Monday, September 22, 2014

Simple steps for the plan

Here comes the hard part.  Figuring out how many calories I take in a day.  So let's break down the steps to do this:  Here are 4 simple steps that will help get you started with counting calories.

Step 1 – How many calories do I need to lose weight.

In my last blog post I found a website to help me in this.  Problem is there is several formulas to do this and since I am a Engineer this does not work.  So I have to find one and stick to it.  Here are the formulas I found on the net.

The Harris-Benedict Equation:
 (6.24 x W) + (12.7 x H) - (6.76 x A) + 66

The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation:
(4.54 x W) + (15.9 x H) - (5 x A) + 5

The Owen Equation:
879 + (4.64 x W)

Where
W = Weight in pounds
H = Height in inches
A = age in years

Now throw in the activity level multipliers and all is good

1.2 if sedentary, little or no exercise and desk job
1.375    if lightly Active, light exercise, or sports 1-3 days a week
1.55      if moderately active, moderate exercise, or sports 3-5 days a
             week
1.725    if very active, hard exercise, or sports 6-7 days a week
1.9        if extremely active, hard daily exercise or sports and
             physical job

Now according to The American Society for Nutrition, I love societies, the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation is the one to use, so into my excel spreadsheet it goes and I am good.  Interesting the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation has my caloric requirement at 3940 cal/day compared to the 3767 the  Harris-Benedict Equation had.

Step 2 – Keeping track of my food.

When I lost the weight the last time I used SparkPeople    Nutrition Tracker gives you all kinds of charts and has lost of food already broken down.  From the last time I inputted allot of the foods I liked so it seems to be the best fit.  What I found from before a small pad and pencil worked great to write everything down.

What I need to do is:

1.  Record everything you eat and drink immediately.
2.  Note what I am doing while I eating.
3.  Got to be honest. It's my journal and no one will see it but me

At the end of each day enter it into my tracker.

Step 3 – Plan and prepare menus ahead of time.

Right now when it comes to planning my meals I use “fly by the seat of my pants” method. Well, this “method” led me to eating lots of takeout and prepackaged food which has lead me to my current weight.

When I lost the weight before I would plan out my meals for the week.  On the weekend I would cook meals for the week so I could pop them in the microwave and not spend so much time at night cooking.  I also made lunch the night before and did not eat out for lunch.  This gives will give me better control over my portions, calories, and nutrition. Not to mention, it reduces the hassle of figuring out what to eat when I come home at night.

Step 4 – Measuring and Estimating Portion Size

This is the part I hate but it is the most essential.  It's easy to grab a had full of pretzels or potato chips and say that a serving but I have some big hands and that not a serving.  I checked it out just to make sure a serving of thin pretzels is 10 pretzels (ok I looked at the bag), when I grabbed a handful I got 15 or so.  the difference between 1 serving and 1 1/2 servings.  Ever look at the actual serving sizes on that Nutrition in a serving size label, damn a serving size is small. But it needs to be done.  So I need to break out the scale and measuring cups

The best way for me to assess portion size is to measure it. The more I measure, the better I am at visually assessing portion size, which helps when I dine out.  Now that I am dating Mandy we go out twice a week so time to learn.

I found some helpful hints on the web though

One serving of cooked meat (about 3 ounces) is equivalent to a bar of soap.

If I am in the mood for the grill, a hockey puck is a good estimate for the size of a ground hamburger patty.

A serving of cooked pasta (about 1/2 cup) should match the size of my fist.

One serving of grains equals a piece of bread, a waffle, or a pancake. While a standard CD case is an appropriate size for the bread, the CD itself is a good guideline for the waffles and pancakes.

One teaspoon approximates a single serving of fats and oils. Don't have any measuring spoons around? Use the tip of my thumb as a guide.

or

1 cup = your fist
1 ounce = the meaty part of your thumb
1 tablespoon = your thumb, minus the meaty part
1 teaspoon = the tip of your index finger
1 inch = the middle section of your index finger
1-2 ounces of a food like nuts or pretzels = your cupped hand
3 ounces of meat, fish, or poultry = the palm of your hand

Well that is Part 1 of the come back plan.  The good thing with counting calories is there are no special foods, shakes, weight watcher nutra system or weird recipes.  I can eat what I want as long as I stay within my calories.  I just got to remember, I suck at getting healthy and I'm on a journey to figure all this out.

Life is a journey, not a destination ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

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