How to lose a pound or or more a week!

There have been many times I've been asked about how to lose weight, why the scale won't budge and any tips or tricks I might possibly know. Well, here is some of the advice I give people:

How much are you eating?
First of all, you need to get a realistic idea of how many calories you are eating. If you are eating way too many calories, your exercise is not going to be anywhere near as effective as you would like. So, start with keeping a food journal or diary and then add up the calories you are eating (and drinking. Soda, juice, milk, lattes, you name it. If it has calories, you need to record it). You can use websites like www.FitDay.com, www.Sparkpeople.com or www.CalorieKing.com to get an idea of the amount of calories.

Then, after you have figured out how many calories you are eating by keeping track for a couple of days, you will need to figure out approximately how many calories your body it currently burning before any activity (called basal metabolic rate or BMR). Team Beachbody has an easy calculator you can use. Go to Eat Smart-> Nutrition Tools -> Caloric Needs. If you haven't signed up for Team Beachbody yet, click the "Join Team Beachbody" button and fill out the quick and easy form.


Okay, now you know how many calories a day you are eating and how many calories a day you should be eating. It takes 3500 calories to gain (or lose) a pound of fat. If you want to lose a pound of fat a week and you've been eating 2000 calories a day, then you need to eat 500 calories less a day. Voila, you will lose a pound of fat in one week. Bump up your calorie burn by 500 by exercising, then you will lose around two pounds a week.




How to keep track of your calories
I have an analogy I use to explain to people about the calories in/calorie out equation. First, think of your calories as a bank. In the morning, you have a "deposit" of calories (your BMR). Let's say for this purpose your BMR is 1500 calories. Now, if you don't do any activity during the day and you consume 1500 calories, you will not gain or lose weight. 

Every time you consume some calories, that is a "withdrawal" and any exercise you do is a deposit. So, you eat 1500 calories, bringing your balance to zero, but you exercised and burned 500 calories. You end the day with a calorie "profit" of 500. Do that everyday, and you will lose one pound in a week. Cut your calories consumed back 100 or 200 calories a day, and you end up with even more calorie "profit" at the end of the week. 


Tips and tricks to maximize your calories
One great way to maximize your calories and keep them in check is to automate your meals. You don't have to have the same thing every day, but if you automate even one meal, like breakfast, then you make the job of keeping track of your meals and calories a lot easier (see my Food Dairy posts for examples).

Another way is to have your meals planned out for you so you don't have to think about what to make and how many calories are in each meal. Here is a great plan for getting meals within your calories allowance to help you best meet your needs.

   


 Long term success
It depend on how much weight you have to lose. Once you figure out your BMR and begin to work within your calories, you will start to see results. But, after you lose some weight, you will need to go back to reevaluate what your current BMR is. If you lose 10 pounds, it will be different and your window of calories you can consume will begin to get smaller. This is one of the main reasons people hit that "plateau" we all dread. If your BMR was originally at 2000 calories and then you lose 10 pounds, your BMR  might now be at 1900 instead. That means your are now only at 400 calorie "profit" than the 500 you were at. You now need to make up that 100 calories another way, like exercise. 

You also need to continue to track what calories you eat and drink during the day by continuing to journal your meals. Be sure to do everything you can to be successful at losing and maintaining your weight. Using these ideas and tips will help you but it starts and ends with you and the choices you make. I am always here to help you in anyway possible and invite you to join my Beachbody team: TeamExtreme. Together we can reach the goals you have for yourself and your future!