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On weight, denials, and goal setting

Posted on 25/1/2008, 10:43 pm, by Colin Charles, under Life.

It seems more than half the adult Australian population is overweight (thats a BMI between 25-29.9) or obese (that’s a BMI of over 30). Worse, most are in denial:

“Overweight or obese men and women are increasingly likely to see themselves as having an acceptable weight,” the bureau says in its latest report on obesity.

I’m not in denial. BMI is currently 26.54, which is alarming (by my standards, anyway). An ideal BMI is at most, 24.9, which realistically means shedding about 6-7KG. And more importantly keeping it that way.

It was that way in November 2007. Trip to Kuala Lumpur, coupled with all the trips around the world, has made me put on that much. Sigh.

Goal: Reduce 5KG by Q1/2008.

To achieve it? Cut down on food intake (well, watch what goes in, anyway), exercise (jogging seems viable). Seeing lots of vegetarian friends, thats always a thought, but there’s too much good tasting food in this world, to go completely veggie, IMHO.

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  • Simple law of the conservation of energy... if you don't burn it you conserve it. 5KG is roughly 38500 calories. If you burn 38500 more calories than you take in you will lose 5KG. So cutting down on food intake is essential.

    Exercise is valuable in the equation but is not an alternative to reducing caloric intake. Exercise is too expensive a means of burning calories to be cost effective - only very wealth folks can literally afford to spend enough time exercising to offset unregulated eating.

    Here is an oversimplified scenario: I am 6'-0" and currently 204lbs, My BMI is 25-29.9 (sound familiar?) More important than BMI is my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate - how many calories I burn if I were to lay in bed all day) 1875 is my BMR. That means that if I eat 1500 calories per day and get out of bed and go to work and lead a normal life I will easily burn 2000 to 2500 calories per day. 500 to 1000 calories per day burned means that I will lose 1 lb (3500 calories) every 3.5 to 6 days... with no exercise at all.

    Sounds too easy right? I like to eat. That is what is really difficult. I bring new meaning to the concept of 'Comfort Food'. So for this to work for me I had to change my thinking. I had to decide whether I wanted 1 piece of 450 calorie pie (yeah, I did look it up) or several (3) small portions of Apple Sauce (50 calories each) spread through my day. HINT: small portions spread through the day dispel hunger and are not very caloric expensive.

    Colin you hit the nail on the head, "... there’s too much good tasting food in this world," In this day and age where there are so few real pleasures (legal ones anyway) good tasting food certainly ranks high. So my challenge to you is to really taste the food that you enjoy. I have come to relish and celebrate the flavors and textures of the food that I eat. Not the quantity - but the quality.

    And the last bit... there are days when I just want to enjoy 6 well dressed tacos and savory rice and those delicious refried beans ... so I do. I know the law of conservation. It will just take me a little longer to burn off those 'extra' calories. Occasionally I just give myself to enjoy.

    So, how is it working? Before the holidays I topped the scale at 221lbs - the most I have ever weighed. On Jan 1 I started keeping track and score - no sense fighting the holiday food fests. On Jan 1 I weighed in at 215. This morning I weighed in at 204.5. (YMMV: 10.5 lbs in 25 days = ~.42lb lost per day or roughly 1400 calories burned over my BMR per day.) Yeah, it works.

    (P.S. Thanks, I always wanted to write this down.)
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