Nutrition, or eating healthy, is the biggest challenge that we face today as a society. Every where we turn for a meal, their are dietary challenges that the majority of us are not even aware of.  Here are a few basic nutritional guidelines for fat loss from the (1)National Academy of Sports Medicine(NASM).

• Distribute protein, carbohydrates and fat throughout the day and at each meal.
• Choose whole grains and fresh vegetables over refined grains and simple sugars(the fiber and complexity of the starch will aid in hunger control).
• Schedule no fewer than four and as many as six meals a day.  This helps to control hunger, minimize blood-sugar fluctuations and increase energy levels throughout the day.
• Avoid empty calories and highly processed foods, which contain many calories and do little to provide satiety.
• Drink a lot of water ( 8 to 12 cups per day)
• Weigh and measure food for at least one week.  This will make you more aware of caloric values and serving sizes, as well as decrease the likelihood of under-reporting calories.(1)

Now lets go over the single most difficult aspect(next to portion control) people face today that want to lose body fat, calories-in budget.  It is so easy to consume more calories than the body burns causing us to gain weight.  It is difficult to lose weight when you don’t know how many calories that you are currently taking in, and how many that you need to be taking in to lose weight.  Everyone is different, and usually require a different caloric budget.

The majority of people don’t even know where to begin, and that is exactly what we are going to accomplish right now.  First thing is to find out how many calories your body burns on a daily basis, so that we can determine how many that we need to take in.  Grab a pen, go on, just pick up the pen and I’ll wait for a few minutes while you find one.

OK, we are going to use a generic formula since you don’t have access to Body Gem that measures your RMR(resting metabolic rate).  Well I do, halla if you want one done for the low price of $99.95, just kidding.  Alright, we have our pen and we are ready to figure our daily caloric budget, Right?

FORMULA:

Body Weight x 10=RMR(resting metabolic rate) x Lifestyle Factor(1.4 to 1.8) = Weight Maintenance – 250 to 1000(daily calorie deficit) = Daily Caloric Budget

Body Weight – How much you way(duh)

RMR(resting metabolic rate) - how many calories your body burns at rest in a 24 hour period(metabolism)

Lifestyle Factor- 1.4 for sedentary jobs(office), 1.6 active, 1.8 very active

Weight Maintenance - caloric intake to maintain current weight

Daily caloric deficit - (minus) daily calories from maintenance calories

Daily Caloric Budget - how many calories to consume on a daily basis

Let me explain using my own body weight, lets say I would like to lose 20lbs of body fat in 12 weeks.  1lb of fat equals 3500 calories, remember.  3500 x 20 = 70,000, I need to create a caloric deficit of 70,000 in 84 days. Calories in versus calories out, I need to deficit of about 833 calories a day to reach my goal, challenging, but not impossible.  500 calories I will strip from my diet the other 333 I will burn during exercise.

FORMULA: the same formula as above, just added my own body wt., lifestyle factor, and caloric deficit

190lbs x 10 = 1900 x 1.4 = 2660 – 500 = 2160

With this combination, the right amount of calories a day and exercise, I am guaranteed to reach my goal of 170lbs in 12 short weeks.

Look for parts 2 and 3 soon!

1National Academy of Sports Medicine