I've taken a lot of heat this week on social media for commenting on posts that discuss weight loss and on a few posts about the various injections for weight loss that are now available. These injections were initially prescribed for reducing blood sugar but were later discovered to help with weight loss.  I have spoken to people who said they were life changing and I have seen a lot of debate about the side effects.  I am very glad they were not offered to me as a weight loss solution because I might have tried it, but I'm glad that I lost the weight without adding more chemicals to my body that could have given me unwanted side effects. I have a post about those injections that I wrote back in November of 2023 (note that my post may be dated as a lot more information has come out since then):

Is it Worth a Shot in the Dark for the 42%?

I've been debated and insulted, and some have called me unfeeling (I don't get that one...)  All because I refuse to concede the point that the science of weight loss is pretty much settled. The science being that in order to lose one pound (0.45 kilos), your body must burn 3,500 more calories than it takes in for fuel. That is the formula. 

It takes a lot of effort to burn 3,500 calories. I took a two mile walk this week and only burned 183 per my walking app, and I'm sure that is just an estimate. Could be more, but it also could be less. When my husband and I go on bike rides, a two-to-three-hour bike ride burns maybe 1,000 calories, if that.  I'd have to do three seriously long bike rides in a week to burn 3,500 calories.

Another scientific fact people like to ignore is that everyone has a rate at which their body burns calories. Our body burns calories to keep us alive and functioning. The number of calories our bodies burn by just existing and doing normal bodily functions (pumping blood, breathing, eating, digesting, etc.) is what we would burn if we sat on the couch all day and just existed. That rate is called the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  There is a formula that is used to estimate BMR based on age, weight and height (see link in BMR article at the bottom of this post):

Per the Cleveland Clinic:

The formula for a biological woman is:

(3.35 x weight in pounds) + (15.42 x height in inches) - (2.31 x age in years) + 43

The formula for a biological man is: 

(4.38 x weight in pounds) + (14.55 x height in inches) - (5.08 x age in years) + 260

When I calculate this for myself, the result is 1,569.71.  This is an estimate of how many calories my body uses just to perform its normal functions.  

Given this information, If I wanted to lose one pound per week and just sit on the couch and do nothing all day, I could only consume 1,069.71 calories per day. Theoretically, this would put me at a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day, which is 3,500 calories per week, which is equal to one pound. 

No one really talks about this calculation, but it's important to understand it, because it's an illustration of the relationship between our body and the fuel it consumes.  The fuel that isn't used for basic body function must be burned through exertion to maintain weight. If not, it is stored, and we gain weight.  Please note that this calculation is an estimate. We all have unique bodies. Per the article I've cited below, there are many factors that can impact BMR (the article is worth a read).  Some people have more efficient bodies than others, meaning that they use less energy to exist and store every extra ounce of energy that is not used. Other (lucky) people do not. 

The interesting thing I've discovered is that some people seem to think that BMR doesn't matter.  You cannot convince them that if you are a human being, it does. 

So why is everyone arguing that the formula doesn't matter and that measuring calories is not an important part of a weight loss plan?

Because social media and mainstream media are filled with thousands of people who have a weight loss gimmick they are promoting.  That's why. When someone advocates NOT to count calories, I think that is bad advice.  Why? because this information is important for you to determine if you are eating too many calories or if you are eating the correct number of calories to lose weight. 

Some influencers will tell you how and what to eat, which I think is good advice in some respects. You want to get the biggest reward for the calories you consume. You want them to pack a punch nutritionally and help you to feel full and satisfied so you don't feel hungry and are tempted to eat foods that you shouldn't. I'm all about that advice.   But when that advice is given and influencer insists you should not worry about the calorie part of the equation, it can cause someone to miss important clues that could be a sign they need to seek medical attention. 

For example, last spring I visited a friend for a sort-of 'girl's weekend.'  We hadn't actually spent time like this since college. While I stayed with her, I ate my usual diet-y food and noticed how much she ate, which was far less than me. She was heavier than I was, too. I kept telling her she wasn't eating enough and needed to eat more protein. She said she wasn't losing weight as it was but if she did what I suggested, she would gain weight. She ate far fewer calories that I did the whole time, exercised regularly, and could not lose weight. I told her something was off because she should be losing weight eating as she was. She agreed and said she didn't understand it either.  

I heard from her about a month later that her annual blood work had revealed her thyroid function was almost non-existent and that she was going to have to go on thyroid hormones. Now it made sense.  Her metabolism was so low, due to her barely functioning thyroid, that her body wasn't burning calories the way it was supposed to.  That is a medical issue with her specific body, not a flaw in the calorie formula.  Luckily there was a medical reason and treatment for her issue. 

However, there are some people that need to believe there is another weight loss solution for them out there other than counting calories.  I think one of the reasons some people believe this is that it absolves them from being accountable for monitoring their eating behaviors. If counting calories "doesn't work" or "isn't the answer" it relieves you from that responsibility.  However much you want to believe calories don't matter, they do.  

After being overweight for 30 years, trying all kinds of things, the only thing that worked, and allowed me to lose 70 pounds in six months was meticulous calorie counting and logging my food so I would be accountable.

There is so much weight loss advice and a lot of it is good advice that can contribute to weight loss. For example, eating a more protein heavy diet can help you feel fuller.  Your body also uses more energy to digest protein than it does carbohydrates. Protein is also critical for maintaining and building muscle mass. Muscle mass does weigh more than fat, but your body will burn more calories to maintain that mass so your BMR will actually increase a bit. However, you need to be conscious of how many calories are in each type of protein. There is a big calorie difference between a ribeye steak and a chicken breast. This is why calories count. 

Also, some foods are higher in fat content than others. While some can be healthy, they tend to be high in calories. A great example is avocado. Very healthy food but very high in fat and calories. For example, My Fitness Pal shows one Haas avocado as being 230 calories with 21 grams of fat and only 3 grams of protein.  Your low-calorie salad can easily morph into a high calorie choice with a few slices of avocado.

I think we can all agree that with respect to weight loss, we should all eat less sugar and less carbohydrates.  Limiting these foods can reduce your craving to snack because choosing foods high in fiber and protein will help you feel fuller, so you are less likely to crave sweets and eat between meals.  Also, if you do choose to consume pasta and/or rice on your weight loss plan, studies have shown that cooking those foods 24 hours ahead of time and cooling them off for 24 hours in the refrigerator and then reheating them changes the starch in those foods to a more resistant starch, making them harder to digest, which uses more calories. This can also help with blood sugar spikes as well.

Fiber! Fiber! Fiber!  Your body will also burn more calories digesting foods high in fiber.  You will also feel fuller. Eat. Your. Veggies!  Eat lots of them.  Everyone has a non-starchy vegetable they can tolerate. Find yours and eat it.  You can eat a lot of celery, cucumbers, and raw carrots for a small amount of calories. 

The trick is to find low calorie foods that you can eat in abundance that will fill you up and not spike your blood sugar. Vegetables are usually the best. 

Fruit is NOT the enemy. Fruit has been getting a bad rap because it has natural sugar. I think fruit is a healthy choice but be 'choosey' about which fruit you eat on a diet as some have more sugar than others, like RIPE bananas and citrus fruits. I've read that green bananas are very low in sugar, but I do not eat them. I stick with berries and apples on my diet. 

BEWARE of hidden calories.  You can ruin a perfectly healthy wrap or sandwich by smearing it with 150 calories of mayonnaise (which is a tablespoon and a half).  Find alternatives to high-calorie condiments.

I wanted something other than chicken breast to put into my wrap for lunch, so I made a tuna fish salad the other day using one small can of tuna fish.  I added chopped celery, onion and dill pickles to it, along one tablespoon (100 calories) of mayonnaise. I was making enough for two lunch portions. When I was done, the tuna salad was very dry. I then added some brown mustard to it, which is a great low-calorie condiment. It did not make a difference. No matter how much I mixed it up, it was still very dry.  It tasted good but it was dry. It made me think of all those 'healthy' tuna fish sub sandwiches I would eat for lunch when I was working full time. They were DRIPPING in mayonnaise. I probably ate 400-500 calories of just mayonnaise every time I consumed one (of course there were many bread calories, too).  Yet because I was eating "tuna fish," I assumed I was making a great lunch choice. I mention this because it is very easy to be blind to how many calories you are actually eating.

For people who say that they don't lose weight counting calories. I want to ask these people one question: Why didn't it work for you? If you have tried it, and you have been honest and accountable about what you are eating, then maybe you need to consult with a medical professional about why you are not losing weight if you have lowered your calorie intake sufficiently. 

If you are overweight and eating 1200-1400 calories a day and not losing weight, one of two things is probably going on: 

1.  You are really eating more than 1200-1400 calories per day, and you don't realize it.

2.  You probably need to check in with a medical professional and find out if you could have a medical issue that is preventing your body from burning energy like it is supposed to. 

This is day seven on my weight loss plan for 2025.  Weekly progress report tomorrow.

(photo courtesy of Karolina Grabowska)