THE BASICS

For starters, a calorie is a unit of energy.

There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound.

So, to burn 1 pound of fat you must have a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories.

Your body’s metabolism burns a certain amount of calories on its own each day in order to function properly (breathing, pumping blood, etc).

If you sat on a couch and didn’t move ALL DAY, your body would still be burning calories.

This is called your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR.

You NEED to know this. Calculate it here.

Let’s say your BMR is 1400. If you eat 1400 calories per day and literally don’t move a muscle, you’ll have a calorie balance of ZERO.

However, you probably move around. So you should also calculate your AMR, or how many total calories you burn per day depending on your lifestyle (sedentary, moderately active, active, etc.)

Add the number of calories you burn working out, doing daily activities, etc. to your BMR to figure out how many calories you burned in one day.

Calculate how many calories you burned through activity here.

You should be eating between 1,200 calories and whatever your BMR is per day.

***Note: Do not eat less than 1200 calories per day. If you don’t eat enough, your metabolism will slow down and hold onto fat; this is known as ‘starvation mode’.

So, how long will it take you to lose “X” amount of pounds? You need to know your daily calorie deficit.

Here’s an Example:

Let’s say my BMR is 1400. If I eat 1300 calories, burn 200 calories from cleaning, walking around, etc., then another 200 from working out, my caloric deficit is 500. I’ve burned 500 calories in one day because (1400 - 1300) + 200 + 200 = 500.

If I can burn 500 calories per day and there are 3500 calories in a pound, it will take me 7 days to lose one pound (3500/500=7).

So, if I want to lose 10lbs, it will take me 10 weeks (1 week x 10lbs = 10 weeks).

Obviously you have to customize the math to your own numbers, but that is the gist of weight loss. Burn more than you take in :)

ALSO: Be careful when counting calories. Pay attention to serving sizes and always be sure to control your portions. It helps to measure everything and write everything down. If you aren’t losing weight you could be eating more than you think you are.

Other tips: Eat clean. Do cardio and lift weights. Get lots of sleep. Rest one day per week. Have FUN and enjoy the journey. This is a LIFESTYLE, it shouldn’t be torture.