I went to bed with numbers swirling above my head. Like some cartoon character, I’m sure if you looked at me, you would have seen them there. Who knew that the mathematics of food was so intricate?!

I first decided to find my BMR. For those not in the know, BMR is the amount of calories you will expend if you do nothing but lay in bed all day. If you add activity, even at a sedentary level, the number will go up some. The more activity you add, the higher your metabolic rate is going to be. However, the base metabolic rate (BMR) is set without movement. I found this interesting because I’ve seldom considered my body as a machine. Now that I do consider it, I am amazed. Of course we burn calories even when doing nothing else. Our bodies are working hard to keep us alive. Our heart is pumping, lungs are working, and even the act of swallowing moves muscles. All together, it is quite impressive. In my search, I found that my BMR is around 2785 calories. I didn’t just visit one calculator to get this number. I went to several different calculators and found that each one was within points of the other. I chose the smallest of the numbers. However, none of them were off from each other by more than 10 calories. Adding activity, which for me right now is sedentary, the number of my “burn meter” is 3330 calories.

Now, how many calories do I need to lose weight? To average a pound and a half removal per week, I need to consume no more than 2550 calories. That will allow me to remove the weight slowly, which is a big deal for me for two reasons. Once I say goodbye to each pound, I do not want it to return. It is not welcome here anymore, and no it can’t even come spend the night. Second is the sagging skin issue. I do not want drooping skin that requires painful surgery to correct. Sure, I could drop my calories to around 1800 and watch that weight slide off at first, but in the long run it will only cause my body more trauma. I’ve done enough of that putting the weight on, I would like to take it off with as much ease as possible.

I am setting my calorie intake per day to 2200. That’s a little less than what was recommended, but not so low that it will toss my body into shock. The number may fluctuate as activity level rises, but for now it stands. That part of the math is now done.

How much proteins, fats, and carbohydrates should make up my calories? The USDA recommends that we get 50 percent of our calories from carbohydrates, 30 percent from fats, and 20 percent from proteins. They calculate this in grams, so we need to know that one gram of protein is four calories, one gram of fat is nine calories, and one gram of carbohydrate is four calories. Taking my own calorie target, which is 2200, let’s see what I need. I’ll need to multiply first and then divide.

2200*.50= 1100/4= 275 grams of carbohydrates
2200*.30= 660/9= 73 grams of fat
2200*.20= 440/4= 110 grams of protein

It may take me a while to figure out how to break down these numbers in a real sense of what I’m eating, but I am going to keep an eye on them. In time, I’m sure I’ll learn which foods are best choices to get the correct percentages per day. I do find it helpful to have some idea of what I should consume in a day of each group. Better than running blindly into the forest with an ax, which is how I felt when I first started this adventure. Knowledge is power? Indeed, I say!

Since I had all that information and did the calculator dance of weight loss love, I still had one thing to figure out. For me, planning is helpful. If I leave things to chance… well, Chance is sneaky and likes to trip me up. How do I break down those calories into realistic meals? For my lifestyle it makes sense to figure on three meals with two snacks. Five “meals” in all. I know that my snacks won’t be calorie intensive. I know this because I am not a snacker. I don’t enjoy grazing all day, and I seldom like to eat anything between meals. I do, however, require a before bedtime snack, or I get cranky. I decided to break it down to 600 calories per the three main meals in my day. With 2- 200 calorie snacks tossed in there, I meet my 2200 calorie a day goal.

Ah, the math of weight. I have to admit, I found it interesting to calculate those things. I feel empowered knowing the hows and whys of weight loss. It’s far different from my usual method of ignoring the problem, and I think I like being in the know. I’m not walking blindly, and I’m not running wildly. This time, I’m taking things in stride and making lasting changes. It feels pretty darn good.

* Previously published on A Different Path