Nothin’ but a numbers game.

Whether you want to lose, gain, or maintain your weight, it’s a numbers game–calories in vs. calories out. Let’s review the true secret to understanding weight loss, weight gain, and weight maintenance once and for all–metabolic formula. It’s not about fads or temporary solutions. This is how to achieve permanent change. Stop buying into the infomercial crazes, the Atkins, the HCG diet, the detoxes, the “cleanses.” Learn how to eat the right combinations of protein (39%), carbohydrates (40%), and fat (30%) and realize that YOU are in complete control of your own body composition.

I lost weight and kept it off! So can YOU!

Weight Loss:

To lose weight you must create a calorie deficit–you must burn more than you consume. One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. To lose two pounds a week, you must burn 7,000 calories IN ADDITION to your basal metabolic rate, daily activities, and thermogenesis–calories required to digest food. Example: I am 5’4 and today I weigh 140 pounds. To maintain 140 pounds, I must add my BMR (1374 calories) to my physical daily activity level (274 calories) and thermogenesis (TEF 200). The total is 1848 so if I continue to eat 1848 calories I will MAINTAIN my 140 pound weight. To lose ten pounds, I subtract 500 calories to lose one pound per week (750 for 1.5 pounds and 1000 calories to lose 2 pounds per week) and to reach my goal I need to eat 1348 calories.

You are what you eat.

Weight Maintenance:

Now I’ve reached my goal of 130 pounds. I still work out 5-6 days a week at high intensity. How do I maintain my goal weight without continuing to lose? I must recalculate the metabolic formula: BMR + PAL + TEF. Notice my BMR has decreased from 1374 to 1276 (remember BMR is the number of calories the body requires for all its involuntary functions). 1276 (BMR) + 255 (PAL) + 134 = so my new total caloric need to maintain 130 pounds is 1665. Notice that it went up and on the days I train really hard I could still eat up to 1800 calories and still maintain my weight. See the pattern. The constant here is that calorie tracking is the secret. It’s part of the lifestyle so that you stop gaining and losing the same ten pounds for the rest of your life. It’s just physiology and science. The good news is: you get to eat MORE. Maybe simple changes like eating half the avocado instead of one-quarter. Or eating 2 tablespoons of almond butter with the breakfast banana instead of one.

Beqir eats 3,000 calories a day to GAIN muscle.

Weight Gain:

Let’s say I’m still at 130 pounds and now I want to gain 5 pounds of solid muscle. What do I do? I already know my maintenance calories are 1665 and now I need to add 300 calories (1965) to gain 1/2 pound of muscle a week for ten weeks. Just as with weight loss and weight maintenance, I must keep my metabolism running optimally by eating whole foods–real foods–vegetables, organic meat & seafood, fruit, nuts, seeds, oils, and whole grains. The more I steer clear of processed foods, boxed and canned foods, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives, the better my body will respond and the more energy I will have during workouts. Eat fresh, real food. Train hard. Drink water. Get lots of sleep. Manage your stress. Achieve your goals.