More metabolic calculations - skip if you find my math boring :)

The last two weeks I've been back on low-calorie, lower-carb (LC2). The goal
was to keep at about 1500 calories while avoiding high-glycemic carbs that
cause hunger spikes.

I lost 3 kg = 6.6 lb during these 2 weeks.

Before this period I had a period of low-cal, followed by a period of
low-carb. I stopped losing weight under just low-carb, which is why I
switched back to low-cal again.

Anyway, the exact figures for the last two weeks a

Average daily calories: 1422 (I was aiming for 1500)
Average daily carbs: 57
Average weight (assuming linear weight loss): 242 lb

Since I lost 6.6 lb, that was a total caloric deficit of 23,100 calories
over 15 days, or a daily average deficit of 1540 calories.

That means my average daily "maintenance" calories are 2962 calories.
Anything less than this amount means I should lose weight.

This comes to 2962 cal / 242 lb = 12.24 cal/lb. That is in the range of
normal metabolism.

This indicates to me that I could probably up my daily calories by a few
hundred calories and still maintain a 2 lb/week weight loss for the time
being.

I think the number of calories I eat should depend on my goal weight
somewhat. After all, when I reach goal I will have to maintain that number
of calories for the rest of my life, so I might as well get used to that
now, right?

I'm 174 cm tall. Assuming a high range BMI goal of 25, that means my goal
should be about 75 kg. That would mean a "lifetime daily average calories"
of

75 x 2.2 x 12.24 = 2020 calories/day. About 2000 calories per day.

If I ate that much now it should mean a weekly calorie deficit of about 6734
calories, or about a 1.9 lb loss per week - almost 2 lb/week.

Assuming 10% error for safety (after all, it's a human body we're talking
about, not machine parts) I might try to up my 1500 calories/day to 1800 for
a while and see what happens.

Gee, I wish I weren't leaving on that overseas trip for month on Wednesday.
That is sure going to confuse the issue!

doug

On 5/22/04 11:11 PM, in article , "Ignoramus16760"
wrote:

If I were you, I would up the calories by about 300 and also exercise
off those extra 300 calories. Makes long term dieting more
palatable. (you may be already exercising a lot, in which case my
advice is impractical, but you have not mentioned exercise in your
post).


I didn't mention it in this post, but mentioned it a bit in others. I am
increasing my exercise each day. I will be doing more, I hope. Good advice.
Thanks.

doug

This sounds like good stuff to me, Doug. Good luck and let it know how it
works for you.

Doug Lerner wrote:
:: The last two weeks I've been back on low-calorie, lower-carb (LC2).
:: The goal was to keep at about 1500 calories while avoiding
:: high-glycemic carbs that cause hunger spikes.
::
:: I lost 3 kg = 6.6 lb during these 2 weeks.
::
:: Before this period I had a period of low-cal, followed by a period of
:: low-carb. I stopped losing weight under just low-carb, which is why I
:: switched back to low-cal again.
::
:: Anyway, the exact figures for the last two weeks a
::
:: Average daily calories: 1422 (I was aiming for 1500)
:: Average daily carbs: 57
:: Average weight (assuming linear weight loss): 242 lb
::
:: Since I lost 6.6 lb, that was a total caloric deficit of 23,100
:: calories over 15 days, or a daily average deficit of 1540 calories.
::
:: That means my average daily "maintenance" calories are 2962 calories.
:: Anything less than this amount means I should lose weight.
::
:: This comes to 2962 cal / 242 lb = 12.24 cal/lb. That is in the range
:: of normal metabolism.
::
:: This indicates to me that I could probably up my daily calories by a
:: few hundred calories and still maintain a 2 lb/week weight loss for
:: the time being.
::
:: I think the number of calories I eat should depend on my goal weight
:: somewhat. After all, when I reach goal I will have to maintain that
:: number of calories for the rest of my life, so I might as well get
:: used to that now, right?
::
:: I'm 174 cm tall. Assuming a high range BMI goal of 25, that means my
:: goal should be about 75 kg. That would mean a "lifetime daily
:: average calories" of
::
:: 75 x 2.2 x 12.24 = 2020 calories/day. About 2000 calories per
:: day.
::
:: If I ate that much now it should mean a weekly calorie deficit of
:: about 6734 calories, or about a 1.9 lb loss per week - almost 2
:: lb/week.
::
:: Assuming 10% error for safety (after all, it's a human body we're
:: talking about, not machine parts) I might try to up my 1500
:: calories/day to 1800 for a while and see what happens.
::
:: Gee, I wish I weren't leaving on that overseas trip for month on
:: Wednesday. That is sure going to confuse the issue!
::
:: doug

Doug Lerner wrote:
:: On 5/22/04 11:11 PM, in article ,
:: "Ignoramus16760" wrote:
::
::: If I were you, I would up the calories by about 300 and also
::: exercise off those extra 300 calories. Makes long term dieting more
::: palatable. (you may be already exercising a lot, in which case my
::: advice is impractical, but you have not mentioned exercise in your
::: post).
:::
::
:: I didn't mention it in this post, but mentioned it a bit in others.
:: I am increasing my exercise each day. I will be doing more, I hope.
:: Good advice. Thanks.

Of course, this will throw off your calculations...but I'm sure you realize
that...

::
:: doug

"Doug Lerner" wrote in message
...
The last two weeks I've been back on low-calorie, lower-carb (LC2). The
goal
was to keep at about 1500 calories while avoiding high-glycemic carbs that
cause hunger spikes.

I lost 3 kg = 6.6 lb during these 2 weeks.

Before this period I had a period of low-cal, followed by a period of
low-carb. I stopped losing weight under just low-carb, which is why I
switched back to low-cal again.

Anyway, the exact figures for the last two weeks a

Average daily calories: 1422 (I was aiming for 1500)
Average daily carbs: 57
Average weight (assuming linear weight loss): 242 lb

Since I lost 6.6 lb, that was a total caloric deficit of 23,100 calories
over 15 days, or a daily average deficit of 1540 calories.

That means my average daily "maintenance" calories are 2962 calories.
Anything less than this amount means I should lose weight.

This comes to 2962 cal / 242 lb = 12.24 cal/lb. That is in the range of
normal metabolism.

This indicates to me that I could probably up my daily calories by a few
hundred calories and still maintain a 2 lb/week weight loss for the time
being.

I think the number of calories I eat should depend on my goal weight
somewhat. After all, when I reach goal I will have to maintain that number
of calories for the rest of my life, so I might as well get used to that
now, right?

I'm 174 cm tall. Assuming a high range BMI goal of 25, that means my goal
should be about 75 kg. That would mean a "lifetime daily average calories"
of

75 x 2.2 x 12.24 = 2020 calories/day. About 2000 calories per day.

If I ate that much now it should mean a weekly calorie deficit of about
6734
calories, or about a 1.9 lb loss per week - almost 2 lb/week.

Assuming 10% error for safety (after all, it's a human body we're talking
about, not machine parts) I might try to up my 1500 calories/day to 1800
for
a while and see what happens.

Gee, I wish I weren't leaving on that overseas trip for month on
Wednesday.
That is sure going to confuse the issue!

doug



I love numbers, so good post, Doug. I think you've done a pretty good job
of crunching your numbers. That's a very interesting way of calculating
your daily caloric needs...I might steal that one g.

One thing to watch out for is dependence on any two weigh-in values. Daily
weight can fluctuate by 1-4 pounds per day, so your 3 kg loss might be
greater or lesser than that in actuality. To account for these normal
fluctuations, my WeightWare program (http://www.WeightWare.com) uses linear
regression and exponentially smoothed moving averages to filter out the
"noise" in weight data.

If you'd rather have a program do those calculations for you, you can
download a free, fully functional, 45-day trial version from the website.
Given your level of experience and comfort with the math, I would value your
feedback and suggestions.

GG
http://www.WeightWare.com
Your Weight and Health Diary

If you spent as much time lifting weights as you do playing with your stupid
charts, you might actually make some progress.

--
You take stupid to a new level. -- MFW


"Doug Lerner" wrote in message
...
The last two weeks I've been back on low-calorie, lower-carb (LC2). The
goal
was to keep at about 1500 calories while avoiding high-glycemic carbs
that
cause hunger spikes.

I lost 3 kg = 6.6 lb during these 2 weeks.

Before this period I had a period of low-cal, followed by a period of
low-carb. I stopped losing weight under just low-carb, which is why I
switched back to low-cal again.

Anyway, the exact figures for the last two weeks a

Average daily calories: 1422 (I was aiming for 1500)
Average daily carbs: 57
Average weight (assuming linear weight loss): 242 lb

Since I lost 6.6 lb, that was a total caloric deficit of 23,100 calories
over 15 days, or a daily average deficit of 1540 calories.

That means my average daily "maintenance" calories are 2962 calories.
Anything less than this amount means I should lose weight.

This comes to 2962 cal / 242 lb = 12.24 cal/lb. That is in the range of
normal metabolism.

This indicates to me that I could probably up my daily calories by a few
hundred calories and still maintain a 2 lb/week weight loss for the time
being.

I think the number of calories I eat should depend on my goal weight
somewhat. After all, when I reach goal I will have to maintain that
number
of calories for the rest of my life, so I might as well get used to that
now, right?

I'm 174 cm tall. Assuming a high range BMI goal of 25, that means my
goal
should be about 75 kg. That would mean a "lifetime daily average
calories"
of

75 x 2.2 x 12.24 = 2020 calories/day. About 2000 calories per day.

If I ate that much now it should mean a weekly calorie deficit of about
6734
calories, or about a 1.9 lb loss per week - almost 2 lb/week.

Assuming 10% error for safety (after all, it's a human body we're
talking
about, not machine parts) I might try to up my 1500 calories/day to 1800
for
a while and see what happens.

Gee, I wish I weren't leaving on that overseas trip for month on
Wednesday.
That is sure going to confuse the issue!

doug

GaryG wrote:
:: I love numbers, so good post, Doug. I think you've done a pretty
:: good job of crunching your numbers. That's a very interesting way
:: of calculating your daily caloric needs...I might steal that one g.
::
:: One thing to watch out for is dependence on any two weigh-in values.
:: Daily weight can fluctuate by 1-4 pounds per day, so your 3 kg loss
:: might be greater or lesser than that in actuality. To account for
:: these normal fluctuations, my WeightWare program
:: (http://www.WeightWare.com) uses linear regression and exponentially
:: smoothed moving averages to filter out the "noise" in weight data.
::
:: If you'd rather have a program do those calculations for you, you can
:: download a free, fully functional, 45-day trial version from the
:: website. Given your level of experience and comfort with the math, I
:: would value your feedback and suggestions.

I really enjoy your Cyclistats software (I bought it recently under my
RN)...I may try your Weightware program, just to see how it works. Tracking
weight is not as important to me as keeping up with my rides

Are you open to listening (off ng) to some suggestions about Cyclistats? I
have one or two "pet" features I'd love to see added

You could up your calories by 300. I expect you would get the results you
want. Are you uncomfortable with 1422 calories per day? The opportunity to
stay with your current caloric numbers and achieve the weight loss a little
faster should be enticing.

We have similar numbers. I'm at 244.9 and losing between 2.3 and 2.9 pounds
per week. My calories are around 1400 per day per FitDay. My goal was
1600, but as I found I could do better, I adopted it.

The key to controling appetite for me is to make sure I have a high fat
intake. I have been studying which foods give me the best satiety for the
same amount of calories. My leading foods are grated cheese (Romano and
Parmesan mix) and cream cheese. Farther down the list are low carb ice
cream, heavy cream, and walnut oil. Sometimes I mix them. Ever tried
grated cheese mixed with heavy cream and liquid splenda in a bowl? Yum.

Cubit
311/244.9/165
http://techmart.com/~cubit/Chart27.gif

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
GaryG wrote:
:: I love numbers, so good post, Doug. I think you've done a pretty
:: good job of crunching your numbers. That's a very interesting way
:: of calculating your daily caloric needs...I might steal that one g.
::
:: One thing to watch out for is dependence on any two weigh-in values.
:: Daily weight can fluctuate by 1-4 pounds per day, so your 3 kg loss
:: might be greater or lesser than that in actuality. To account for
:: these normal fluctuations, my WeightWare program
:: (http://www.WeightWare.com) uses linear regression and exponentially
:: smoothed moving averages to filter out the "noise" in weight data.
::
:: If you'd rather have a program do those calculations for you, you can
:: download a free, fully functional, 45-day trial version from the
:: website. Given your level of experience and comfort with the math, I
:: would value your feedback and suggestions.

I really enjoy your Cyclistats software (I bought it recently under my
RN)...I may try your Weightware program, just to see how it works.
Tracking
weight is not as important to me as keeping up with my rides

Are you open to listening (off ng) to some suggestions about Cyclistats?
I
have one or two "pet" features I'd love to see added


Absolutely! Now is a good time too, because I'm close to starting work on a
bunch of new features for version 3.0. So send your suggestions
along...easiest way is by clicking on Help / Send Email to Tech Support from
within the program, or by email to CycliStatsSupport (at) shastasoftware
(dot) com.

~_-*
....G/ \G
http://www.CycliStats.com
CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

(asd snipped)

"JC Der Koenig" wrote in message m...
If you spent as much time lifting weights as you do playing with your stupid
charts, you might actually make some progress.

Hey, I resemble that remark!

(Except I've lost 30lbs, a lot of it from my abdomen, over the past 14 weeks)

Even for a total ****stick, you sometimes have a valid point to get across I guess.

Heywood

232/201/182