Hi Everyone,

This topic has become a very popular one. I would like to have one post that describes the need for calories and hope that this one will be it.

We have a tendency to think "more is better." When it comes to weight loss, cutting more calories and more fat is THOUGHT to be better but it is not.You have a set number of calories that your body needs to maintain its weight. This is based on your height, weight, age, gender, and activity level. In order to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than your body needs to maintain its weight.

The NHBLI Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults has set the rate of weight loss to be 1 to 2 lbs per week. When you gain one pound from eating and additional 3500 calories you gain 25% muscle and 75% fat. This is a very common mistake that people make. The 3500 calorie excess and deficit is NOT pure fat. The muscle component is a very important reason why you need to limit how quickly you lose. When you go beyond the 1 to 2 lb recommendation, you will increase your muscle loss and decrease your fat loss, which is definitely not a good thing to do. Your muscle is the "engine" that burns up your fat so when you have less of it you are burning less fat. Each time that you have lost weight quickly in the past you most likely lost more muscle than fat. When you put that weight back on you put on 75% fat and 25% muscle, regardless of the fact that you lost more muscle than that. If you do this numerous times you end up with a higher amount of fat and lower amount of muscle than you had when you originally began.

I know how great it feels to lose quickly, but it is not healthy or safe to do. In the first couple of weeks you may see a higher loss due to water, not muscle or fat, and that is okay. After that, try for 1 to 2 lbs while keeping your activity level up. The balanced diet that you are working at also goes for your activity. You want some aerobic activity and resistance exercise. The resistance exercise will replace the muscle that you are losing. Remember that even with the 1 to 2 lb weight loss you are losing 25% muscle so you do want to put that back.

Your response to what I say helps me know if I am getting my point across.

Please let me know if this clears things up for you,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

 

 Hey Betty,

 Thanks for the post, i have read ur 25/75 post b4 but this time i really understand the importance of eating well.

But i still struggling with calorie intake / cal burnt. if my goal is to losses 2 pound per week, and i am in 1200cal, 40gms  section. how many cal do i need to burn? free deiting says this is what i need to if i were to have no activity.

Maintenance:	1576 Calories/day
Fat Loss:	1261 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss:	1136 Calories/day

I guess i want to know how many cal do i need to burn( i can do weigths, cardio and walk) to loose 2 pound per week.

 

Thanks

Buzz
 

Hi Buzz,

The calories that you are "burning" are based on the activity level that you select when you entered this information into http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm. The first part of this equation gives you your BMR, the number of calories that you need without any movement at all. Once you add the movement/activity in, the calorie difference between your BMR and maintenance calories is the number of calories that you are burning from movement and exercise.

Here is this equation written out from http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/cron2.html:

The Mifflin-St Jeor equations are:

Male: BMR = 10×weight + 6.25×height - 5×age + 5
Female: BMR = 10×weight + 6.25×height - 5×age - 161

These equations require the weight in kilograms, the height in centimeters, and the age in years. To determine your total daily calorie needs, the BMR has to be multiplied by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:

• 1.200 = sedentary (little or no exercise)
  
• 1.375 = lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week)
  
• 1.550 = moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week)
  
• 1.725 = very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week)
  
• 1.900 = extra active (very hard exercise/sports and physical job)

If you are in between one of the activity levels choose the lower one. It's better to underestimate your activity calories and end up doing more rather than overestimating and eating more calories than you need.

Does this make sense?

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD

This is mine .. can we say LOST ?? !!

Maintenance:	2213 Calories/day
Fat Loss:	2160 Calories/day
Extreme Fat Loss:	2160 Calories/day

Sher

 

Hi Sher,

I want everyone to IGNORE THE FAT AND EXTREME FAT LOSS CALORIES FROM THAT SITE. All that you need to know is what your maintenance calories are. Once you know that you subtract 3,500 to 7,000 calories PER WEEK to lose 1 to 2 lbs PER WEEK.

• 3,500 calories BELOW your maintenance calories = 1 lb loss
• 7,000 calories BELOW your maintenance calories = 2 lbs loss

Most people take off

•  500 calories per day (500 X 7 = 3500) for 1 lb loss per week OR
• 1,000 calories per day (1,000 X 7 = 7,000) for 2 lb loss per week

The good thing about calories is that you have some flexibility. Let's say that your goal is to lose 1 lb per week so you usually cut out 500 calories from your maintenance calories each day. If you splurged one day and ended up only cutting back by 100 calories instead of 500 calories you can still lose weight that week. All that you would have to do is cut the other 400 calories out from the rest of the days in the week. Once you hit the 3,500 calorie deficit mark you lose one pound. Here is the example of this:

Example persons maintenance goals are 2000 calories per day so they are going to eat 1500 calories per day to lose 1 lb per week

• Monday - ate 1500 calories
• Tuesday - ate 1500 calories
• Wednesday - ate 1900 calories
• Thursday - ate 1400 calories
• Friday - ate 1400 calories
• Saturday - ate 1400 calories
• Sunday - ate 1400 calories

Total calories saved = 3,500 calories so one lb loss

Sher, your maintenance calories are 2213 so you will lose 1 lb per week with 1700 calories and 2 lbs per week with 1200 calories.

How is that?

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD 

Betty, It makes sense, just as your "why you need your fat grams" was a clear message. Unfortunately, 31 years of propaganda on the other side is hard to dismiss (but I'm trying, I swear!). Thanks also to your response to my other message , linking me to other relevant posts - the fact that you are monitoring the site with the overwhelming popularity is amazing (total understatement). If you don't mind sharing, I think a lot of us would like to know more about you - your story, how you got involved in the message board and a face to put with the name. Before Oprah has you on, can you give us a preview? Erin

 SwimGuppy,

put Betty's name in google she will come up. let me tell u she looks like a model!!! love to tht hair!!! buzz  

Hi Betty

Your message on calories, fat, and weight loss is very well written and understandable.  Slow weight loss is okay with me and the usual way that I lose weight. (55 yrs, CW 135.5, GW 110-115).  What I have always slacked on is exercise.  That is probably the reason that I am trying to lose weight--again.

I think that the reason I slack on exercise is because there are so many different opinons on what kind of exercise and how long one should exercise to maintain weight loss and metabolism.  Sometimes when something is not clearly defined we decline to do anything about it.  I know that doesn't make common sense, but it is reality.

I work long hours (high school principal) and get up at 5 a.m. on most days so exercising before work is not an option for me.  What is the minimum, per week, that we can do to counter-act muscle loss?  I have been walking my dog--15 minutes one way and then 15 minutes back home--2 or 3 times a week.

Can I continue that walking plan and include resistance bands?  For example, can I use the bands for 10-15 minutes on upper body resistance 2-3 times a week in addition to walking? Or, can we count vacuuming, up and down stairs for laundry and picking up items around the house.  If we add some speed and motion to cleaning the house can that count as muscle saving activity?  I know that 5=10 minutes intervals 3 times per day are as good as one 30 minute workout.  However, most of us are not going to stop what we are doing and walk for 5-10 3 times a day.  It sounds easy, but some of us are finding it difficult to stop what we are doing and walk 1 time a day!  This is sounding negative and that is not what I am intending.  I just want something that is really doable for the masses.

Thank you for any clarity you can bring to the subject of exercise.  In reality most people--over 50% by the latest statistics--are not going to formally exercise; go to the gym, walk, or other forms.  What is the bare minimum, practical, and sustainable amount of exercise that we can start out with?  Maybe success in this area would lead to increased exercise later on.

Thanks in advance.

Linda

lenos:

Hi Betty

Y

Can I continue that walking plan and include resistance bands?  For example, can I use the bands for 10-15 minutes on upper body resistance 2-3 times a week in addition to walking? Or, can we count vacuuming, up and down stairs for laundry and picking up items around the house.  If we add some speed and motion to cleaning the house can that count as muscle saving activity?  I know that 5=10 minutes intervals 3 times per day are as good as one 30 minute workout.  However, most of us are not going to stop what we are doing and walk for 5-10 3 times a day.  It sounds easy, but some of us are finding it difficult to stop what we are doing and walk 1 time a day!  This is sounding negative and that is not what I am intending.  I just want something that is really doable for the masses.

Thanks in advance.

Linda

 

hi Linda,

Please go to Fitday.com , they have activity logs which will tell u how any cals u burnt by doing basic things like even brushing  ur teeth :))

i am also trying to burn more than i eat. i will work on the equations Betty provided us and see how much i need to work out.

i am with u, after some time( possibly if i reach my goal wt) i will stop taking the pill and i will not have the walking support group like wht carol joy created i will not workout. i know it....

i am trying to work hard to make it work. about adding more resistances walmart and other sport stores are make nice thin writes straps u can while excercing, check them out.

good luck with ur weight loss. 

Hi Allibuz,

I do have resistance bands that I purchased from www.bodylastics.com.  I like using them--when I use them, he he.  I will check out Fitday for house cleaning and other activities.  But if someone said the following to me:

     Walk at a regular pace 30 minutes 2 times per week.

     Vacuum your house vigorously 1 time per week.

     Use bands by stepping on them and pushing your arms up 20 times, lift arms to sides 20 times and do 20 curls and do this 2 times per week.

     and if you do the above you will maintain muscle.....

That is the kind of info I would like.  I am a black and white person.  What is the bare minimum I need to do to say that I am active, retaining muscle, keeping fit, and even burning calories...

lenos:

     Walk at a regular pace 30 minutes 2 times per week.

     Vacuum your house vigorously 1 time per week.

   

 

this just cracked me up!!  i too am bare min kid of gal. i think tht is part of the reason y i keep try to figure out how much to workout to loose 1-2 lbs per week. coz i dont want to 'waste' my workout hahah

buzz 

I think we are just looking for an "Exercise Program" that will work for us. lol

Seriously though, whatever routine that is healthy, burns cals, and we can stick to over the long hall is worth it.  If vacuuming were considered exercise worthy and added to our health we would finally have a good reason to do it!

Linda

Betty,

Thank you for this post.  It has been extremely helpful.  I now understand why slowly losing weight is better.  In this fast paced world we expect everything to happen overnight.  We certainly did not put the weight on overnight. 

Thank you,

Tara

I have been on the alli program for about 6 weeks and have plateau'd after week 2.  I was given an 1800 calorie diet with 19g of fat.  I try not to have that much fat in my diet because I don't want to chance treatment effects while at work.  I keep the fat range between 12 and 15 grams.  However, since weight loss is not coming off, and I admit to being abe to excercise 3 times a week, once maybe twice a week, I would like to adjust my calories on line from 1800 to 1600.  I would like to do it within the program so I can print up the meal plans and plan ahead instead of using a different diet which may not be as accurate.  Please let me know how to do this.  Thank you.

Hi Regina23,

Unfortunately, there is no way to do this yet. The request has been made so I will let you know once this happens. For now, you can just cut the 200 calories out from what you have been eating.

Good luck,

Betty Kovacs, MS, RD