After reading the �giving up on sugar� thread I thought I would start this thread rather than hijack. Based on what I read here and elsewhere its clear many folks are confused about nutrition and daily macros and eating for health and fitness (vs eating to eat and fill the hole) I was there not too long ago but got educated on the subject and totally revised how (and why) I eat. Im happy I made the change. Its been a couple years now and Im feeling better now than when I was in my 30�s and 40�s. Its all pretty easy when you break id down in simple terms.
Are you overweight, out of shape, low energy, middle aged? I was. Back in 2012 I was nearly 400 pounds with a 50 inch waist and on the doorstep of type 2 diabetes, I opted to make a change. One year and 3 months later I was 185 with a 32 inch waist and lifting more weight than I had ever before. This will be a lot to read but if you want to really understand how this works and have failed more than once at losing weight and getting into shape, you will find value in it and will perhaps better understand why you failed.
As I set about changing how I eat in an effort to get fit and lean I have read a lot and learned a lot. The science has never changed. The science is sound. Where we fail is human willpower and the ability to apply what needs to be done to manage our weight. I can�t help others with willpower but I can help with providing a simple understanding of how to change how you eat so you will lose or manage your weight. If you take a moment to understand the simple principles, you will understand how easy this all is. Then you need the willpower to apply this new knowledge. If you don�t know your numbers, how can you expect to be successful in your weight goals? How can you prescribe a weight management goal if you don�t diagnose your specific situation. You would only be guessing and that leads to frustration and failure.
You are going to need a computer to make this as easy and painless as possible but since you�re here reading this, I suspect you already have that covered.
1. You need to first completely understand your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). This is the hand you were dealt at birth. This is the calories your body burns just to stay alive to maintain your current weight. It�s the calories your body would burn in if you stayed in bed and slept all day. If you don�t know this number, you are setting yourself up for failure in weight loss since you don�t know how to set your daily calorie intake. Your BMR is your starting point in terms of calories and weight loss or maintenance because it�s all calorie based. It would be like trying to find out your car�s gas mileage without an odometer. I will provide links to online calculators so you will finally know your BMR. If you want to read more about BMR. See this link.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basal_metabolic_rate2. Next, TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) Since you don�t stay in bed all day and sleep, you need to know how many calories you actually use in an average day. If you don�t know how many calories you burn in a day, how can you possibly know how many calories will cause you to gain, lose or maintain your body weight? I will provide links to online calculators so you will finally know your TDEE. Knowing your BMR and TDEE are keys to successful weight loss.
3. TDCI ( Total Daily Caloric Intake) You can easily calculate your BMR and your TDEE but if you don�t track your caloric intake accurately it means nothing since you don�t know if you exceeded the number of calories you need to eat in a day lose weight. Many studies have shown that people that accurately track their daily food are more successful at losing and maintaining a healthy weight than those that just guess.
4. Your daily macros (Carbs, Fats, Protein) This is the number of grams of each of these you take in in a day. Did you know that a gram of carbs is 4 calories. A gram of protein is 4 calories and a gram of fat is 9 calories. Knowing this and setting your daily macros correctly will lead to the weight goal you are striving to reach while providing proper nutrition.
The carbs you eat provide your daily energy. Your body can store carbs for later use. These excess carbs are stored as fat. Not all carbs are created equal. A carrot and a Cheeto both provide carbs, both are slender and orange but one will provide good carbs while the other provides bad carbs. The fats you eat also provide your daily energy. Your body can store fat for later use. These excess fats are stored as fat (big surprise). The protein you eat also provides your daily energy. Your body cannot store protein for later use. Protein digestion uses the most energy (burns the most calories while they are being digested) of all 3 macros. Eating protein pays dividends on a couple levels.
Of the three, carbs dictate your blood sugars (insulin) and drive craving and hunger. The more you eat, the more you want and the more fat you store. There are good carbs and bad carbs. Carbs that will help you reach your weight goals and carbs that you actively work to destroy your goals. Do a search simple and complex carbs for a complete understanding.
If you�re like me you are impatient so let�s get to the numbers so you can begin educating yourself on your weight goals. Let�s start with your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). Here is how its manually calculated but I will provide a few links to online calculators to make it easy.
Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )
If math is not your strong suit, it looks like this for a 200 pound 6 ft tall man that is 50 years old:
Weight portion: 6.23 x 200 lbs = 1,246
Height portion: 12.7 x 72 inches = 914.4
Age portion: 6.8 x 50 years = 340
Then take the values and apply them. 66 + 1,246 + 914.4 � 340 = 1,886.4 calories a day just for a human male of this size and age to stay alive and maintain that 200 pound weight.
But you don�t care for math (most don�t) Use all these links to see what your numbers look like. Each provides you with a slightly different number as each wants to apply different variables.
http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/http://www.fithingych.com/qkcalc/bmr.htmlhttp://www.bmrcalculator.org/http://www.calculator.net/bmr-calcu...ckg=60&cactivity=1&x=64&y=19If you didn�t manually calculate your BMR with the equation I provided, take the results from the online calculators and average them for your BMR. This might be the first time you have seen this number. This is how many calories your body burns daily just to maintain your current weight if you were very sedate and did nothing.
We both know you don�t spend your day in bed so let�s calculate how many calories you burn in a day or your TDEE. The manual version looks like this.
If you are sedentary (spend most of the day sitting and inactive) take your BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (spend most of the day on your feet or exercise 1-3 days a week) take your BMR x 1.375
If you are Moderately active (Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week) take your BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (Hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) take your BMR x 1.725
If you are extremely active (physically demanding job, 2 a day exercise, marathon runner, ect) take your BMR x 1.9
Here are some online TDEE calculators. Again, each uses slightly different variables but do them all and get your average.
http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.htmlhttp://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/http://thefitgirls.com/tdee-calculator.aspxSo let�s create a sample person and apply what we know so far about BMR and TDEE. We will call him Fred.
Fred is a 50 year old man that is 6 feet (72 inches) tall and weighs 250 pounds and Fred wants to drop some weight.
Fred�s BMR is 2,198 calories.
66 + ( 6.23 x 250 ) + ( 12.7 x 72 ) - ( 6.8 x 50 ) or 66 + 1557.5 + 914.4 � 340 = 2,198 calories Fred�s body needs to stay 250 pounds with no activity.
Fred is a pretty sedate guy with a desk job. He cleans the garage and mows the lawn on the weekend but for the most part, he is pretty inactive.
Fred�s BMR of 2,198 x his TDEE factor of 1.3 (for his activity level) = 2,857 total daily energy expended by Fred. If Fred maintains this level of activity, his body will burn 2,857 calories a day to keep him at 250 pounds but Fred wants to drop some weight and get to 200 pounds. Now that Fred knows how many calories he needs to eat a day to maintain 250 pounds he needs to work on how many calories he should eat a day to lose weight. This is where weight loss breaks down for a few different reasons.
1. Fred likes to eat. Fred loves food.
2. Fred doesn�t like to track his food intake and weigh his food and calories.
3. Fred tracks his caloric intake but cheats himself.
4. Fred gives up because it�s too much work.
continued.....
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