New Beginnings

Ok - so I know that there are a lot of weight loss programs out there, but I have the hardest time sticking to them, and what's worse, is that I can't afford most of them. So I have decided to try a combination of weight loss methods, but not pay for anyone to coach me. As far as I am concerned, my husband is my biggest coach (and my family). Some people may need an actual professional weight loss coach, but I'm not here to talk about that.

So some of my recipes will come from weight watchers, others from cooking light type cook books, and others will be adaptations from recipes that I grew up with. Regardless of which method you choose, I am going to focus on a lower calorie method. But first, I needed to know how many calories I needed to MAINTAIN my weight, and how many I needed to lose either one or two pounds a week naturally. Here's how it works.

Take your current weight, and multiply it by 11. That is the number of calories that you need to eat every day in order to stay at the exact same weight that you are at right now. For example: I weigh 208 pounds, so

208 x 11 = 2288 calories per day to stay where I am. But I want to lose weight, so I will subtract 500 calories.

2288 - 500 = 1788 calories that I can eat per day and still lose 1 pound per week. If I wanted to lose 2 pounds per week, I would then subtract another 500 calories.

1788 - 500 = 1288 calories that I can eat per day to lose 2 pounds a week. But to me 1288 calories a day sounds very small and a little scary, so I'm going to set MY GOAL to losing 1 pound per week. Later on, once I feel successful enough, I will drop the other 500 calories and work on losing 2 pounds per week. Of course exercise helps a LOT when trying to lose weight, so even if you only have time for a 20 minute brisk walk, or some outside play time with the kids, it's still a GREAT START towards your NEW BEGINNINGS!