Confusing ? You bet !

Since I took no food pictures yesterday, I thought I would blog about something else- trying to figure out just how to do this weight loss thing. In theory it is a simple matter of burning off more calories that you consume. And with that statement, anything easy or clear ends. We eat to live- food, water and sunshine are the substances which our bodies gain energy. Every action our body preforms expends energy- breathing, sleeping, ,thinking and so forth. Excess fuel is stored as fat. Again, ,in theory simple enough. In reality, COMPLICATED ! Just how much fuel does your body need ? It depends on age, gender, activity level, height and more.Your body is designed for survival, and if it is not being supplied with necessary fuel it goes into a survival mode, conserving in any way it can. It is simply natures way.

Back in the dark ages, every overweight person was told to consume 1000 calories per day or less. Truth is that caloric level will adequately nurture a fetus, and not beyond. The standard method of weight loss failed most people. Then we learned about things like the basal metabolic rate and things changed. Calculations were made according to current weight, height, age and activity level. Allegedly a standard of calculation. I say allegedly because of experience.

I spent a lot of time yesterday mulling over our weight loss journey. We have been at this since December of 2006. Long, frustrating time ! Started with Weight Watchers and moved on hen that created a year long plateau ( don't get me started on the voodoo math with fiber). Lots of money, time, emotional investment in the journey, and it gets complicated by things like Autism intervention and living on budget. I have studied nutrition as part of herbal medicine studies, and I know that a lot of what is touted as healthy is far from it. I also know a lot of the foods that are often considered "bad" for weight loss are some potent suppliers of what your body really needs. I know that it all comes down to calories in and calories out, but just what is that magic formula. So I have been doing some research. Here are the results, based on a few different sources, supposedly all using the same set of calculations.


American Council on Exercise, Personal Trainer Manual
For sedentary people: Weight x 14 = estimated cal/day
For moderately active people: Weight x 17 = estimated cal/day
For active people: Weight x 20 = estimated cal/day
to lose weight, subtract 500 calories per day- so for us it comes to

Di 2888
Bob 3084
Nick 4442

according to the American Cancer Society
Di 2800
Bob 3107
Nick 4474

Then at Active.com we come up with
Di 2196
Bob 2768
Nick 3813

BMR Calculator states the following
Di 1778.2
Bob 2220.78
Nick 3051.29


Want to try it on your own ? Good Housekeeping has a formula
Calculate Basal Metabolic Rate
Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Example: You are 38-year-old woman, who is 5'4" and 142 pounds.
First, convert your height into inches. 5'4" equals 64 inches.
Now paste your values into the equation above.
655 + (4.35 x 142) + (4.7 x 64) - (4.7 x 38)
655 + 617.7 + 300.8 - 178.6 = 1394.9
Your BMR = 1394.9

Standard ? I think not. Trustworthy ? Again , which one ? Sources like The Daily Plate have yet a different calculation still. One thing is clear- we are not getting enough calories with our current 1400 a day ( and son 2000 calorie) plan.I think it is time to add a little more fruits and perhaps some 100 calorie backs as sides. Make mine nuts please !