Chef Charles Michael Dishes out Healthy Recipes: Want to lose 25 or 50 pounds?

How do I begin a Weight Loss Program? Part 3 of 3

Putting it all together to lose weight.

This statement is used by many and is a key reason for weight loss failure. The most important thing about weight loss that I want you to realize is that, "You can't outrun your appetite." I don’t think anyone would disagree with me that it’s easier to gain a pound than lose one? Consider this as proof:

One can eat a BK Triple Whopper Cheese Burger in about 3 minutes. Add a large fry and chocolate shake and that fast food lunch could be eaten in about 10-15 minutes, usually while driving back to work. The calories from these foods are 1230, 540, 920 respectively. Add those all up and it’s a total of 2690 calories eaten for lunch. My good friend orders this on the way home from a good night of drinking often. This is more than an entire daily calorie requirement for most men and almost twice that for some women.

Now let’s take a look at the other side of the coin. The amount of time required to burn 2690 calories through exercise. Based on information by the American College of Sports Medicine you would need to exercise for the following times to burn your 15 minute or less lunch or late night snack.

Exercise	130 lb	205 lb
Biking < 10 mph	11.4 hrs	9.57 hr
Rowing machine, Light	6.5 hrs	5.45 hrs
Aerobics. Low impact	6.5 hrs	5.45 hrs
Running, 5 mph	5.1 hrs	4.2 hrs
Golf, general	11.1 hrs	8.5 hrs
Playing tennis	7.6 hrs	6.4 hrs
Walking 3.0 moderate pace	12.0 hrs	10.1 hrs

We can see why we can’t out run our appetite; we can consume calories at a ratio 20:1 to as much as 48:1 times that which we can burn through exercise. From these ratios it becomes apparent that exercise, while great for psychological reason and stress reduction, has little or no effect if you are not eating right in the first place. The ACSM also states that the most weight that a typical person can lose from exercise is about 3%. Sure the Biggest Loser folks lose more, but this is their job and they are working out as much as 5 hours a day and are on severely restrictive diets.

What this means is all the exercise in the world wouldn't help you lose weight if you eat poorly. Exercise allows you to lose about 2% to 5% of your body weight. If you eat right and exercise you can compound the results. to prove this point consider the following:

Our health is directly affected by the food we put (or don’t put) in our mouths. Weight loss is a simple formula, 3500 calories equals 1 pound. The only secret to weight loss is if you are losing that pound or gaining that pound. If you are overweight, there are two steadfast and proven ways to lose weight; calorie reduction in what you eat and burning calories through exercise.

Jane’s BMR= 655 + (4.35 X 140) + (4.7 X 67) – (4.7 X 45)

655 + 609 + 315 – 212 = 1367 = Jane’s Minimal Calorie Requirements

Jane’s EER = 354 – (6.91 * 45) + 1 * ((9.36 * 63) + (726 * 1.7))

354 – 311 + 1 * (590 + 1234) = 1867 Jane’s Upper Limit

From these two calculations we can determine that Jane’s minimal or lower calorie limit is 1367 and ideal upper is 1867. For those who are overweight or obese many times their dietary intakes are double the upper limit. Consider you choice drink 3 – 32 ounce sodas a day to meet your minimal needs or eating 10 carrot sticks, 10 celery sticks, 3 cups lettuce, 5 apples, 5 oranges and 2 large potatoes each about the same calories. Will the soft drink satisfy your hunger and provide nutrients for the body to function more than the variety of fruits and vegetables with the same calories? What you chose to eat makes a difference.

From above we know that 3500 pound equals 1 pound. What happens if we combine calorie reduction with calorie exercise burns? Here are our options for someone wanting to lose 25 pounds and how long it should take...

25 Pound Weight Loss Goal

Activity	Daily Calories Reduction	100 Calorie Exercise Burns	Weekly Loss	Weeks to Goal
Calorie Reduction Only	500	0	1 pound	25
Calorie Reduction Only	250	0	½ pound	50
Some Calorie Reduction & Some Exercise	300	200	1 pound	25
Some Calorie Reduction & Some Exercise	150	100	½ pound	50
Calorie Reduction & Moderate Exercise	500	200	1.4 pound	17
Calorie Reduction & Moderate Exercise	250	100	.7 pound	35
Calorie Reduction & Cardio Type Exercise	500	500	2	12.5
Calorie Reduction & Cardio Type Exercise	250	250	1	25

From the above chart you can see the benefits of combining exercise with a calorie restrictive diet. Experience shows the best rate for long term weight loses is ½ to 2 pounds per week. For many of those who are obese with heavy dependence on soft drinks and junk foods, a 300-500 daily calorie reduction in cutting one large soft drink and junk food snack out of the many empty calories they consume everyday.

Weight loss at a pace more accelerated than ½-2 pounds per week will lead to your skin not naturally retracting with the weight you have lost. Individuals who opt for rapid weight loss through surgery or lap band may be left with saggy skin, plastic surgery may be necessary for cosmetic reasons. Restricting nutrient any further than 500 calories can make you feel hungry, tired and more likely to fail your weight loss goals. Natural hormones that stave off starvation will seek to conserve the fat you are trying to burn, and your appetite will force you to seek quick easy calories through binge type fast foods. The only way you should seek to cut more than 500 calories a day is through a max of 500 calories reduction in food and the rest through calories from exercise burn. A slow steadfast weight plan should always begin by focusing on replacing empty calorie foods with nutrients dense calorie sparse foods. Once this happens the individual will naturally eat less food and the 500 calories restriction might occur naturally without the feeling of hunger.

You're defined by what you eat and how much. Making the smart choice to eat the right foods will save you countless hours in the gym and make you look better every month you stick too the above goals.

About the Author:

Charles Kandutsch is author of a nutrition book entitled, Eat The Right Foods were its his belief that you can’t out run your appetite. He also authored Cook The Right Foods a companion cookbook that teaches chefs healthy food preparation with over 300 recipes and instructions on steaming, stir frying and many other techniques. Both books are available in print or eBook formats and are incorporated into the BURN 500^TM weight loss program. Chef Charles has trimmed approximately 100 pounds of fat from his body over the last 2 1/2 years which was accomplished through lifestyle changes and eating the right foods not dieting and exercise. For information on books visit the website or contact Charles by email at charles@EatTheRightFoods.com.