A lot of people asked “how did I lose the weight?” Answer: “I just got tired of being fat.” Why am I writing about it at all? Because there damned few adventures in south Texas in the summer time.
THE PLAN: Lose weight. Actually, lose fat. Because losing weight COULD be losing muscle mass instead of fat, resulting in looking like Jabba the Hut. Maintain lean muscle mass while losing fat. Phase 2: Once most of the excess fat is lost, build muscle mass. If done properly, you get to look like Chris Evans. Wait. I made that last part up.
Actual Caloric Deficit Number
KEY: Caloric Deficit – Burning more calories in a day than you take in (eat). “Burning” includes your BMR (basal metabolic rate… see in glossary) + your exercise calories burnt) minus the calories you would have burned with your BMR ANYWAY in the same amount of time you exercised. You cannot out-workout a bad diet.
For example, let’s say your BMR = 2400 calories per day and you workout 2 hours per day. Your BMR hourly rate is about 100 calories per hour.
Let’s say that your workout burns 400 calories.
Add about 200 (100/hr x 2 hrs of BMR in exercise time) calories since you would have burnt that up in your BMR anyway. (Sorry, you don’t get to double dip.) Then, you eat as healthy as you can (more on that later) and take in about 1500 calories.
– 2400 (BMR, breathing, sitting) (minus)
– 400 (Exercise calorie burn in 2 hours) (minus)
+ 200 (BMR exercise time) (plus)
+1500 (Calories you eat) (plus)
– 2800 (calories burned) +1700 = -1100 calories
3200 to 3500 calories = 1 lb.
So it would take you about 3 days to lose a lb (fat or muscle depending) or about 2 lbs per week, which is what all the fitness gurus say you should shoot for on a sustainable plan anyway.
Ahem. I didn’t do it that way.
To be continued…
Upon advice from my lawyer, I am officially telling you that any fitness mentions in this blog are "for entertainment purposes alone." That being said, I am NOT a health guru, fitness trainer, nutrition specialist, or medical professional of any kind. Before doing anything even remotely health related, consult a medical professional or your family physician. I am just relating information about my journey from morbidly obese to old and wrinkly. DO NOT DO IT THE WAY I DID. I will say my only regret is not doing it 30 years sooner. On a side note, I am not sponsored by anyone or any company, so the opinions expressed here do not benefit me (or you probably) in any way.