I ran across this article - http://health.howstuffworks.com/diet.htm - that is a great intro to how dieting and calorie counting works. It's basic info for people who just need a reminder of how this calories-in-vs-calories-out stuff works. I think something like this should be mandatory reading for anyone starting to track their calories.
My favorite part of the article was ...
The myth that you can lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks - Despite what the ads say (I LOST 54 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS WITHOUT DIETS OR EXERCISE!!! or LOSE 10 POUNDS THIS WEEKEND!), you cannot lose a pound of fat unless you burn off 3,500 calories. To lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks, you would need to lose 9 pounds in 7 days, or 1.3 pounds per day. That 1.3 pounds of fat is equal to 4,500 calories, so you would have to burn off 4,500 calories per day. The only way to do that would be to eat nothing AND run a marathon every day for 42 days. That's impossible. The only way to lose that much weight that quickly is either through dehydration or amputation. The ads are lying.
Thanks for posting this link. It is the best explanation I have ever read. I think that calorie counting is the best method. And it cost nothing to join!
It looks too as if the folks you posted their losses on this forum have been very successful with counting.
Interesting article. I was wondering if anyone could explain this:
It only takes 3,500 excess calories to create 1 pound of new fat on your body.
what does it mean EXCESS calories? Like excess from what you normally eat every single day or excess from what those calorie calculators say you need based on height and weight?
Calculators can give you an fairly okay idea or you can get your RMR tested for a closer idea (but it's not 100 percent accurate either)
If you ate 3000 calories in a day and your RMR was 1,750 your have an excess of 1,250 calories x7 (a week) = 8,750 for the week. You theoretically would gain 2.5 that week if you laid in bed all week. If you ate 3500 on TOP of what you were already eating that week you'd gain 3.5 lbs...
Thanks for posting this article!! It awnsered some questions I had and refirmed how I am gonna do things, I had started out ok, then changed it and now I am gonna go back to my original plan. I was losing really good to start changed some stuff and slowed WAY down, the article comfirmed that what I had been doing was right.
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Robin- thanks so much for posting the article on here, I really enjoyed reading and learning from it. It helps reaffirm that calorie counting is indeed the best way to lose weight, and also keeps me grounded!
I personally didn't really learn much from the counting calories article (sign I've been at this too long!), but the other ones linked to it from the end (about fats etc) are really really fascinating... and the calorie one is a great one to pass along to others.
Words from the article I'm trying to learn to live by:
"It just does not take that much energy to maintain the human body at rest; and when exercising, the human body is amazingly frugal when it comes to turning food into motion."
I'm beginning to think my body is much smarter than my mind.
The myth that you can lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks - Despite what the ads say (I LOST 54 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS WITHOUT DIETS OR EXERCISE!!! or LOSE 10 POUNDS THIS WEEKEND!), you cannot lose a pound of fat unless you burn off 3,500 calories. To lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks, you would need to lose 9 pounds in 7 days, or 1.3 pounds per day. That 1.3 pounds of fat is equal to 4,500 calories, so you would have to burn off 4,500 calories per day. The only way to do that would be to eat nothing AND run a marathon every day for 42 days. That's impossible. The only way to lose that much weight that quickly is either through dehydration or amputation. The ads are lying.
I have been calorie counting for about 4 months and have lost approximately 15 lbs. I find it kind of slow but from what I've read fast weight loss is very dangerous. I really don't want to lose any lean body mass. So I guess I'll stick with slow healthy weight loss.
Ive done the loooow cal (900) cal/day starvation before, as Im sure many of us have done, but it always always ends up coming back on, once you eat like a human again.It worked, I took off 60 pounds fast, but gained that plus more back.So now, Im taking it off the way I know Ill be able to stick to it. Not starving myself, not denying myself, moderation, exercise, and portion sizes. Just like the article says!!! good luck to us all *hugs*
Great Intro For New Calorie Counters
