Sane weight loss tips

Options
opher
opher Posts: 19
in Health and Weight Loss
A couple of weeks ago I was at a local coffee shop, enjoying a refreshing iced coffee (no cream or sugar :)) after a 45 mile bike ride. As I got up to leave, a couple of women started asking me questions about riding as exercise, etc. and whether resistance training or cardio was the best way to lose weight.

To cut a long story short, I decided to write a short piece (see http://knowabit.com/2011/07/top-ten-tips-for-sane-weight-loss/) about what I've found to be helpful in sane weight loss. By sane I mean something sustainable that becomes a lifestyle change, rather than a fad diet that no sane person would be able to stick with over the long haul. I hope these tips help some folks here too, and I'm happy to read what others think about them.

Replies

  • kathrynkatana
    kathrynkatana Posts: 90 Member
    Options
    Awesome article. Thanks for writing and sharing!
  • samatalma
    samatalma Posts: 197
    Options
    Such an awesome article and great tips!! I especially like #10-Everything in Moderation. I think that is a great one, and one that I have been telling myself often. I know I would go nuts trying to lose this weight if I was constantly trying to do things perfectly!!
  • BonLou76
    BonLou76 Posts: 36
    Options
    That was a fantastic piece. Thank you for sharing!
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    Options
    It all sounds good except for calculating calories.. I haven't heard that one, and it definitely gives large people too many calories and small people too few. Why not just link to a calorie calculator?
  • opher
    opher Posts: 19
    Options
    It all sounds good except for calculating calories.. I haven't heard that one, and it definitely gives large people too many calories and small people too few. Why not just link to a calorie calculator?
    The 200 + 8*weight-in-lbs comes from a TV show by Dr. Oz of Oprah fame, and the 10*weight-in-lbs is from the P90X nutrition guide. I forgot to add those sources to the article, but will correct that soon. The thing is that large people burn much more than small people in just maintaining their larger bodies. If you take a person who weighs 400 lbs and only let them eat 2000 calories a day they will have a very hard time. Their bodies would probably react as if they're being starved (which they would be), and their metabolism would slow down. Check out whatever calorie calculator you like most and see how many calories it recommends you eat, then add 50 lbs to your assumed body weight and see how the number increases. If the calculator is any good, I'd expect the increase to be 400 to 500 calories a day or something in close to that range.
  • beaglenutty
    beaglenutty Posts: 160 Member
    Options
    Great articel! Thanks for sharing
  • opher
    opher Posts: 19
    Options
    It all sounds good except for calculating calories.. I haven't heard that one, and it definitely gives large people too many calories and small people too few. Why not just link to a calorie calculator?
    The 200 + 8*weight-in-lbs comes from a TV show by Dr. Oz of Oprah fame, and the 10*weight-in-lbs is from the P90X nutrition guide. I forgot to add those sources to the article, but will correct that soon. The thing is that large people burn much more than small people in just maintaining their larger bodies. If you take a person who weighs 400 lbs and only let them eat 2000 calories a day they will have a very hard time. Their bodies would probably react as if they're being starved (which they would be), and their metabolism would slow down. Check out whatever calorie calculator you like most and see how many calories it recommends you eat, then add 50 lbs to your assumed body weight and see how the number increases. If the calculator is any good, I'd expect the increase to be 400 to 500 calories a day or something in close to that range.
    After more thought I incorporated your suggestion and added a link to a calculator from Discovery.com. When I tried what I advised you to do I found it adds about 6 calories per day per pound I added to my assumed body weight. I also added the sources of the two formulas I included there. Thanks for the excellent suggestion!
  • SaraTonin
    SaraTonin Posts: 551 Member
    Options
    ^ Sure! I hadn't heard the Dr. Oz one.

    Most of what I've read has stated that morbidly obese people don't really fall under most BMI calculators because they can stand to live on fewer calories (and can healthily lose weight faster than just 1lb per week). Not sure how accurate that is, but I figured that's why MFP does its calculations how it does.

    Spose everyone should ask a doctor what their calorie intake should be as it is.

Categories