A Simple Formula for Weight Loss and Long-Term Maintenance
by Steve ----Bookmark on del.icio.us----The secret to losing weight isn’t really a secret at all - It’s simple and it’s free. I’ll get to that later in the post, but first I want to give you some background.
In the past, it was difficult for me to lose weight because I choose to believe it was complicated. I choose to believe that thin people had a special genetic makeup that allowed them to be thin and that the only way I could be thin again was to find a magic solution. I never found that solution. I tried Atkins, South Beach, and other diet fads to lose weight and they worked for a while, but I always bounced back to where I started. Diet plans worked temporarily because they got me to change my lifestyle temporarily. As soon as I reverted to my old lifestyle the weight returned.
In order for me to lose weight and maintain the new weight, I had to change my beliefs about weight loss and weight maintenance. I had to dump my belief that somehow weight loss was complicated. I had to drop the belief that the solution lies outside of me. I had to dump my belief in a magic solution that I hadn’t yet discovered.
A weight problem is like a debt problem. We get into debt by:
- Not paying attention to how much we are spending
- Planning to earn more and failing to deliver
- Denying how deep we’ve gotten
The weight problem goes like this:
- Not paying attention to how much we are eating
- Planning to exercise and failing to do it…enough
- Denying how heavy we are
I did some research about my problem and implemented this simple plan.
Here are the numbers:
- I am a 37 year old man
- Starting weight 200 lbs
- Goal weight 175 lbs
- Mildly active and likely to remain mildly active
- I burn about 2500 calories per day
- Eating 2000 calories per day resulted in 4-6 lbs lost each month.
- It took about 5 months to lose 25 lbs.
- Now I can eat 2500 calories per day and maintain 175 lbs indefinitely
People design name brand diet plans to trick you into applying this simple formula without thinking about it. But that is the problem – you need to think about it. Long-term success requires you to pay attention to what you eat and understand the formula. Try solving a debt problem without paying attention to your spending. It won’t work.
The above formula is simple, healthy, safe, and available here. Plug in your numbers and put the plan into action - It worked for me and it will work for you. To determine the caloric value of the food you eat, visit this site. Remember I said it was simple, not easy. Sometimes it is hard to change your deeply held beliefs. But when you begin to believe the solution to your weight problem lies within you and not outside of you, your chances for success increase exponentially.
It only requires three things:
- Pay attention to what you are eating
- Believe the solution lies within you
- Commit to long term lifestyle change
Weight loss is that simple. (with the exception of a few rare metabolic conditions)
Before I posted this, I asked my wife to read it. She said, “What’s new here? Doesn’t everybody know this?” I said, “If everybody knows this, why is weight loss a multi-billion dollar industry?” She answered, “Because everyone wants to believe their weight problem is bigger than them. It can’t be just about them.” Ah! Touche! Touche!
This post was entered in the ProBlogger Group Writing Project- How to.
September 20th, 2006 at 1:31 am
[…] A Simple Formula for Weight Loss and Long-Term Maintenance by Steve […]
September 20th, 2006 at 7:06 am
[…] Steve has the formula down to three points and seeing that he has made it work for him, I say he’s on to something. In five months, he was able to shed twenty five extra pounds that he didn’t want anyway! […]
September 21st, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Diet Blog Round-up (THDBR) #23 :: SPECIAL EDITION…
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September 21st, 2006 at 4:31 pm
[…] Steve gives us another weight loss guide here - I love reading these to see everyones different strategies! […]
September 22nd, 2006 at 5:54 am
Steve,
This is the best diet plan, you hit the nail on the head. About 2 1/2 years ago, while mowing the lawn, I had a bought of cheast pain, decided to go the hospital and get is checked out. Turns out I had one corinary artery that was 90 percent blocked. Since then I have maintained my wieght at 180 pounds through moderate diet changes and excersize. Fortunately all this happened before there was any damage to my heart muscle. Not everyone is so lucky.
September 22nd, 2006 at 5:33 pm
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September 22nd, 2006 at 11:03 pm
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September 23rd, 2006 at 5:55 am
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September 23rd, 2006 at 7:04 am
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September 25th, 2006 at 5:48 am
[…] A Simple Formula for Weight Loss and Long-Term Maintenance by Steve […]
September 26th, 2006 at 9:16 am
[…] A Simple Formula for Weight Loss and Long-Term Maintenance by Steve […]
September 30th, 2006 at 9:59 pm
[…] A Simple Formula for Weight Loss and Long-Term Maintenance by Steve […]
October 8th, 2006 at 7:54 am
Ok, The calculator is pretty amazing, but it’s not exactly accurate. I recently went through a metabolic testing program from my doctor’s office. I’m 6′3″, 310, sorely in need of losing weight. Per the calculator, to just maintain my current weight, I should eat about 3408.8 calories. My resting metabolic rate per the doctor is about 2200 calories. That means that if I’m lying in bed all day, doing nothing, I will burn 2200 calories. My activity level is predictably sedentary, but the doctor reports that being an office worker, sitting on my duff all day burns about 2900 calories. To lose weight at 2 pounds per week, I need to have a caloric deficit of 750 calories. Since that’s not possible without dipping below the bare amount I need without burning muscle mass, I can at best intake 2200 calories a day and lose a little less than 2 pounds per week
Compare 2200 calories to the 2900 calories the calculator predicts I need to intake to lose weight, and you begin to see the problem.
This calculator can be very misleading. Be careful in its usage.
November 1st, 2006 at 8:30 pm
[…] October’s goal was to “Live Healthy.” With inspiration from Steve Olson, I was diligent enough to have worked out 29 of 31 days and ruthlessly managed Calories for 30 of 31 days. The end result? I lost seventeen pounds and burned off three inches from my waist. Setting the goal and tracking the goal daily made all of the difference in the world. I have lost that much weight one other time and it took me over three months to do it last time. Now that I understand better how to “live healthy” and not just lose weight, I am confident that I can continue my weight loss and become even more fit. […]
December 31st, 2006 at 11:34 pm
Thanks Steve
Often we overlook the obvious in our search for the magic pill.
Man do I need to get back on the straight and narrow after pigging out through Christmas and New Year!
Regards
Fat Kiwi
Weight Loss Resources
September 26th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Too bad most people don’t get this concept.I try to eat healthy at least 90% of the time. It has had a good effect on my son as they noticed at school he makes the healthiest choices possible when eating lunch at school.
September 27th, 2007 at 9:20 am
Everything you have said is 100% true one of the problems we have as people is that we get brainwashed into thinking there is are some great secrets to losing weight thing is nothing is father from the truth, It’s more about educating yourself what not and to eat.
September 28th, 2007 at 8:07 am
I’ve tried the Atkins and some other diets and all have had the same results, great weight loss…short term. I’ve noticed that when I stop seeing results, I figure it’s not working anymore and usually end up gaining back what I’ve lost. Knowing that the end result is within ‘me’ to achieve, makes it a bit easier to get back on track.
December 28th, 2007 at 5:24 am
Hello, This is Mary
I am 36 years old with 2 toddlers. My youngest just started day care last week- which still feels a little strange. I haven’t had this much time to myself in years. First thing I want to do is lose the extra pounds I put on during the last pregnancy. One of the girls next door has suggested I join her walking group two days a week. After my first pregnancy I lost around 35 pounds using the Herbalife products, but when I called the man that sold them to me three years ago he told me this week he doesn’t sell them anymore. He told me to look on the internet. It’s disappointing because he was really nice and he called me regularly to make sure I was using their products correctly. It was nice to have someone checking in with me every week to see how I was and it kept me motivated.
I searched on the internet for someone that sells Herbalife in New Jersey. I found many websites but I don’t want
just to buy the products, I want to find someone trustworthy that sells the products so I can also meet them and get started again.
Could anybody here recommend someone in New Brunswick?
.
Thanks, Mary
February 9th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Great post…sometimes what we make so complicated is as simple as we don’t really want to change our ways!
Obviously, simply reducing the calories consumed will result in weight loss, but for an awful lot of people, it’s hard to do that, and it has nothing to do with willpower.
Millions of Americans suffer from compulsive eating, a mental health disorder recognized by the APA and these people can’t simply choose to eat less. They eat as the only way they know to deal with the stresses and turmoil of life. It’s a disease, and without treating the underlying psychological symptoms of the disease, any dieting plan is destined for failure.
Most of us could, if we tried hard enough, lose those extra few pounds, but there are enough people out that diets just can’t work for. Unfortunately, not many people really understand compulsive eating disorder, so most of the time these people are told, and believe themselves, that diets are the answer.
Anyway, great post and entertaining writing. I appreciate your efforts here.
John