Make sure you're eating enough calories! This statement may shock you if you're trying to lose weight, but it is an important consideration. Most people do not eat enough and they force their body to go into starvation mode.
The easiest way to calculate your body’s caloric needs is to simply multiply your weight times a number of calories and that gives you a number to start with. I suggest the following to estimate your calories for the day:
Sedentary people: weight x 10
Moderately active people: weight x 13
Active people: weight x 15
This will give you the caloric need for the day. Now you want to start by creating a deficit. At this point I recommend the following approach:
Normal fat loss: cut 10%
Faster fat loss: cut 15%
Aggressive fat loss: cut 20%
Simply reduce your calories by the percentage listed. As an example, if you weigh 240 pounds and are moderately active and want normal fat loss:
240 x 13 = 3120
3120 x .10 = 313
3130 – 312 = 2808
You would aim for 2808 calories a day. Anything lower than 2400 calories is too aggressive and should be avoided.
Be sure to recalculate this number each week as your weight drops. Do this and you will find weight loss is much easier.
Want to see all the messages in this May 2016 Challenge Series? I have them organized for you right here.
