How To Lose Weight

Have you tried the latest fad diets or, perhaps, several of them over the years? Did they work for you but you put the weight back on? Or possibly, they didn't work at all?

They often sound great! Eat all the meat you want! But you can't eat any potatos, pasta, rice, bread, etc. The watermelon diet! The banana diet!

Some even sound like they will make you thin and chic. The South Beach diet!

And everybody knows someone who lost 40 pounds on the current hot weight loss program. So why do most of those who were successful on those diets end out gaining all the weight back? Simply put, you won't be able to tolerate them for a lifetime. Even meat gets pretty old when that's almost all you eat and bananas certainly do!

Your body craves protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vegetables, and all of the other food groups. A well-rounded diet is necessary in order for your body to operate properly. Most cravings are simply telling you what your body is lacking.

So what is the best way to lose weight and keep it off for life? Well ... first let's think about it logically. Your body is a complex biological machine. Like any machine, it needs a certain amount of fuel in order to operate. Your body burns that fuel when it exerts itself in any way. The harder the exertion, the more fuel it burns. If you want to learn how to lose weight and keep it off, you need to learn how much fuel (food and drink) your body needs in a day and then give it something less than that so you'll burn fat to make up the difference. Once you've reached the weight you're happy with, you need to learn how much fuel your body needs to stay there. It's that simple!

The first step for most of us is determining how much you should weigh. Of course, that's totally your decision. The charts below are just something to give you an idea where to start. If you feel great at twenty pounds over your maximum ideal weight, good for you! I looked at a lot of charts before developing these. Most of the charts I saw were, in my humble opinion (and many others) totally unrealistic in their minimum ideal weight levels. There have been studies that show that a "skin and bones" individual might gain some life expectancy and health benefits. Most of us would never be able to achieve those weights, however, much less stay that skinny. I personally was once at the maximum ideal weight for my height on the charts below and my ribs were showing so I certainly don't think they're unreasonably high!

The weights on the charts are unclothed, no shoes ... just you. This is recommended as the type of clothing, items in pockets, and shoe type can vary in weight dramatically. The heights on the charts are barefoot. As you can see, there's a pretty good range of "ideal" weights for each height so take your body frame size and other factors into account. Most of us needing to diet would be pretty happy to spend the rest of our lives anywhere within those ranges!

Women's Ideal Weight Chart Height (Inches/Cm) Minimum (Pounds/Kg) Maximum (Pounds/Kg) 57/145 109/49 131/59 58/148 111/50 134/61 59/150 113/51 137/62 60/153 115/52 140/63 61/155 118/54 143/65 62/158 121/55 147/67 63/160 124/56 151/68 64/163 127/58 155/70 65/165 130/59 159/72 66/168 133/60 163/74 67/170 136/62 167/76 68/173 139/63 170/77 69/175 142/64 173/78 70/178 145/66 176/80 71/180 148/67 179/81

Men's Ideal Weight Chart Height (Inches/Cm) Minimum (Pounds/Kg) Maximum (Pounds/Kg) 61/155 131/59 150/68 62/158 133/60 153/69 63/160 135/61 156/71 64/163 137/62 160/73 65/165 139/63 164/74 66/168 142/64 168/76 67/170 145/66 172/78 68/173 148/67 176/80 69/175 151/68 180/82 70/178 154/70 184/83 71/180 157/71 188/85 72/183 160/73 192/87 73/185 164/74 197/89 74/188 167/76 202/92 75/190 171/78 207/94

Ok! So how do we actually lose the weight? We give our bodies a bit less fuel than they burn, remember? Our bodies' fuel consists of food and drink and we measure those things by how many calories they contain. The reverse is true for our activities. When our bodies do anything they burn calories for fuel. When the number of calories burned is greater than the number consumed, our bodies go to fat for fuel. That's how to lose weight ... eat fewer calories and/or burn more calories.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound (7,700 in a kilogram). In other words, you have to burn 3,500 more calories than you consume in order to lose a pound. That may sound like a lot but it's only 500 calories per day to lose a pound per week or 52 pounds (23.6 kilograms) per year!

A Big Mac without cheese contains 576 calories. A Taco Bell Grilled Stuffed Chicken Burrito contains 680 calories. A single Whopper, large fries, and a large cola has 1375 calories. Skip that one meal alone and you're almost 3 days into your year were you lose 52 pounds! Or just change the order to a Whopper Jr., medium fries, and a diet cola to drop the 1375 calories to 700 calories and you've saved 675 calories while still eating fast food!

And you don't need to eat whoppers every day to have an enjoyable diet! Choose your foods more intelligently. You'll find that chicken breast, fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, and whole grain breads can really "hit the spot" when prepared correctly. There's a huge variety of diet ready foods available from Stouffers Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice, Weight Watchers, and others. They've got the calories right on the package! Got the need to snack? That's definitely me! Try some 94% fat free popcorn or grapes or a few sunflower seeds (in the shell makes them last longer). Don't be picky about vegetables! Even beans which many dieters avoid because they're "high" in calories are much lower in calories than what you've been eating. Beans also help keep the desire for meat at bay due to their high protein content and they keep you full for a long time per calorie. Are you a chocoholic? There are some pretty good fudgecycles out there for only 25 calories each and they load your mouth with chocolately goodness! Go through the grocery store aisle by aisle and read all the labels of anything that looks good to you. It's amazing how varied a diet can be and still be low calorie!

Don't be afraid to occasionally treat yourself. When the diet food is getting a bit boring, have one splurge meal. Don't go totally bananas but live it up a little. One day per week where you don't lose any weight won't make that big a difference in the long run and the occasional splurge (especially if its as a reward) might just keep you on that diet.

Get more active! If you can work out for three hours a day at the gym, that's terrific but most of us need to be a bit more reasonable! Park as far away from the store as you can get and walk to the entrance. Jazzercise during those 4 minute TV commercial breaks! Take the dog for a nightly walk. If you're like most of us, your dog could stand to lose some weight too and they'll love you for it! Come on ... 15 minutes a day! Play with your little brothers and sisters, kids, or grandchildren. Yes ... hide and seek is still fun at 70! (And great exercise).

So how do you determine how many calories you can consume each day to lose weight at a rate you'll be happy with? First; don't be unrealistic! If it took years to put it on, it probably won't be off in two weeks (not with you still breathing anyway). A typical man with a typical level of activity can consume 17 calories per day per pound in order to remain at that weight. Here's an example:

1. Man weighs 250 pounds.
2. 250 times 17 equals 4,250 calories
3. If he consumes 4,250 calories per day, he'll remain 250 pounds.

You ladies only get 15 calories per pound ... sorry! That's due to muscle burning calories faster than other tissue and the typical man is more muscular as a percentage of body weight than the typical woman. In an effort to be politically correct, we want you body building ladies to know that you can also use 17 calories per pound!

So your next question is, "Who wants to stay 250 pounds?" Well, the reason we do that calculation first will be more clear after remembering something we talked about earlier, "There are 3,500 calories in a pound (7,700 in a kilogram)". So if the guy that weighs 250 pounds wants to calculate how many calories he can eat this week to lose 3 pounds during the week, here's what he does:

1. 250 pound weight time 17 calories per pound = 4,250 calories per day to stay 250 pounds.
2. 3,500 calories burnt = 1 pound lost ... 10,500 calories burnt = 3 pounds lost.
3. 10,500 calories per week divided by 7 = 1500 calories per day.
4. 4,250 caloried minus 1500 = 2,750 calories per day loses him 3 pounds the first week.

Now that number will go down as he loses weight. When he's lost 50 pounds, he'll only be able to consume 3,400 calories to remain at 200 pounds. So if he wants to lose three pounds per week at that point, he'll only be able to consume 3,400 - 1,500 = 1,900 calories per day.

Ok ... so that might be a bit confusing for some and it does mean recalculating the number of calories you can consume daily as you make progress. Dieting that way also means eating less and less per week throughout the diet to achieve the same results. If you're in no big hurry to reach your goal, there's a much easier way to go. Just take the 17 calories per day (15 for women) times the weight you eventually want to be and consume that amount for the rest of your life. You'll reach the goal eventually and you'll be learning to be satisfied with the correct number of calories throughout the entire dieting process! If our 250 pound guy wants to weigh 190, then he'd need to consume 3,230 calories per day. A lady who wants to weigh 125 pounds would need to consume 1,875 calories per day. Don't despair ladies! I've dieted myself at that number of calories per day and found I was very happy with my diet even though I'm a 6 foot tall, big guy!

Don't forget that food and drink contain calories. If you're drinking a chocolate milkshake and 4 colas per day, you need to be counting those calories. Taste testing your family's evening meal counts too. Don't cheat if you want results and Good Luck!

Whatever you do, do not starve yourself to lose weight. Your body will not be able to get the fuel it needs from fat fast enough if you consume too few calories per day. When that happens, your body will get the energy it needs from whatever source it can ... muscle, bones, brain cells ... whatever! If you're planning to dramatically restrict your diet, consult with a physician first! You can learn more about the dangers of severly restricting your diet at our article, How Long Can A Person Live Without Food!

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