Obesity Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Weight Loss Tips - Starting off? Here's my tips, add yours!!!

Steve · 05-30-07, 10:30 AM

I think this is a good thread. Great idea.

I will add to it when I think of stuff, too.

1. Calories matter. Anyone who says they don't, don't know what they are talking about. Many don't want to become obsessive with regards to tracking their food intake. If you are serious about your physique, I suggest you change your way of thinking. Trying something such FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal could really aid you in your quest.

2. As important as calories are, if tracking your nutrition deters you from actually "jumping into" this lifestyle, don't count them. Simply start "cleaning up" your food choices. For most that are very overweight, this will be enough to invoke change. Healthier, more balanced diets tend to give you more bang for your buck, meaning you can eat more food and intake less calories.... as Mike said above. Eventually though, getting more serious about tracking will be necessary, assuming you really want to experience body recomp and not just lose fat.

3. When setting up a diet, the first thing to do is determine the amount of calories that lead to a break-even for you. (calories in = calories out) This can be done using multiple approaches. You could simply rely on an online calculator. Google it and literally hundreds will pop up. You could use an equation, such as the Harris Benedict equation:

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

This will calculate your basal metabolic rate. To find your maintenance level (break-even), you must multiply your BMR by an activity factor. These can be found here:

If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

This will give you an pretty good estimate as to what your maintenance caloric intake is.

Or you could go the very simply route. 14-16 calories per pound is generally a good estimate for calculating your maintenance intake. Numbers tend to skew when you are at extremes (read very lean or very fat). If you are very lean, maintenance could be higher than 16. If you are overly fat, maintenance could be lower than 14.

Once you calculate your maintenance, it's time to figure out how many calories you are going to use to create an energy deficit, which is required in order to lose weight. I suggest a relatively small deficit, as this best suits long-term adherence. Starving oneself rarely leads to success. A 15-20% reduction from maintenance is a good starting point, IMO.

However, with obese individuals, they can go into deeper deficits if willing and able. This is due to various physiological reasons that we don't need to get into here. However, an obese individual could get away with reducing intake from maintenance by up to 50%.

4. Calories aren't the only things that matter. Macronutrients and micronutrients matter, not only for your physique, but your health too. If you are involved in regular exercise that includes cardiovascular exercise and strength training, which should be everyone's ultimate goal, I suggest the following.

For instance, if I need 3500 calories to maintain:

I like to have 1 - 1.5 gm of protein for each pound that I weigh. If you are carrying a lot of fat on you, it is better to use per pound of lean body mass opposed to total bodyweight when determining your protein needs.

When you are dieting, it is better to stay toward the high end of the spectrum (1.5) and when you are bulking you can stay more toward the low end (1).

Right now that would be 195 grams for me. There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, which equals out to be 975 calories (using 1.25 grams/lb). If you are not weight training, these requirements would be lower.

Then I worry about my fats. I like to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 grams as a minimum. Of this, I keep it to the healthy side of things with monounsaturated (olive oil), certain polyunsaturateds (omega-6/9s, stuff like flax oil, borage oil, etc), and a source of omega-3s (fish oil caps, or a serving of omega-3 rich fish like salmon). Let's say from this, I take in 100 grams of fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat, leaving us with 900 calories here.

That gives us a total of 1875 calories, while I am shooting for 3500! I need 1625 more. This is where I add my carbs and I toy around with the other macronutrients too. As an average, I would say 200 grams of carbs is a good number for an active individual. I have gone much higher myself. At any rate, once you calculate your proteins and fats, you fill the deficit needed to reach your caloric goal with a mixture of the 3. I tend to keep protein pretty stable at 1 - 1.5g per lb.

It tends to be very personal and goal dependent from this point forward. If you were going to be doing a lot of frequent cycling, I would load up on carbs, especially close to your workouts/cycles. Active people can benefit from carbs, although there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, there are only essential amino acids and essential fats.

I have a bunch more that I will share as time goes on. I hope this thread stays active.

05-30-07, 10:30 AM	#4 (permalink)
Steve Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 255	Re: Starting off? Here's my tips, add yours!!! I think this is a good thread. Great idea. I will add to it when I think of stuff, too. 1. Calories matter. Anyone who says they don't, don't know what they are talking about. Many don't want to become obsessive with regards to tracking their food intake. If you are serious about your physique, I suggest you change your way of thinking. Trying something such FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal could really aid you in your quest. 2. As important as calories are, if tracking your nutrition deters you from actually "jumping into" this lifestyle, don't count them. Simply start "cleaning up" your food choices. For most that are very overweight, this will be enough to invoke change. Healthier, more balanced diets tend to give you more bang for your buck, meaning you can eat more food and intake less calories.... as Mike said above. Eventually though, getting more serious about tracking will be necessary, assuming you really want to experience body recomp and not just lose fat. 3. When setting up a diet, the first thing to do is determine the amount of calories that lead to a break-even for you. (calories in = calories out) This can be done using multiple approaches. You could simply rely on an online calculator. Google it and literally hundreds will pop up. You could use an equation, such as the Harris Benedict equation: Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years) Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years) This will calculate your basal metabolic rate. To find your maintenance level (break-even), you must multiply your BMR by an activity factor. These can be found here: If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2 If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375 If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55 If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725 If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9 This will give you an pretty good estimate as to what your maintenance caloric intake is. Or you could go the very simply route. 14-16 calories per pound is generally a good estimate for calculating your maintenance intake. Numbers tend to skew when you are at extremes (read very lean or very fat). If you are very lean, maintenance could be higher than 16. If you are overly fat, maintenance could be lower than 14. Once you calculate your maintenance, it's time to figure out how many calories you are going to use to create an energy deficit, which is required in order to lose weight. I suggest a relatively small deficit, as this best suits long-term adherence. Starving oneself rarely leads to success. A 15-20% reduction from maintenance is a good starting point, IMO. However, with obese individuals, they can go into deeper deficits if willing and able. This is due to various physiological reasons that we don't need to get into here. However, an obese individual could get away with reducing intake from maintenance by up to 50%. 4. Calories aren't the only things that matter. Macronutrients and micronutrients matter, not only for your physique, but your health too. If you are involved in regular exercise that includes cardiovascular exercise and strength training, which should be everyone's ultimate goal, I suggest the following. For instance, if I need 3500 calories to maintain: I like to have 1 - 1.5 gm of protein for each pound that I weigh. If you are carrying a lot of fat on you, it is better to use per pound of lean body mass opposed to total bodyweight when determining your protein needs. When you are dieting, it is better to stay toward the high end of the spectrum (1.5) and when you are bulking you can stay more toward the low end (1). Right now that would be 195 grams for me. There are 4 calories in each gram of protein, which equals out to be 975 calories (using 1.25 grams/lb). If you are not weight training, these requirements would be lower. Then I worry about my fats. I like to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 50-100 grams as a minimum. Of this, I keep it to the healthy side of things with monounsaturated (olive oil), certain polyunsaturateds (omega-6/9s, stuff like flax oil, borage oil, etc), and a source of omega-3s (fish oil caps, or a serving of omega-3 rich fish like salmon). Let's say from this, I take in 100 grams of fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat, leaving us with 900 calories here. That gives us a total of 1875 calories, while I am shooting for 3500! I need 1625 more. This is where I add my carbs and I toy around with the other macronutrients too. As an average, I would say 200 grams of carbs is a good number for an active individual. I have gone much higher myself. At any rate, once you calculate your proteins and fats, you fill the deficit needed to reach your caloric goal with a mixture of the 3. I tend to keep protein pretty stable at 1 - 1.5g per lb. It tends to be very personal and goal dependent from this point forward. If you were going to be doing a lot of frequent cycling, I would load up on carbs, especially close to your workouts/cycles. Active people can benefit from carbs, although there is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, there are only essential amino acids and essential fats. I have a bunch more that I will share as time goes on. I hope this thread stays active.