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Bio - Eric Mihelbergel is an intermediate level windsurfer and kiteboarder living in the Great Lakes Region of New York State who enjoys writing about windsports and fitness.
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Could I Have Lost My 30 Pounds Eating Pizza, Beer, and Skittles?
By Eric Mihelbergel (Written February 2019)
The answer is, YES, absolutely. And it would not have been that much more difficult. But, it would not have been healthy either.
I bring this up because of all the talk about fad diets lately. You can certainly lose weight on fad diets, but are they healthy? Let's explore this.
Please note that I am NOT a physician or certified trainer/nutritionist. In fact, I have no credibility at all. This is just information about what I did with hope that it may help and inspire some others with their health. Consult a licensed physician, a certified trainer/nutritionist, a psychic, your dog, or whomever else you consult with on health issues to verify that my suggestions are appropriate for you. Do NOT do what I suggest without checking with a professional.
A few years ago I lost 30 pounds in 30 weeks. (Click here for the link if you want to read about it). I've learned more about nutrition and weight loss since then. But the basics of weight loss can NEVER change. The laws of losing weight are kind of like of the laws of the universe. These laws are constant and can never change, like the First Law of Thermodynamics that says energy can neither be created nor destroyed. You can't really question it. The law is just true. The same can be said for weight loss. Weight loss can only happen in one way. Here is the formula...You MUST consume fewer calories than you expend. The same formula can also be said 'you MUST expend more calories than you consume'. That's it! There are no tricks, no shortcuts, no other ways. Some ways may be healthier than other ways. Some ways may fit your lifestyle better. Some ways may make you feel less hungry. Some ways may taste better. Some ways may change your metabolism. Some ways may increase your energy expenditure. Some ways may take off fat while other ways take off muscle and water. But there is NO magic, and there is NO other way than by the formula above. There is always an explanation that fits the formula. That's just how it works.
Weight loss is pretty simple. You must consume fewer calories than you expend. The amount of calories you consume is simply the amount of calories in the food you eat. The amount of calories you expend consists of the sum of the following four things:
1. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy you expend if you are lying on a bed, plus
2. Your regular daily activity like standing, fidgeting, sitting, blinking, walking to your car, doing your job, watching TV, doing the laundry, etc, plus
3. The energy you expend to digest and process your food, plus
4. Your exercise activity.
These four things determine how much energy your body expends on a daily basis. The amount of calories expended through the first three items can be estimated and tracked by using software in an app like MyFitnessPal, and you can adjust those estimates to be more accurate as you learn about your own body. Remember, these are just estimates, and also remember that they will change over time. Your body's metabolism is always changing. The fourth item is controlled by the time and intensity you commit to exercise and can be estimated with a heartrate monitor or fitness machine and then also tracked in an app like MyFitnessPal. Again, remember that it is just an estimate. Heartrate monitors and fitness machines use averages to give you a number of calories burned. You may need to adjust these numbers as you learn about your own body. And, remember that the amount of calories you expend through exercise will also change over time as your body becomes more or less efficient at performing the exercise. Controlled weight loss comes down to simple mathematical accounting. Track the amount of calories you eat, track the amount of calories you expend, and make sure you eat fewer calories than you expend. That's it. There is NO magic! There is no 'diet' that can make fat disappear by any other means. All diets are simply different ways to affect the calories you eat and/or the calories you expend. It doesn't matter if a "diet" is low fat, high fat, low carb, high carb, low protein, high protein, carb adapted, fat adapted, or anything else. Calories are ALWAYS accounted for somewhere in the formula that says the calories you eat must be less than the calories you expend in order to lose weight. But, remember, your metabolism is always changing, the amount of calories you expend through exercise and daily activities changes, and estimates may not be accurate. The accounting is simple, but it only works if your data and estimates are accurate.
1. Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy you expend if you are lying on a bed, plus
2. Your regular daily activity like standing, fidgeting, sitting, blinking, walking to your car, doing your job, watching TV, doing the laundry, etc, plus
3. The energy you expend to digest and process your food, plus
4. Your exercise activity.
These four things determine how much energy your body expends on a daily basis. The amount of calories expended through the first three items can be estimated and tracked by using software in an app like MyFitnessPal, and you can adjust those estimates to be more accurate as you learn about your own body. Remember, these are just estimates, and also remember that they will change over time. Your body's metabolism is always changing. The fourth item is controlled by the time and intensity you commit to exercise and can be estimated with a heartrate monitor or fitness machine and then also tracked in an app like MyFitnessPal. Again, remember that it is just an estimate. Heartrate monitors and fitness machines use averages to give you a number of calories burned. You may need to adjust these numbers as you learn about your own body. And, remember that the amount of calories you expend through exercise will also change over time as your body becomes more or less efficient at performing the exercise. Controlled weight loss comes down to simple mathematical accounting. Track the amount of calories you eat, track the amount of calories you expend, and make sure you eat fewer calories than you expend. That's it. There is NO magic! There is no 'diet' that can make fat disappear by any other means. All diets are simply different ways to affect the calories you eat and/or the calories you expend. It doesn't matter if a "diet" is low fat, high fat, low carb, high carb, low protein, high protein, carb adapted, fat adapted, or anything else. Calories are ALWAYS accounted for somewhere in the formula that says the calories you eat must be less than the calories you expend in order to lose weight. But, remember, your metabolism is always changing, the amount of calories you expend through exercise and daily activities changes, and estimates may not be accurate. The accounting is simple, but it only works if your data and estimates are accurate.
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When I lost my 30 pounds in 30 days I could have done it eating just pizza, beer, and Skittles as long as I ate fewer calories than I expended and had accurate numbers and estimates for those values. However, my cholesterol, blood pressure, triglycerides and blood sugar would not look so good, my stomach and bowels would not feel good, and I would probably feel very hungry on that diet. In fact, I would feel like crap in general. My body would look bloated, and I would not promote muscle development. I know because I've tried it. It's not any more difficult for me to lose weight, but I feel like crap and I don't look good. Keep this in mind as you consider your own program. Instead of thinking of it as a "diet" think of it as a "nutritional program". Don't eat to lose weight, but, rather, eat to gain nutrition. And, on the flip side, don't be afraid to enjoy small amounts of pizza, beer, and Skittles as long as you are staying within your allotted food calorie limits and still getting proper nutrition most of the time.
With that said, what is a reasonable calorie deficit? You might consider starting with a 500 calorie deficit to keep things simple. You can use an app like MyFitnessPal to estimate how many calories your body expends in a day from items 1-3 above. Remember, it is just an estimate, and you may need to adjust the number as you learn about your body. Add your estimated exercise calories on top of that (again, remember, it is just an estimate and my need adjustment), and then just eat 500 calories less than that total calorie expenditure. So if MyFitnessPal estimates that you your body expends 2300 calories per day (items 1-3 above), and if you burn an extra 300 calories exercising (item 4 above), then your total calorie expenditure is 2600 calories. If you ate 2600 calories (maintenance calories) per day you would maintain the same body weight. So eat 2100 calories each day, which is 500 calories less per day. One pound of fat on your body contains about 3500 calories, so in one week (7 days) you will lose about one pound of fat (7 days times 500 calories = 3500 calories in one pound of fat lost). You may need to make adjustments to pin-point how your own body works, but a 500 calories deficit is a good place to start.
Remember, think of it as a nutritional program, not a diet. You want to lose weight, but that is not the only consideration. I could have lost my 30 pounds eating pizza, beer, and Skittles, but that is not healthy. There is a lot of talk about the Keto diet but is it healthy? How about a low carb diet? Is it healthy? Is a high protein diet healthy? Do some research. My personal nutritional program consists of a specified number of grams of fat, carbs and protein each day (read more about it here). These are called marconutrients. Within each of those macronutrient categories I consume specific types of fats, carbs and protein to accomplish my health goals. Consider your overall health goals, not just weight loss goals. You can lose weight on any program if you consume fewer calories than you expend. But your overall health requires a program that considers every single thing you put in your mouth. And, the fun part is that you can still eat some pizza, drink a little beer, and pop a few Skittles if you do it within your defined calories and make sure you are getting proper nutrition most of the time.
Let's address some important questions that are likely to come up:
1. Does your nutritional program fit your lifestyle? For example, if you travel a lot for work then you might need a different nutritional program than someone who does not travel. Maybe you need a program that allows you to bring food and/or food supplements in a suitcase. You may need software that contains calories found in restaurant food. You may need to eat fewer meals (with more calories) to deal with time restraints. Adjust your program to fit your lifestyle so that you don't get frustrated and quit.
2. What do you do if you feel hungry all the time? You will probably not last long on your program if you always feel hungry. To help with hunger consider adding foods with a lot of fiber like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and asparagus. They have very few calories compared to other foods, and they make you feel full. Many fruits also have a lot of fiber and can make you feel full. And give your body time to adapt to your program so that your hunger becomes less. Our body will often adapt if we give it time. After a few weeks your hunger may lessen. Mine did.
3. Do you have a difficult time resisting certain foods like chocolate, cheese, soda, etc? Give your body time to adapt by slowly reducing the amount you consume. Our bodies will often adapt to not having these foods, but it can time. I was strongly addicted to Pepsi. When I started my program I reduced the amount of calories from Pepsi, but I did not eliminate it completely during the beginning phase. If you feel addicted to something your body will probably adapt to not having it, but you may have to do it slowly. Try budgeting for calories from your addiction and then slowly reduce the amount. It may take a few months. I eventually replaced Pepsi completely with flavored Seltzer water, but it took many months. You can do it cold turkey as well, but you may get frustrated and quit the whole program, so be very careful.
4. Are you not losing weight? If you are not losing weight (or have stopped losing weight) then you have incorrect numbers entered into the formula above. There are a few reasons this can happen. First, it's possible that you are not tracking your food calories accurately. So double check your math, double check food labels, and get it as exact as possible. Food labels are only an estimate of the calories in the food you eat, but you still need to be as precise as possible. Second, the "estimates" of energy expenditure that you are using may not be accurate for you body. You will need to learn why they are wrong and adjust them. Third, as you lose weight you will not burn as many calories because you are no longer carrying that extra weight around all day. Imaging carrying a 10 pound backpack all day. You will burn more calories over the course of the day while carrying a 10 pound backpack. If you take off the backpack then you should lower your calorie intake to match. An app like MyFitnessPal will estimate how much you need to further reduce your calories if you enter your new weight into the app. But that estimate may not be enough. You must pay careful attention to how your own body is responding to your nutritional program. The fourth reason you may have stopped losing weight is that your metabolism may have slowed down because your body thinks it is starving. This is more likely to happen if you are under 15% body fat or if your calorie deficit is much greater than 500 calories. If you are above 15% body fat your body probably knows that it is not going to starve unless you have a drastic calorie deficit well over 500 calories. If, however, you do stop losing weight due to your body going into a starvation mode, then slowly increase your calorie intake back up to your original maintenance calories over a couple weeks so that your metabolism increases again. Then start your calorie deficit again. Don't increase your calorie intake all at once because you may put fat back on. Increase calories slowly over a couple weeks (you can read more about this here) to increase your metabolism. A fifth reason you may stop losing weight is because the "estimates" you are using for calories expended during exercise are not accurate. You will need to learn why they are wrong and adjust them. And, sixth, your body may have gotten more efficient at performing the chosen exercises you are doing, and you are not burning as many calories as you used to burn. So change your exercise program. Mix it up with cardio and resistance. Don't let your body adapt.
1. Does your nutritional program fit your lifestyle? For example, if you travel a lot for work then you might need a different nutritional program than someone who does not travel. Maybe you need a program that allows you to bring food and/or food supplements in a suitcase. You may need software that contains calories found in restaurant food. You may need to eat fewer meals (with more calories) to deal with time restraints. Adjust your program to fit your lifestyle so that you don't get frustrated and quit.
2. What do you do if you feel hungry all the time? You will probably not last long on your program if you always feel hungry. To help with hunger consider adding foods with a lot of fiber like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and asparagus. They have very few calories compared to other foods, and they make you feel full. Many fruits also have a lot of fiber and can make you feel full. And give your body time to adapt to your program so that your hunger becomes less. Our body will often adapt if we give it time. After a few weeks your hunger may lessen. Mine did.
3. Do you have a difficult time resisting certain foods like chocolate, cheese, soda, etc? Give your body time to adapt by slowly reducing the amount you consume. Our bodies will often adapt to not having these foods, but it can time. I was strongly addicted to Pepsi. When I started my program I reduced the amount of calories from Pepsi, but I did not eliminate it completely during the beginning phase. If you feel addicted to something your body will probably adapt to not having it, but you may have to do it slowly. Try budgeting for calories from your addiction and then slowly reduce the amount. It may take a few months. I eventually replaced Pepsi completely with flavored Seltzer water, but it took many months. You can do it cold turkey as well, but you may get frustrated and quit the whole program, so be very careful.
4. Are you not losing weight? If you are not losing weight (or have stopped losing weight) then you have incorrect numbers entered into the formula above. There are a few reasons this can happen. First, it's possible that you are not tracking your food calories accurately. So double check your math, double check food labels, and get it as exact as possible. Food labels are only an estimate of the calories in the food you eat, but you still need to be as precise as possible. Second, the "estimates" of energy expenditure that you are using may not be accurate for you body. You will need to learn why they are wrong and adjust them. Third, as you lose weight you will not burn as many calories because you are no longer carrying that extra weight around all day. Imaging carrying a 10 pound backpack all day. You will burn more calories over the course of the day while carrying a 10 pound backpack. If you take off the backpack then you should lower your calorie intake to match. An app like MyFitnessPal will estimate how much you need to further reduce your calories if you enter your new weight into the app. But that estimate may not be enough. You must pay careful attention to how your own body is responding to your nutritional program. The fourth reason you may have stopped losing weight is that your metabolism may have slowed down because your body thinks it is starving. This is more likely to happen if you are under 15% body fat or if your calorie deficit is much greater than 500 calories. If you are above 15% body fat your body probably knows that it is not going to starve unless you have a drastic calorie deficit well over 500 calories. If, however, you do stop losing weight due to your body going into a starvation mode, then slowly increase your calorie intake back up to your original maintenance calories over a couple weeks so that your metabolism increases again. Then start your calorie deficit again. Don't increase your calorie intake all at once because you may put fat back on. Increase calories slowly over a couple weeks (you can read more about this here) to increase your metabolism. A fifth reason you may stop losing weight is because the "estimates" you are using for calories expended during exercise are not accurate. You will need to learn why they are wrong and adjust them. And, sixth, your body may have gotten more efficient at performing the chosen exercises you are doing, and you are not burning as many calories as you used to burn. So change your exercise program. Mix it up with cardio and resistance. Don't let your body adapt.
There is a lot more we can discuss about weight loss and nutrition. But the purpose of this article is to help people understand the simple basics of weight loss so that they don't put their health in jeopardy with diet fads. Put your nutrition first and the weight loss will follow. Determine your caloric intake, calculate your macronutrients, specify your macronutrients, include lots of fruits and vegetables, include healthy fats, eat lean proteins, eat clean starchy carbs, drink lots of water, and do MORE research on what's right for you.
Please note that I am NOT a physician or certified trainer/nutritionist. In fact, I have no credibility at all. This is just information about what I did with hope that it may help and inspire some others with their health. Consult a licensed physician, a certified trainer/nutritionist, a psychic, your dog, or whomever else you consult with on health issues to verify that my suggestions are appropriate for you. Do NOT do what I suggest without checking with a professional.
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