When I first started dieting the weight just flew off of me, but now things are definitely slowing down. I'm not at a plateau yet, but I'm having to work harder to lose the pounds.
My goal each week is to lose 2 pounds, which is considered ideal weight loss if you do it safely. I was flabbergasted when I looked into how many calories I have to burn to lose even one pound of body fat - 3500 calories. So, to lose two pounds a week, I will have to burn an excess of 7000 calories from my diet
.
I have calculated my BMR value (using the
BMR calculator), which is 1600 calories a day. The BMR value is how many calories my body needs just to perform its basic functioning, such as breathing and keeping my heart beating. What this means is that if I eat 1600 calories a day and do absolutely nothing but lie in bed, my weight should stay the same. At my current weight, my doctor has instructed me to eat a minimum of 1800 calories a day. So how does all of this work if I'm to lose 2 pounds a week?
From a few calculations, I figure I burn an additional 600 calories a day driving to work, walking in the office, doing the odd chore at home and watching tv. Some days are more physical than others, but thats a guestimate. Basically, I will need to exercise the rest of the calories away. If I consume 12,600 calories a week and my body functions and daily life activities burn an average of 15,400 calories a week, then I will need to burn off an average of 4200 calories a week, or 600 calories a day, to meet my weight loss goal of losing 2 pounds a week.
Here's a brief list of activities I can do to burn 600 calories:
76 minutes of Aerobics: low impact
60 minutes Aerobics: high impact
60 minutes Aerobics, Step: low impact
42 minutes Aerobics, Step: high impact
104 minutes Aerobics: water
60 minutes Bicycling, Stationary: moderate
40 minutes Bicycling, Stationary: vigorous...
