Tammy, 31, has always been a bit of a “thrilled” eater. She loves food and rarely passes up the opportunity to indulge in something sweet or starchy. But lately, something’s been changing. She started noticing that her pants were feeling a little snugger and decided to do something about it. So she came up with a diet that would help her lose a few pounds.
The 5-Step Nutrition Plan That Will Help You Lose Weight
The results of Tammy’s diet plan were astounding. She dropped 4.8 pounds in just 5 weeks! That’s a total of 11 pounds lost in just 15 days. Not bad for a first attempt, right?
If you’re looking to lose some weight, you’ve probably considered trying an app-based diet or eating clean, as in avoiding food that isn’t healthy. But regardless of which diet plan you choose, there’s one thing you need to do before you start—figure out how much you need to lose.
How much weight do you need to lose? That depends on a number of factors, including your height, weight, gender, and what you want to achieve. To figure out how much you need to lose, use these simple calculations.
Your Height in Inches
Your height is one of the most important things to consider when calculating how much weight you need to lose. Measuring your height in inches rather than centimeter or millimeter is the easiest way to determine how much weight you need to lose. Calculate your height in inches then multiply that number by 8 for a rough estimate of your weight in pounds.
Your Weight in Pounds
Once you know how much you need to lose, the next step is to figure out how much you want to lose. This is a more complicated step, but it’s an essential one. There are several different methods for calculating how much weight you want to lose and how much weight you need to lose. Here are some of the most popular ones:
The Most Popular Weight Loss Calculations
There are four main methods for calculating how much weight you want to lose: using body mass index (BMI), the diet exchange method, the hormone balance method, and the age-weight table method. All of these methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Which one you should use depends on what you want to achieve. Let’s take a look at each one.
The body mass index (BMI) method calculates your weight based on your height and a number of other factors. It was originally developed to help medical professionals diagnose patients with obesity. However, the BMI method of calculating weight is a simple one to use and is considered by many to be the most reliable way to determine how much weight you need to lose. Simply measure your weight then calculate your BMI using these formulae:
- BMI = Your Weight (in Pounds) x 2
- BMI < 18.5 = Underweight
- BMI ≥ 25 = Obese
If you want to lose a specific amount of weight, use this BMI formula to calculate your target weight:
- BMI < 18.5 = Underweight
- BMI ≥ 25 = Obese
- Weight (in Pounds) = (Your Height in Inches) x 8
- Target Weight = Your Current Weight – (Your Target Weight x 2)
Keep in mind that BMI is only one factor among many that go into determining how much weight you need to lose. It doesn’t take into account your fat percentage or the overall shape of your body. For that, you’ll need to calculate your body fat using one of the other methods.
The Diet Exchange Method
One of the problems with the BMI method of calculating weight is that it doesn’t factor in how much you actually want to lose. To fix this, you can use the diet exchange method. Essentially, you exchange all of the foods you want for those you don’t want. For example, if you want to lose weight but you also want to keep eating chocolate, you can try the diet exchange method. Before you start the diet, create a list of your top foods and then create another list of your worst foods. This will help you figure out what you’re going to replace and what you’re going to eat. To start, you could try swapping out your chocolate for either vegetables or fruit. Once you’ve established a baseline of healthy eating, you can slowly add foods back into your diet. It’s a bit like a food detox. When you first begin the diet, it can be difficult to avoid eating the “wrong” foods. That’s why it’s best to start small then gradually incorporate more foods back into your diet. Once you’ve replaced your top foods with healthier alternatives and lowered your caloric intake, you’ll start feeling better and you’ll be inclined to want to keep eating healthier. As you continue to lose weight, you can add more foods back into your diet.
The Hormone Balance Method
The hormone balance method of calculating weight takes into account your body’s hormones. Specifically, it looks at the relationship between fat storage and the hormones that regulate it. The hormone melatonin helps regulate our sleep cycles and levels of serotonin and dopamine, among other hormones. When melatonin levels are low, our bodies are more likely to store fat. This is why the hormone balance method focuses on lowering melatonin levels in order to lose weight.
The good news is that you don’t need to go through the effort of calculating your hormone levels. You can simply follow the steps below:
The Steps
1. Find Your Base Metabolism
Your base metabolism is the minimum amount of energy your body needs to sustain itself. It depends on a number of factors, including your age, gender, and your height. In general, men have a higher base metabolism than women and people who are shorter have a higher base metabolism than people who are Taller. Find your base metabolism using this handy-dandy chart:
- Your Height (in Inches) x 2 for Men
- Your Height x 1.7 for Women
- Any Factor Other Than Your Height for Short Men
- Your Height x 1.3 for Tall Men
2. Determine How To Raise Your Base Metabolism
The next step is to figure out how to raise your base metabolism. You have two options here: either exercise or change your diet. If you’re worried about raising your base metabolism through exercise, you could try taking melatonin supplements. Or you could try a diet that incorporates foods that will help raise your metabolism. It’s a good idea to try both methods—you might find that one method works better for you than the other.
The Diet
Once you know your base metabolism, it’s time to figure out what diet you should follow. Remember: you want to achieve your target weight, so you’ll need to eat less than you need for your base metabolism. With your base metabolism in mind, pick the diet that you think will help you lose the most weight in the shortest amount of time. The best diet for lowering your hormones and losing weight is a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and nuts. You should also consider how easy it is to follow. For instance, if you’re looking to lose a lot of weight really fast, you might want to try a ketogenic diet.
The Benefits
The good news is that you don’t need to settle for one method of losing weight. You can use any of the methods discussed above to lose weight and they’ll all deliver amazing results.
However, after you lose the weight, it’s important to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This means eating healthy foods and staying active. If you want to keep the weight off, it’s important to keep in mind that you can’t eat whatever you want and not pay attention to how much you’re eating. It’s also important to continue to monitor your health and any changes that may occur from following the diet. If you want to keep the weight off, it’s important to practice moderation. And last but not least, it’s important to be willing to experiment with different diets until you find one that works best for you.
If this article has inspired you to lose weight, be sure to check out the other articles in the series for more information on the different ways you can go about losing weight. Or if you’re ready to take the bull by the horns and see how much weight you can lose, try one of the popular diet plans found on this website. We’ve got you covered.