One Born Every Minute

LOSE 30 LBS IN 30 DAYS

BURN 150 CALORIES IN 10 MINUTES

THE CELEBRITY DIET

LOSE WEIGHT WITHOUT GOING TO THE GYM

LOSE WEIGHT FAST WITH HYDROXYCUT

THE COACH POTATO DIET

THE CABBAGE SOUP DIET

THE ALL PROTEIN, ALL CARBS, ALL ICE CREAM DIET

Hi. It's Laura.

I don't know about you but I see this ads almost every single day that I turn on my computer. Some are banner ads. Some are those annoying pop ups and other are simply the headline in “My Yahoo”. I would like to say that I am smarter than the ads (I know I really am) but I click on them anyway.

Before I go down the dark path, I did click on one headline last week and was pleasantly surprised. The headline was something like burn 150 calories in 15 minutes. The author of blog was a trainer and made the observation at the gym that most people spend their time in the gym: socializing, resting between sets and watching TV. Little work was done in the hour that a lot of people where there. He published a workout that, if you actually do it, will only take 15 minutes. I was looking for the article and could not find it again. If I do, I will share it with you.

Marketing is a very powerful tool but let me tell you a secret: if there was a magic pill or formula to lose weight we would all know about it and everyone would be at their ideal weight. [Editor’s Note: and they would advertise it medical journals and not on Facebook.]

It would be awesome if we could just swallow a pill have the fat melt away. Unfortunately, a fat burning pill has not been invented yet. I am sure someone is working on it and when the announcement is made that it works, we will all know about it.

Whether it is 30 lbs or 5lbs you want to lose, the only way to make that happen is eat less. Yes my friends you heard it here, the miracle is to eat less.

I mention all those lovely diets above and the only thing they are designed to do is separate you from your money. You need carbs and protein and fat in your diet to be healthy and have all of your organs function properly.

The Husband and I have been having intense discussions regarding diet and exercise (this is not new in our world) after we watched HBO's The Weight of the Nation. It really made me think about why a lot of Americans are so fat. My belief is that the answer is education. [Editor’s Note: I think it is the military and I am not even a conspiracy theorist.]

When we are young we can eat everything and we need to (for the most part). Kids are pretty smart in what they like and what they don't but who is teaching them what to eat and when? I am guessing not their parents because nobody taught them how to eat.

So instead of offering a magic pill or mystical diet. Your dietary needs change from year to year as do your caloric needs. If you are unaware of that fact, you will be eating the same amount of food at 30 as you ate at 13. This is not faring well for most people.

In order to begin changing, you need to know how many calories YOU need in a day to live. The calculation is simple enough and is based on age and height. The calculator is called the Basal Metabolic Rate.

Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

Our example is a 50 year old woman, weighing 120 lbs and is 5"3.

655+ (522) + (296.1)- (235)= 1239 calories to maintain current weight [Editor’s Note: This is the equivalent to a Burger King Triple Wopper with cheese and a stick of sugarless gum].

If you are looking to lose you need to burn 500 calories by either exercising those calories or cutting those calories out of your diet. For our 50 year old woman example I would encourage exercise and not diet because once you cut your calories below 1200 you will not be getting enough nutrition in your diet.

For those of you who do not want to work the calculations. I found you a calculator that you can add to your favorites and every year recalculate what your caloric intake needs should be because they are always changing.

Starting with what you need to survive in calories is the best place to start on your journey of healthy eating. If you don't know what you need how do you know where to start?

Play hard!

Laura