Lindsay Ross Blog: Getting healthy. Part 1

To read my history with weight and feeling healthy, click here.

I'm being completely honest when I say I don't care how much I weigh. I really don't. I just want to FEEL good. And to look good. Weight is irrelevant in that equation for me. It's an easy gauge to see if we're on track to our goals, but it is not the end goal for me.

So. Post baby number 4. 50 pounds to lose. Where to begin.

I should add that I did not exercise the entire time I was pregnant with baby number four. Partially due to 9 months of pregnancy sickness. Partially due to laziness and lack of motivation.

There were two huge keys for me while ~~losing weight~~ getting healthy. The first was WHAT I ate, WHEN I ate it, and HOW much I ate. The food we put in our mouths will have THE biggest impact on the health of our body. I don't care how much you exercise, if you eat like crap, or don't eat the right things in the right amounts at the right time, you'll never be as healthy as you could/should be.

And not all calories are equal. Eating a 250 calorie donut is NOT the same as eating a 250 calorie chicken breast. For a better explanation of the non-equality of calories, click here.

So let's cut to the chase. Here's what I did.

5 "meals" throughout the day. Roughly 300 calories at each meal. I was strict and religious about that.

Something to ALWAYS keep in mind. Losing weight is WAY harder than maintaining a healthy weight. So while I was losing fat and gaining muscle, I was very strict to the 5 meals throughout the day. Now that I'm pretty close to where I want to be, I don't always spread it out into 5 meals.

So. 5 "meals" with the calories spread out. To calculate how many calories you should be eating, here is the formula I used:

Step 1: Calculating The Calories

In step 1 we’ll use the Harris Benedict Equation to figure out your caloric needs. This equation will determine your basal (resting) metabolic rate, which is the energy required to maintain your current weight without exercise or physical activity. We’ll add in for your exercise in another step.

For Women: 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)

For Men: 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)

Step 2: Determine Your Activity Level

Now take the number you got from the formula above and multiply it by the level of exercise listed below. [I used the "moderately active" number]

Step 3: Total Calorie Count

With the number that you’ve calculated from steps 1 & 2 you’ve determined how many daily calories you need for weight maintenance. In the final step you’ll make one last tweak to your number, either up or down depending on your weight loss or gain goals. See below to determine your adjustment if you need one:

For weight loss, subtract 500 calories per day from your number in Step 2.

For weight maintenance, do nothing. Just use the number you got from Step 2.

For weight gain, add 250 to 300 calories per day to your number from Step 2.

Once I figured out how many calories I should be eating a day, I spread those calories out throughout my meals.

Then with each meal, I had some source of protein and a carbohydrate of some sort. I also tried to throw fruit and vegetables in there as much as I could, but I wasn't as consistent about this. The biggest key for me was eating AS MUCH protein as I could handle.