My Four Commandments for Healthy Living & Losing Weight!

My Four Commandments
 
Eat less
 
I used an online calculator to work out how many calories I need to burn just to maintain my weight.  You first work out your BMR (basal metabolic rate) and then apply the Harris Benedict Equation; this applies an activity factor to determine your total daily energy expenditure.
Work out your BMR: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/  
 
Harris Benedict Formula
 
To determine your total daily calorie needs, multiply your BMR by the appropriate activity factor, as follows:
•If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
•If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
•If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
•If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
•If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
 
I then deducted 500 calories to give me an expected weight loss per week of 1lb. 
 
I use the MyFitnessPal App http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for my iPhone to track my calorie intake, and my exercise burn.
 
Do more
 
I tried to do cardio activity at least 4 times per week, and aimed to lift weights at least 4 times per week.  There were times when I gave myself a week (or two) off.  This was maybe due to having a cold, or going on holiday.  The key with your nutrition and exercise programme is to be consistent. 
My current plan looks something like this:
 
Mon, Wed & Fri: Abs, Arms, Shoulders, Chest – Cardio x 30mins
Tues & Thurs: Back, Legs, Calves, Swim or Run
Sat: Swim, run or bike
Sun: Rest
 
For some great cardio articles:  http://www.burnthefatblog.com/archives/cardio_training/  
Great articles on weight training, nutrition, transformations and more, for women: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/women.htm  
I use the iFitness App  http://medicalprod.com/ifitness.html for my iPhone to track my workouts.
 
Follow the 80/20 rule
 
For me, it’s all about balance.  If I’m eating clean 80% of the time, I’m not going to get myself stressed out if on a Friday night I decide to have a couple of Corona’s and a small bar of chocolate!  Sometimes I would give myself a full day of eating whatever I like!!  Balance and consistency is key, I can’t sum it up better than those two words.
 
Try to eat as “clean” as I could and drink at least 8 glasses of water per day
 
Some of my favourite foods:
Lean chicken, lean turkey, tuna, broccoli, green beans, tomatoes, bananas, apples, eggs, low fat yogurt, skimmed milk, brown bread, wholemeal pasta.
I eat every 3 hours, 5 to 6 times per day depending on what I’m eating and my activity for that day. 
 
For more on the basics and befits of clean eating give the following article a read: http://www.answerfitness.com/204/clean-eating-eating-clean-answer-fitness/
 
More tips and useful sites
 
At the beginning of my diet I took Sculptress shakes and bars http://www.maxitone.com/sculptress  from Maxitone.  These help keep you fuller for longer and helps maintain your lean mass.  I’ve now moved onto their Definity http://www.maxitone.com/definity  range, as I’m cutting carbs at the moment, and Definity has only 2g carbs per serving!
 
I also take a multivitamin, l-carnitine, as this can help with fat loss http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/lcarn.html and Finesse http://www.maxitone.com/finesseomega from Maxitone, this is an omega 3 and omega 6 supplement.
 
Check out the Maxitone www.maxitone.com site for weight loss advice, exercise plans and meal ideas.
 
My Number 1 tip for breaking through a weight loss plateau!
 
Try a low carb diet.  I’ve used this trick twice this year when my weight stalled, I only did it for 2 weeks, and went back to calorie counting after the 14 days were up, slowly reintroducing carbs through the first 3 days.  This worked an absolute treat for me. 
There are great articles over at www.bodybuilding.com on this type of diet. 
If you’re not keen on eliminating carbs, try mixing up your cardio.  Do cardio for 20 minutes first thing in the morning along with your evening cardio.  Try it for a week, if it works for you great!  If not, don’t be despaired, just log what you did for the week, and mix it up again the following week.  Again, www.bodybuilding.com has great articles on busting a plateau. 
 
Thanks for reading, Betty xx