Demystifying Weight Loss-: The Weight Loss Equation

Everyone is capable of losing weight. It doesn't matter how long you have been overweight or how big your bones are. Natural weight loss (No surgery, No diet pills) is achievable by anybody when you understand the basics and commit your heart to it.

The first thing you need to know about weight loss is the weight loss equation.

                            3,500 Calories = 1 pound/ 0.45 Kg

This means that when you eat 3,500 calories without burning them, you gain 1 pound and when you burn 3,500 calories, you lose 1 pound/ 0.45 Kg. This means that in order to lose one pound per week through dieting alone, an individual has to reduce calorie intake by 500 Calories per day or 3, 500 Calories per week. To lose 2 pounds of fat per week, there must be a reduction in calorie intake of 1,000 per day and 7,000 per week.

Reducing Calorie intake by 1,000 per day is often difficult and may even backfire. If you cut calorie too much, much of the weight you would lose would be muscle weight. One pound of muscle weight contains only 600 calories while one pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. This means that during severe and imbalanced diets, you can lose muscle very quickly and you need to burn six times as many calories to burn off a pound of fat than if you are burning muscles for calories.

In order to know how much calorie to eat each day and how much to cut off, you need to determine your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).

How to measure your Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR).

Recently, researchers have suggested that the Waist to Hip ratio (WHR) provides a better indication of whether an individual has too much body fat. The Waist to Hip ratio measures the relationship between your waist circumference and hip circumference. The lower your WHR, the better.

Women with a Waist-to-Hip ratio of 0.8 or less, or men with a ratio of 0.9 or less are considered safe. A WHR of 1.0 or higher for either gender is considered risky and  such people are more  likely to develop overweight related problems.

To calculate your WHR ratio, you'll need:

•  A measuring tape
• A pencil and paper
• A calculator

Start by wrapping a measuring tape around your waist making sure that the tape measure sits in the narrowest part of your torso. On most people, this is just above the belly button. The result is your waist circumference, write it down.

Next, you'll wrap a tape around your hips at the widest point. Make sure it is flat against your skin. You may use a mirror or ask a friend to help you out so that you can get an accurate measurement. The result is your hip circumference. You should also write this down.

Now that you have your waist and hip circumference, the next thing is to  divide your waist circumference by your hip circumference to get your Waist-to-Hip ratio. For instance, if your waist circumference is 26 inches and your hip circumference is 37 inches, you should divide 26 by 37 ( 26/37 = 0.70).

If you are actively trying to lose weight,  you should check your WHR every one to six months. Write down the measurement every time you take it, as a means of tracking your progress over time. As you lose weight, your WHR will decrease.

How much weight should you lose?

Now that you know your BMI and you know that you are overweight/obese, how do you know how many pounds you need to shed to get you back to a healthy weight for your height? Follow these simple steps to know how much weight you need to lose.

The normal weight range according to the BMI is 18.5-24.9. You can figure out what your weight should be by using a variation of this simple formula.

1. Square your height in inches. If you are 65 inches tall, you would do the following (65 x 65 = 4,225).
2. Multiply the answer you got in (1) above by 18.5 (4,225 x18.5 = 78,162.5).
3. Divide your answer in (2) above by the number 703 in order to find the lighter end of the healthy weight range for your height (78,162.5/703= 111.18 approx 111)
4. To find the heavier end of your normal weight range, perform a very similar equation as (1) to (3) above, but this time, use 24.9 instead of  18.5 in step (2). In this example, your computation would look like this: 

• 65 X 65 = 4,225
• 4,225 X 24.9 = 105,202.5
• 105,202.5/703 = 149.65 approx 150

The normal weight range for a person that is 65 inches tall is between 111- 150 pounds. What is the normal weight range for your height?

In order to find out how much weight you need to lose, subtract 111 and 150 from your current weight. So, if you are 65 inches tall and weigh 165 pounds, you should follow this equation:

1. 165 - 150 = 15
2. 165 - 111 = 54

Therefore, you need to lose between 15 and 54 pounds in order to be in the normal weight range according to the BMI.

Are you even overweight?

Many times, i have heard people say "I'm not overweight, i just need to trim my tummy" or "I'm not overweight, i just have fat arms" and there are times that i have seen people who look like they have a healthy weight but are still struggling to lose weight.

I have realized that many people do not even know if they are overweight or not and what their ideal weight should be.

The first step to take when trying to lose weight is to determine if you are overweight and how much weight you need to lose. This can be done by calculating your Body Mass Index (BMI).

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measurement tool that compares your height with your weight to give you an indication of whether you are overweight, underweight or at a healthy weight.

How to calculate your BMI
To calculate your BMI, you'll need-:

• A bathroom scale
• A measuring tape or yardstick
• A pencil and paper
• A calculator

1. Take your weight measurement on a bathroom scale. Then convert it to pounds (if it is in kilograms).  1 pound = 0.45 Kg.
2.  Measure your height in inches using a yard stick or a measuring tape. You can stand against a wall and use a pencil to make a mark at the top of your head, then measure.
3. Use a pencil, paper and calculator to do the following calculation: 

• Take your height in inches and square the number. For instance, if you are 70 inches tall, multiply 70 by 70 (70 x 70 = 4,900).
• Divide your weight in pounds by the figure above. For instance, if you weigh 180 pounds, you would divide 180 by 4,900 (180 /4,900 = 0.036734693).
• Multiply that answer by  the conversion factor 703. The answer is your Body Mass Index (BMI) 0.036734693 X 703 = 25.82.
• Judge your personal BMI result against the following scale:
• 18 - Underweight
• 18.5- Thin for height
• 18.6 -24.9 - Healthy weigh
• 25 - 29.9 - Overweight
• 30- Obesity

A BMI of  less than 18 means you are underweight. You should consider adding more weight.
A BMI of less than 18.5 indicates you are thin for height.
A BMI of between 18.6 and 24.9 indicates you are at a healthy weight.
A BMI of between 25 and 29.9 means you are overweight for your height.
A BMI of 30 or greater indicates obesity. If you are obese, you should seriously consider losing weight.

Welcome to my blog

Sometimes last year, i started a weight loss motivational channel on BBM to encourage and assist ladies and mothers trying to lose weight and become fit and healthy. Currently, we have about 80 subscribers and more people are joining everyday.
One thing i have learnt in my weight loss journey is that you need the right information and a whole lot of encouragement to succeed and because of the limit to the number of words allowed per post on BBM channels (400 words per post), i decided to create this blog.
I intend to continue to share more information that would aid weight loss and inspire more people as i have done with the BBM channel.
If you want to subscribe to the channel, the channel pin is C002BF217. To contact Admin, send a mail to naijaweightlossmotivation@gmail.com.
Thanks and Welcome on Board!