As with any journey that we embark upon, we must know where we have been and where we need to go. Our journey through healthy lifestyle changes requires us to keep a daily journal so that we will know where we stand. We need a way to document and track the number of calories we eat, drink and burn each day. The way to do it, is by keeping a "Daily Food and Exercise Journal".
This journal is where we record everything we consume. Yes, this includes the mints as we leave the restaurant, the test taste bites eaten as we cook, all our snacks and drinks, basically, whatever passes our lips and enters our body, must be included in the "Daily Food and Exercise Journal".
In your journal, fill out the information at the top of each page including the day of the week, the date, your morning weight and the "Daily Net Caloric Intake" goal for your desired weight. For each serving that we eat or drink during the day, be sure to list it and fill in all the information requested. Use either a calorie counter book or the nutrition information panel on product packages to determine the number of calories per serving.
Continue to log all the snacks, treats, meals and drinks consumed for the day in the journal. As the running total nears our Daily Net Caloric Intake goal, we will have to make a choice. Either stop eating calories or start burning calories through dedicated physical activity. If we eat and drink more calories than our "Daily Net Caloric Intake" goal, then we need to do some physical activity.
What is Dedicated Physical Activity? Yes, you guessed correctly, it's exercise. Exercise takes numerous forms. Select a form of exercise that is fun, then set a time aside to enjoy your exercise each day.
Exercise needs to be something that we really look forward to doing. The way we "View" our exercise is key to us completing it. So it is important that we pick an exercise that is enjoyable and convenient.
Perform your exercise, record the time it takes to complete it at the bottom of your journal page. Then look up the multiplication factor for your chosen exercise. Calculate the total calories burned during exercise by multiplying:
Multiplication Factor x Your Weight x Exercise Duration = Total Calories Burned
As an example, lets say that I do low impact aerobics for 1 hour. The calculation would be:
.037 x 302 x 60 = 670 calories burned
Remember that our goal is to consume the amount of calories our bodies require to maintain a desired body weight. This is calculated by these rule of thumb formulas:
For women: desired body weight X 10 = average Daily Net Caloric Intake
For men: desired body weight X 11 = average Daily Net Caloric Intake
My desired body weight is 200 therefore my Daily Net Caloric Intake is calculated thus:
200 X 11 = 2200 net calories per day
Let's say that my total caloric intake for the day is 2700 calories. That means the I am 500 calories over my Daily Net Caloric Intake goal of 2200 calories. Now, I need to burn 500 calories through dedicated physical activity. I choose to do aerobics for 1 hour and burn 670 calories. I subtract the calories burned from my daily total and my Daily Net Caloric Intake is 2030.
I have reached my goal of approximately 2200 calories. If I continue to do this each day documenting my progress, calories and exercise, my body will gradually lose weight.
Our goal is a gradual weight loss of 1 pound per week. How can well lose weight? By making the lifestyle change of documenting in our daily food and exercise journal. This keeps us aware of how much we are eating and how much exercise we need to do.
What is of most importance? To continue documenting once we reach our desired weight! I have taken off weight so many times, only to revert back to my old eating habits. Guess what happens, I gain all the lost weight back and then some. Don't let happen to you!!!
NOTE: Always consult your Doctor before starting a weight loss program or exercise program to make sure it is right for you.
There are several tools for us to use in our struggle with weight loss. Overeating is usually caused by our emotions. We need to learn new good habits and forget our old bad habits. David Duane Wilson invites you to look at the information on " Awakening Yourself. This is an excellent program by Dr. Joe Vitale. I use it and it allows me to address issues of self sabotage, goal setting and help with self destructive behavior.
David Duane Wilson has been struggling with weight issues all his life. There is a calories burned chart and much more help available to you at his site [http://HowCanILoseWeightChallenge.com] Visit there and receive a clearing audio gift and "Welcome Kit".
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