Basic Calculations and Plan, May 2009

Today -- Tuesday, May 19, 2009 -- is Day 1, and the time to be literary about this is behind us.

The basic elements are to keep calorie intake under 2,500 calories a day, and to get a moderate workout at least 5 days per week. I'm going to Modell's to get a new bathing suit, going to a local gym with a pool at mid-day, and starting a daily swimming regimen. In the past it might have been running, but there's an increasing need to take it easy on my knees, ankles, etc., at least while I am in my current weight range. I'm making a point of beginning the regimen on Tuesday, which is deadline day for my weekly Kindle Nation newsletter. As a relentlessly busy Type A personality with a never-ending to-do list of items that simply must be done -- meaning: before I work out or do other life-maintaining things -- I know that it is important to build in the elements of the regimen from the beginning even on my busiest days.

My weight today is 257. My goal is to lose a pound each week and to get to 225 by the end of the year.

The key to losing a pound a week, as I have noted in an earlier post, is in the calorie and metabolism arithmetic. Don't get me wrong: it is also extremely important to eat in a healthy and balanced way, but if I consume 4,000 really nutritious calories a day, I'm not going to lose weight.

Here's my Basal Metabolic Rate calculation from CaloriesPerHouse.com:


So, I think we can safely say that my BMR -- the calorie intake rate at which my weight remains the same -- has been at about 3,000 and will head north of 3,300 as I do my daily exercise regimen. If I keep my daily calorie intake under 2500 calories within this overall plan, I'll have a daily calorie deficit of 500 to 800 calories, and here's a calculator that tells me what I can realistically set as my objective by the end of this year:

I'll try not to bore you by recording every single meal here, but it's true that I can get a little, er, detailed about this sort of thing. I'm not going to record every cup of coffee, but I'll knock 200 calories off the 2,500 for starters by saying that I'll consume 200 calories with coffee condiments -- usually soy milk or Almond Breeze -- during the course of each day. And then, just to get us started on the right foot, I began the day with one of my favorite simple breakfast concoctions -- Egg in a Bird's Nest -- with 1 medium brown egg, no oil, a slice of enriched white bread (not Wonder Bread, I got it from Whole Foods!), and a good sprinkle of sodium-heavy Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. Here's the math on that:

Okay, enough talk. See you at the pool!