Day 36 - Weight 116.8: The BMR & Who is Harris-Benedict?

OMG! I only have two more days of injections after today. This feels very surreal to me. I'm pretty much holding steady in the 116 pound-zone. It looks as if I may have found my target weight? We'll see. I've been giving quite a bit of thought to how I'll eat after this diet is over. This isn't a "lifestyle diet" of sorts. I'll have to take my learned lessons and integrate them into my everyday life after I'm done with Dr. Simeon.

One thing I've been focusing on is how many calories I actually should be eating on a regular basis to maintain my target weight. This is called the Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR. (This is sometimes called the RMR, or Resting Metabolic Rate). The BMR takes your height, weight, sex, and age into account and provides a measurement of how much energy your body requires to do nothing but eating, breathing, sleeping, and existing. After all, calories are an energy measurement and your body uses energy to do everything - even to do what we think of as nothing, like sit on our tushies and watch TV. From this BMR foundation, you can also determine how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and how many additional calories you would need to maintain that weight if you were moderately or aggressively exercising. Of course, you can also determine your projected intake needs for losing weight and for gaining weight.

There are two standard methods for determining BMR, the Harris-Benedict Equation and the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation. Mifflin-St. Jeor is considered to be somewhat more reliable because it factors in a modern individual (it was created in 1990). Harris-Benedict has been used longer, by about 90 years, so it's the most common one you'll come across. It doesn't take lean body mass into consideration, so it won't be accurate for hyper-athletic types. Since I don't fall into this category at present, and it would take an act of God to get me there!, I'm not too worried about Harris-Benedict giving me an improper diagnosis. I found the following info to be really helpful.

***The Harris-Benedict formula (BMR based on total body weight)
The Harris Benedict equation is a calorie formula using the factors of height, weight, age, and sex to determine basal metabolic rate (BMR). This makes it more accurate than determining calorie needs based on total bodyweight alone. The only variable it does not take into consideration is lean body mass. Therefore, this equation will be very accurate in all but the extremely muscular (will underestimate caloric needs) and the extremely overfat (will overestimate caloric needs).

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 X wt in kg) + (5 X ht in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

Women: BMR = 655 + (9.6 X wt in kg) + (1.8 X ht in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)

Note: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.
1 kilogram = 2.2 lbs.

Example:
You are female
You are 30 yrs old
You are 5' 6 " tall (167.6 cm)
You weigh 120 lbs. (54.5 kilos)
Your BMR = 655 + 523 + 302 - 141 = 1339 calories/day

Now that you know your BMR, you can calculate Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) by multiplying your BMR by your activity multiplier from the chart below:

Activity Multiplier
Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2X day training, i.e marathon, contest etc.)

Example:
Your BMR is 1339 calories per day
Your activity level is moderately active (work out 3-4 times per week)
Your activity factor is 1.55
Your TDEE = 1.55 X 1339 = 2075 calories/day***

(***The Harris-Benedict samples were taken from:
( http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html ).

I found a great BMR calculator online at ( http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ ). My BMR turned out to be 1258.65 if I am as active as a slug or just stayed in bed all day. Which, if I am being perfectly honest and you've seen the pics to prove that I am at least attempting to do so, is sometimes true.

Every day is different and some days we are more active than other days. At least I am. So here are the equations to figure out how many calories you'll need on different days.

So... if I don't get out of bed, or just to walk to the kitchen and bathroom and back, I need 1,509 calories to maintain my current weight. If I exercise lightly, take the stairs instead of the elevator/park further away/do a very light yoga routine/take the dogs for a brisk walk (not too brisk!)... I'll need 1729 calories.

If I get myself back into a routine of repetitious low-weight training, cardio 3-5 times a week, etc.... I'll need 1949 calories.

If I start doing those Yoga Booty Ballet DVD's (you know, the ones I bought two years ago and haven't opened) on a daily basis on top of the the light cardio and the repetitious low-weight resistance workouts... then I'll need to consume 2170 calories a day.

AND... drum roll, please.... if I ever decide that I am now an athlete and must work very, very hard every single damned day to become a lean, mean, muscle machine... I will need 2,390 calories a day to maintain a weight of 115 pounds. Hah! I cannot imagine this being a part of my reality. However, I have learned in my lifetime that you must never say never. We do not know what the future holds for us.

LIQUIDS

• 2 cups coffee
• 2 liters water
• 1 cup chai tea

SNACK/LUNCH COMBO

• Strawberries
• Swiss Chard, steamed
• Grilled Steak

Dear Reader, I am terribly sorry but I did not write down what I ate for dinner. And now I can't remember! The days and the weights and the inches and the foods are all starting to blend together. I do know that I did not cheat today (I would have written that down for you!). So, I guess that means either an apple or grapefruit for snack, chicken or fish for dinner, and most likely asparagus as the veggie. That's what's in the house right now. Please forgive. :-)