Conference rocks::weight_control

    There is a point where the body thinks you are starving it.
    
    It will slow your metabolism down ... WAY down, to save your life.
    
    You have two choices :
    	1. increase caloric intake
    	2. increase exercise you get throughout the day
    
    Either will help increase metabolism (I prefer 2, unless you're on a
    strict diet, in that case, exercise at your own risk).
    
    The point at which the body goes into this "I'm starving" mode varies
    from person to person.  For people who diet all their lives, it can be
    quite low.  But, even in those people, regular low-intensity, long-
    duration exercise can fix that.             

	Here's a formula to determine your Basic Metabolic Rate as
	a function of weight.  This will determine your caloric needs to
	maintaint your current weight.

	Weight in pounds x .45	= Weight in Kilograms

	Weight in Kilograms x 24 = BMR

	If you are:

	Highly Active (Read, Athlete)	BMR X .50	= ______

	Moderately Active		BMR X .40	= ______

	Lightly Active			BMR X .30	= ______


	Add the result in the right column to your BMR, and that roughly
	tells you how many daily calories you need to consume to maintain.

	Cut that number by 500 calories a day, and you would lose roughly
	a pound a week.

	Remember that this formula already takes into account your activity
	level.

	I teach aerobics, and work out an average of 4 times a week, and consider
	myself moderately active.

	Karen

    Note -1 doesn't make sense to me.
    
    I get:
    
    	150 lb (my weight in lb) * .45 = 67.5 Kilos
    	67.5 K * 24 = 1620 = my BMR
    	Moderately active: 1620 * .4 = 648
    
    According this this, I should be eating 648 cal/day, which is ridiculous.
    
    The "rule of thumb" for calories needed my nutritionist taught me is
    that for moderately active young adults, it is 15 calories/pound/day,
    which for me is 15 calories * 150 lb = 2250 cal/day.
    
    The more accurate measure of calories needed comes from finding your %
    fat, and calculating from that how many lb of fat and how many lb of
    muscle you have...because muscles burns more calories than fat.  So a
    fit person of the same weight needs more calories than an unfit person.
    
    I am a moderately active 25 year old woman, 150 lb (give or take 5 lb)
    with 16% body fat (caliper method) and I maintain my weight on about
    1900 calories a day (with occasional dinners out, etc)
    
    Anyway, none of this answer the basenoter's question.  I don't think
    there is an exact answer available.
    
    Most "sane" diets (as opposed to crash diets) have 1200-1500 calories a
    day, depending on your height and weight.
    
    Another "rule of thumb" (which translates to 'pretty inaccurate but a
    reasonable guess') is that 1 lb loss = 3500 calories less than your
    body needs.
    
    So if your body needs 1850 calories/day and you eat 1500, then you will
    lose a lb every 10 days.  It's not true, however, that eating 900
    calories will triple the speed at which you lose weight.
    
    So - if you are 5'6 and weight 170 lb (numbers off the cuff) I'd try
    eating about 1400 cal/day and see how it goes.  That would probably
    provide a safe, slow weight loss.
    
    D!

    Re: .3 You missed the last step, you need to add the BMR to 
    the activity so you would have:
    
       1620+648=2268 calories per day.

	.4 is correct

Karen