Having A Girth Spurt? Calculate your BMR

Happy Monday my BLOG friends!   My office is overwhelmed with emails, phone calls, and messages with questions on many things, but perhaps because Spring is upon us, weight loss seems to be at the forefront of everyone's mind.  Soon the swimsuits and beach towels will make their way to the front of our closets, and concessions will need to be made in dietary habits to help the Spandex and Lycra do their jobs a little more effectively. 

This week I will be focusing on some things to help you get motivated and on track with your weight loss goals.  Are you wanting to drop a few pounds?  Then, read on and start by doing some math.

It's interesting to watch a child go through "growth spurts". As parents we can definitely see changes in eating habits and sleep patterns while our children morph into these little miniature adults right before our very eyes.  But, adults who are not paying attention can find themselves going through a spurt of growth as well.  I call it a "girth spurt".  Is your abdominal measurement going up along with the numbers on the scale?  Then you are having a "girth spurt". The big shows on TV are focusing on "belly fat" more and more because one of the realities of aging is that everything seems to land in the belly area.  Men really have a tendency to carry their weight in their belly area.  Women have the misfortune of carrying it in the belly along with other areas of the body.

There are a lot of reasons (physiologically) as to why this happens, but I want to share a few simple things to help you drop a few marks on the tape measure.  Check back for more information as we go throughout the weeks.

When trying to lose weight, I always suggest that people start by determining their basic metabolic rate!  What's that?  This simply represents how many calories your body likely burns each day AT REST and this is how you determine your BMR. (We have a fancy scale that does this electronically for our patients, but not everyone has that convenience.)

Calculating BMR:
1.  Men should multiply their weight (lbs.) by 6.23.  Women by 4.35
2. Men should multiply their height (in.) by 12.7. Women by 12.3
3. Men and women should add those two results together.
4. Men should add 66 to the sum of Steps 1 and 2.  Women should add 65.5.
5. Men should multiple their age by 6.8. Women should multiply by 4.7
6. Subtract the total in Step 5 from the total in Step 4.  This is your BMR.

To lose weight begin to eat at or about 200-300 calories less than your BMR each day. Adding physical activity will help you reduce the daily caloric value even more.  If you don't know how many calories you burn in a day, how can you understand your calorie targets?  This is how.  By reducing your calories in a manageable way, you should lose weight.  I hope it helps in getting started.

To your good health,
Dr. Sonja