The Absolutely Fool Proof Way To Lose Weight

Low carb, low fat, high protein, eat like a Neanderthal, eat like a Martian - have you tried just about every diet plan on the planet (or maybe even the galaxy) and still can't lose weight? The reason is simple - it's really all about calories.

Yes, I know that calorie should really be a four letter word. We don't like to talk about them, read about them, or certainly count them. But ignoring them is one big reason for the failure of many popular diet plans. You see, it really is NOT YOUR FAULT!

If you really want to burn fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit. This is just science, plain and simple. In order to lose one pound of fat, your body needs to burn 3,500 more calories than it needs. For those keeping track - in order to burn 1 pound of fat per week you need to be in a 500 calorie deficit per day. Two pounds of fat per week means a 1,000 calorie per day deficit.

So, in order to succeed you need to know how many calories your body needs each day in order to perform its basic functions, like digestion and keeping your heart beating.

I hate to do this to you, but we'll need some math here in order to determine your RMR - Resting Metabolic Rate. Hey, this is not school you can use a calculator! Use the following equations to determine your RMR

Men: (4.54 x weight in pounds) + (15.875 x height in inches) - (5 x age in years) + 5

Women: (4.54 x weight in pounds) + (15.875 x height in inches) - (5 x age in years) - 161

Next multiply your RMR by the following activity factor:

1.2 - Sedentary - desk job with little or no exercise

1.375 - Light Activity - sports or exercise 1-3 days per week

1.55 - Moderate Activity - sports or exercise 3-5 days per week

1.725 - Hard Activity - sports or exercise 6-7 days per week

1.9 - Extreme Activity - daily sports or exercise and a physical job

A Diet Example

Suppose you are a 35 year old woman, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall (66 inches), and weighs 140 pounds. You RMR would be 1347. If you were sedentary your body would need 1616 calories per day - which is not much. In fact a Big Mac, large fries, and medium chocolate shake come to 1690 calories (more than one day's worth)!

Now the problem with this is if you wanted to lose a pound a week you would have to drop your calorie intake to about 1116 calories per day - which is almost at a starvation level.

So, the solution is a combination of diet and exercise. If you begin working out 3 or 4 days per week you become moderately active. Now your body needs 2087 calories per day. Assuming your weight was stable, in order to lose a pound a week you would need to cut out only 29 calories from your previous level (1616 - 1587).

Interesting article on the subject link