Before changing dietary and exercise habits, do this.

Each day, there is a lot of great advice given here by many knowledgeable people. Nearly all of it, however, is advice on how to correct an aspect to ones program that has been misapplied or absent.

When one goes to buy a house, what should they do? Get the house appraised, of course, so you know exactly how much it's worth. Thus, before assigning weight loss goals, cutting caloric intake and upping exercise, the very first thing people should do is establish what their true TDEE, or maintenance range, actually is. One can accomplish this by simply logging foods eaten and typical exercise done for a few weeks to see how much than can eat to maintain present weight. So many members here, who rush into losing weight, do not know this number yet they naively set goals and attempt to create a game plan without that key piece of information. By not knowing this number, you are making the process of fat loss far more difficult and complicated than it has to be which is also a sure fire way to increase anxiety levels. Now, if you're a masochist who enjoys seeing yourself swimming in a pool of despair and anguish, by all means go for it.

The magical 1200 net - and please recognize it's net calories and not gross calories eaten - is not tailored to the individual's unique variables such as Resting Metabolic Rate or activity level. This is like handing someone a one size fits all pair of pants expecting it to be the perfect fit for everyone.

So please, before drastically cutting calories and hopping on that elliptical to burn 600 calories, figure out what your actual TDEE is. The RMR and TDEE equations out there can be reasonably accurate if ones metabolic and hormonal health as well as appetite hasn't been adjusted due to various insults such as disease, medicine use or chronically assuming a large deficit well below maintenance for lengthy periods of time. Be patient by finding this number and you'll more accurately be able to apply the right deficit for your goals. Lastly, educate yourself on how nutrition and exercise influence your potential to reach those goals by perusing articles from experts such as Lyle McDonald, Alan Aragon, and Tom Venuto (there are others but these three are fantastic sources of information) as well as peer-reviewed studies available, free, at clinical online journals.

Reaching your goals to become stronger, healthier and able to lead a more independent quality of life is worth taking the time to do it right.