How I did it!

Ok. This post will answer the following questions about my weight loss the first time and how I plan to lose it over the next few weeks/months.

1) How did you do it
2) What did you eat
3) How much did you exercise
4) Did you take anything

For me weight loss was more interesting when I used science to aid me in the process. I decided to use the Harris Benedict formula to lose weight. First you find out the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This formula is calcuated as follows:
BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

It looks really complicated but here is an example

me:

my weight in pounds: 158
my height in inches: 62 (I'm 5'2)
age: 29

Plug: 655+ (4.35*158)+(4.7*62)-(4.7*29) = 1497

Then you take this number and multiply that times your activity

stationary (you sat on your ass all week)= 1.2
lightly active (you worked out 1-2 times)= 1.375
moderate (you worked out 3-5 times)= 1.55
very active (you worked out 6-7 times for 45-60 mins)=1.725
hard active (twice a day at least 5 times a week)=1.9

Ok so I really struggle with the working out. First because I am the mother of two rug rats. Two because It is just not my favorite thing to do. But this is a normal week.

BMR*activity (1497*1.55= 2320)

This is the number of calories that you burn per day.

Subtract the number that you eat per day (calories) and you have what I call a spread.

The spread needs to be 1000 per day to lose 2 pounds a week. TRUST ME. If you follow the calculation it really works. Each week as you lose weight you change up the formula accordingly and you NEVER hit a plateau.

Example

2320-1300 (calories eaten)= 1020 (spread or 2 pound weight loss)

Activity

Ok so my activity is usually an exercise tape or the treadmill or the elliptical. Not glamourous but it works. I try to do 30-45 minutes 4 times a week.

Did I take anything?- Nope. I couldn't take anything because I was breastfeeding. Anything and everything I ate would go right to the baby. I'll blog next week with my weight and we can talk about my calories eaten over the course of the week and my workouts and you'll see. See ya soon!