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Health & Fitness

EveryBODIES Different

A guide to chosing the correct number of calories for each body type and weight goal.

Every person has their own specific calorie limit. Many factors change this number
whether or not you’re trying to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain weight. The secret for any weight fluctuation is learning how to balance your"energy in" and "energy out" over the long run. "Energy in" is the calories from foods and beverages you have each day. "Energy out" is the calories you burn for basic body functions and physical activity. The first thing you have to determine is what you’re goals are:

  • Maintaining weight — Your weight will stay the same
         when the calories you eat and drink equal the calories you burn.

  • Losing weight — You will lose weight when the calories you eat
         and drink are less than the calories you burn.

  • Gaining weight — You will gain weight when the calories you eat
         and drink are greater than the calories you burn.

  • It helps to remember that hitting your goal weight isn’t the finish line. You
    don’t stop the healthy habits once you see that magic number on the scale. That
    would be like someone getting a lung transplant, then celebrating by buying a pack of cigarettes.

    “To succeed, you gather your strategies and make them so much a
    part of your life that eventually you don’t even think about them,” Sue
    Thompson, MS, a clinical psychologist and motivational speaker says.

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    Once you hit your goal weight, always keep a couple of things in mind when adjusting the right amount of calories for you:

    • Is your weight staying about the same?

    If so, congrats! You’ve successfully found exactly how many calories are needed to maintain your current weight. Keep eating this amount from now on.

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  • Is your weight increasing?
  •  If so, you are above your maintenance level. Slightly decrease your daily calorie intake by about 250 calories, wait a few weeks, and see what happens then. For example, someone that ate 2500 calories before, would now start eating 2250 calories per day.


  • Is your weight decreasing?
  • If so, you are below your maintenance level. Slightly increase your daily calorie intake by about 250 calories, wait a few weeks, and see what happens then. For example, our same example person would now starteating 2750 calories per day.


    Helpful Hints!

     

    1. An easy place to get started is to go to
      http://www.choosemyplate.gov/supertracker-tools/daily-food-plans.html and submit your age, sex, weight, height, and activity level. This plan will determine what a healthy caloric intake would be for your specific situation.
    2. WARNING: DIETERS BIGGEST MISTAKE: Keep your calorie limit in mind before you decide to drink a soda at every meal. Consider healthier drink options, such as water or tea before you guzzle down those empty calories. 
    3. Make a habit of scanning nutrition labels. Beware: serving size is
      often not always the whole product. Many times, the serving size is half a
      candy bar, for example, or 15 chips in a bag. Being aware of the serving size will help you keep better track of the calories you’re consuming. When eating out, calorie information may be available on menus, in a pamphlet, or online.
    4. Crash dieting, such as not eating enough and exercising too much, may work at first, but you can’t fool your body for long. Your body interprets the sudden restriction as threatening its nourishment and therefore protects itself by changing its metabolism to resist the sudden change of diet. This, in turn, changes your metabolism from fat burning, to fat storing.

    Everybodies Different

    Instead of exercising and dieting like crazy, then feeling frustrated when you haven't lost as much weight as you expected, calculate how many calories you need to burn in order to lose weight. For example, you must burn 3,500 extra calories in order to lose 1 lb., according to the Mayo Clinic. Take your time and lose weight at your own pace to help keep the weight off.

    • Someone with an above average amount of fat to lose (say 100lbs, for example) can (and probably should) lose it at a rate of 2lbs (or more) per week, at least for a certain amount of time.

  • Someone with a more average amount of fat to lose (say 30lbs, for example) should lose it at a rate of 1-2lbs per week.

  • Someone with a below average amount of fat to lose (say 10lbs or less, for example) would be best served to lose it at a rate of 0.5-1 pound per week.

  •  

    As David Kurchoff, CEO of weight watchers says, “When you rely on willpower alone you set yourself up to fail. Routine will win out over willpower 99% of the time and this is why diets don’t work. They rely on short-term changes that no one can keep up!” He shares that successful weight loss is discovering the balance between food and exercise.

    A tip of advice from Kurchoff is, “The best thing you can do for your relationship with food is to love food that loves you back.” Stay away from the “bad girlfriends
    of food,” as he cleverly calls them. “They’re the ones that give you a quick thrill and make you feel like crap afterwards, leave you wanting more and are TERRIBLE for you in the long run. “Settle down” with great food, and you’ll be
    in a happy and satisfying commitment for life.”

     

     

    Dr. Rona L. Wadle, D.O.

    Medical Director

    Meadowbrook Urgent Care

    33722 Woodward Avenue

    Birmingham, MI 48009

    248-919-4900

    www.meadowbrookbirmingham.com

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