h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Right - I spent the last three weeks eating normally to make sure I could stay at this weight. (75 kg)

Now it's time to take off another 6 kg, which will make my Body Mass Index = 23, a good level.

So - back to counting.

75 x 33 is 2475 so I need to eat between that and 1475 to lose anything - the closer I can get to 1475 the faster it will go - but not less than 1475 - too fast a weight loss trips the body in to silly defence mechanisms which stop the weight staying off and that's no good, is it?

I'd be forever dieting, like so many people who get conned by crash diets and by commercial regimes - always remember that a commercial company has absolutely no interest in people SUCCESSFULLY dieting - that make their money from failed dieters, so it is in their interest to ensure you never learn to eat sensibly, but rely forever on their products...

So - from now until I get to 69 kg it is counting the calories, eating lots of fruit and veg and avoiding stuff which doesn't fill the stomach, just adds stray calories.

Jez - thinning heathen and witch with won't power. (BMI = 25)

PS - if you want to get the facts and figures for the calories counting and the BMI calculations, look back to the earlier journal entries

Wishing you continuing good luck with your weight plan!

I failed again in my attempts to eat sensibly today, too many nice things in the cupboard after saturday shop...I did however exercise which is a good thing

Tomorrow is a new day...

Hi Jez,

This BMI calculation you keep doing, could you review the maths for us chubbies out here? Not only the base calculation, but how you convert that to calory intake and weight loss requirements?

I'm fascinated by the science behind it and may like to use it as a guide for my spring thinning.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\.

Math,

Um, yes I recall having a bit of trouble understanding the BMI calculations . . .


Jez,

Do your calculations also take into account how much physical activity you do? Or is it based on a sedentary lifestyle?

I think I can do the food part without too much difficulty, it's going without that would be the killer. Anyhow, it's now two months without ciggies and I haven't put on any weight at all (yay me!) But it is seriously time to get rid of some excess tonnage.

az

OK...

Body Mass Index...

A) Find your height in centimetres.

B) Multiply it by itself and write down the answer.

C) Find your weight (no clothes) in kilograms.

D) Put your weight into a calculator and divide it by the answer to B

That's your BMI

The health experts say that if the BMI is between 19 and 25 then you are the right weight for your height.

Under 15 is scary thin. Over 30 is obese.

Secondly, how to work out the calorie intake.

That's actually quite difficult. To do it properly, you have to get a whole load of charts and stuff to find out how much each activity uses and do measurements of how long you spend doing each thing. And it depends on age and gender.

I started that, then did the mathematicians' thing of deciding to make a good estimate.

If I had a totally sedentary lifestyle and job, and took little exercise, then the figure I would need to use for the next bit of the calculation would be 31. For people who take exercise 3 or 4 times a week, the figure would be 37. For active people who take regular daily exercise, the figure is 44.

I am a 'sedentary' worker who does exercise at the weekends, and whose job is not sitting at a desk, but involves being up and around and alert - and stressed - for 6-7 hours a day. So I took my figure as 33.

OK - now the easy bit.

Weight in kilograms multiplied by whatever you just worked out is the number of calories you need TO STAY THE SAME weight.

A kilogram of fat contains 7700 calories.

Eat 7700 calories less than you need, and you lose a kilogram of fat (2.2 lbs).

Easy...

So if you are me, and weigh 75 kilograms, you need 75 x 33 = 2475 calories to stay weighing 75 kilograms.

To lose a kg a week, you need to eat only 1375 calories (1100 less per day).

Hmmm...

So, if you tell me your weight, your height, and what sort of lifestyle you lead, I will work it out for you

Jez - thinning heathen and witch with won't power

I can't tell anyone! It's TOP SECRET!!!

chubby az

Tell me off-list, sweetie-pie

Jez

Okay, well MAYBE!

How many calories in a glass of ?

az

Small glass red wine alcohol at 12 - 13 % is 100 calories.

That's a 125 ml glass.

Yes, that's how I use up my spare calories in the evening as well

Jez - thinning heathen and witch with won't power

Hmmm . . . I think I'd end up doing that in reverse, using my spare calories on a few scraps of lettuce.



az
(hic)

Hi Jez,

Thanks for the maths

However, there is a error in your calculations.....

"A) Find your height in centimetres.

B) Multiply it by itself and write down the answer."

Surely you mean your height in metres or you cannot get a BMI above zero .

Other than that it seems to work just fine. The fact that I will have to lose four stone just to get to a BMI of 29 is a bit worrying though.

Blessings,
Matholwch /|\.

Ooops.

Yes, centimetres would be a bit difficult

Metres works so much better.

You don't need to get to BMI 29, just be happy...

But if you are sedentary, smoke, drink, abhor exercise, get stressed AND have a BMI above 30...

Jez - who was once BMI 29+ and not happy and is now definitely healthier and able to walk further.

But still gets bloody awful colds off the kids - and this is the third this academic year