Yes, Kids, You Will Use Math One Day

     I am a full believer that losing weight is a numbers game.  If you can add and subtract, you can do lose weight.  And if you can't work the numbers, I've got a calculator with your name on it (I'm a teacher--if you need accomodations I don't judge.)  There are a few secret numbers you need to know, and today, I'm going to share them with you. 
     The most crucial number that you memorize is 3500.  This is the amount of calories in one pound.  Eat this many calories, and you will gain a pound.  Exercise this number away, and you will lose a pound.  Very simple. 
      The next number we need to know is our called our Basal Metabolic Rate.  This is the number of calories our bodies burn just from basic life functions like breathing and pumping blood.  In other words, you could sit on your butt and watch reruns of Law and Order SVU all day (which I did the first two days this week--hey I was sick--don't judge) and you would still burn this amount of calories.  So how do we figure our BMR?  There are complicated formulas out  there somewhat akin to the quadratic equation. Fortunately, for those of us who weren't math majors, there are online calculators that will figure this value for us.  Here is one example:  http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  If you Google "BMR calculator" you will find several.  Basically, these calculators take into account your age, gender, weight and height when determining this base line value.  Here's an example:  Let's say that you are a 35 year old woman, 5'6 and 130 lbs (these are obviously  not my numbers--Your not getting those--sorry!)  Your BMR is 1366. If you are an 18 year old woman, 5'8 and 300 lbs, your BMR is 2,195 Again, this value will vary for everyone.  You really need to figure out your own personal number before you can procede. 
      Knowing these two values, you can then use this knowledge to help you decide how many calories you need to eat each day, and how many calories you need to be exercising away. In order to stay at an stable weight, you have two options.  You can choose to eat only the amount of calories allotted by your BMR.  Or, you can "buy" more calories by exercising.  For example, if your BMR is 1366 and you exercise off 500 calories, you can eat 1866 calories that day. 
     If you are interested in losing weight (and you probably are if you are reading this blog) what you need to do is create "calorie debt."  Here's how to do it:  Find your BMR.  Decide how many calories you will "buy" by exercising each day.  Add these together.  Eat fewer calories than this number each day with the goal of creating a specific calorie debt on a weekly basis.  If you can can create a calorie debt of 3500 then you will lose a pound.  A calorie debt of 7,000 will have you down two pounds. 
     Here's how you put the whole process together and figure out approximately how many calories you need to each each day to reach your goal.  For the sake of this exercise, let's pretend that you are a 5'4 woman, 31 years old, who weighs 195 lbs.  Your BMI is 1,658.  Now let's multiply this number by 7 (number of days in a week).  This gives us 11,606.  Now let's say that you are going to commit to  burning an average of 300 calories each day (this is a modest amount).  I'm going to take that number and muliply it by 7.  This gives me 2100.  Now, I'll add the calories from your BMI to the calories that you have "bought" from exercise.  This number is 13,706.  If you eat this many calories this week, you will stay at the same weight.  However, the goal is to burn that fat, not keep it stable.  Here's what you do.  Let's set a reasonable goal of one pound this week..  We know that you need to cut 3500 calories from the number we just calculated.   13,706-3,500=10,206.  Now, take this number and divide it by 7 (number of days in the week).  You can have an average of 1,458  calories every day and lose that pound weight.  1,458 calories a day might not sound like much, but it is very doable. 
     Now that I've numbed your brain with those math problems, it is time to do your homework.  Find your own BMR.  Determine your own goals.  Let me know how its going for you!