mph), you'll burn approximately your weight in extra calories. Use the calculator below. I strongly suggest you lift weights at least twice a weak. Try to increase or maintain all your muscles.

Exercise Calculator (click in box to select Pace)

Calories Burned Calculator
Estimate calories you burn walking:
Pace:
Weight:
Time:

BMI =	(weight in pounds * 703 )
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	height in inches²