I am working out, but NOTHING is happening!

I have fallen into this trap before and it is a very frustrating place to be. I would work out hard for 5 or 6 days a week, but the results I had been anticipating just didn't happen. It started to piss me off. Here I am, sweating and pushing and going as hard as I can, but my body isn't really responding. So instead of quitting, I took another look at my life as a whole to try to figure out what the problem was.

WE SOMETIMES SEE THE WORLD THROUGH BLIND EYES!

I was a vegetarian for the 2 years prior to joining the Army Reserves and I have only added meat to my diet sparingly since then. My failure was in thinking that just because I was following this particular type of eating style that I didn't need to count calories.

"I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, and whole grains"

I would tell myself this and carry on with my eating habits and my workouts. BIG MISTAKE! If you have been following this blog you know my wife and I have been doing a round of P90X and we are, as of today, 49 days into it. The first 36 days went just as I previously described. We worked out according to the fitness schedule and we continued to eat as we always had because we were too arrogant to sit back and re-evaluate our diets. So 5 weeks go by and we can tell that our bodies are changing shape, but we were not losing the pounds we thought we should be losing.

LIGHT BULB!

Life will give you the answers to your problems, you just have to be open minded enough to see them. One morning, I was going through the meal plan for Turbo Fire and I started analyzing the difference between how we ate and how the plan wanted us to eat. Yes, I know we should have just followed the P90X diet plan, but like I said, we were being ignorant and arrogant. It happens to the best of us.

I immediately looked for an app for my phone that would help us gain control over our caloric intake. It wasn’t that I didn't know how important the equation of calories in vs. calories out is in losing weight, I just wasn’t applying it. Knowledge is not POWER; acting on that knowledge is TRUE POWER. In fact, this equation is more important than how much or how long you exercise.

If you do not exercise at all, you can still lose weight by diligently counting calories. All it takes is a little awareness, a little knowledge, and a mountain of commitment and self-control. So I found an app called "Myfitnesspal" and immediately committed to using it every single time I put something into my mouth and man was I amazed at what I realized I didn't know. This is a great app and I recommend it to everyone. It has the ability to scan bar codes and give you a detailed analysis of exactly what is in the stuff you are eating. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

HOW MANY CALORIES!!

After doing a little research, I have come to the realization that an exact formula for daily caloric needs is up for grabs. I saw 5 different formulas and each one created a different number for me. With that being said, I am using one that I currently believe in because for one thing, it is easy to follow, and for another, because it makes sense. Here it goes.

Take your current body weight and multiply that number by 10. This gives you your resting metabolic rate; the amount of calories you burn doing nothing other than staying alive.

You then take that number and multiply it by your personal level of daily activity; 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4. 1.2 is for a person who lives a sedentary lifestyle; someone who sits on the coach, in a car, and at a desk all day long.

1.3 is for a moderate level of daily activity; a person who walks, stands, chases children, etc.

1.4 is designed for a very active person; a construction worker, a waitress, or anyone who is constantly moving throughout the day.

This new number is the amount of calories you need in a day to maintain your current weight.

Now we add in your workouts. Google a particular activity and you will be able to get an estimate of how many calories you will burn doing it. A heart rate monitor or a body bug can more accurately tell you how many calories you are burning. My workouts run between 400 and 600 calories burned.

So now add this number to the previous one and you come up with the amount of calories you will burn on your workout days. The next step requires your honest assessment of how much you are working out. Because we have been doing P90X 6 days a week, I add 500 to my daily caloric need. If you only workout 1 or 2 times a week you will need to average out the days you work out with the days you don't to get a more accurate account of the calories you need to consume. Don't worry, I will show you some examples.

Now we know that 3500 calories = 1 pound of body weight and in order to lose weight we need to consume less calories than we burn. So every time we consume less than 3500 calories than we burn we lose 1 lb.

TOO EASY!!

On paper, it is very easy, in application, it is harder than you think. No worries though, we are all smart people and we can do this. So let's create a calorie deficiency that will allow us to safely and effectively lose weight. I have learned that between a 500 and 750 calorie deficit per day is ideal. It keeps you losing weight while not sending your body into starvation mode.

One of the reasons diets do not work for an extended amount of time is because of the huge calorie deficit they can create. Your body will begin to adjust when it realizes you are not giving it the calories it needs to function efficiently. Your metabolism will slow down and as soon as you increase your calories, your body will hold onto them like a kid with a new birthday present.

OK now let’s put this all together. Here is how I formulate my daily caloric needs.

200 lbs. X 10 = 2000 calories.

2000 calories X 1.4 = 2800 calories.

500 calories burned for exercise + 2800 equals 3300 calories per day to maintain my current weight.

I want to get to 195 so I create a 500 calorie deficit per day. This will allow me to lose 1lb per week because 500 calories X 7 days a week = 3500 calories lost or 1lb.

So 3300 - 500 equals 2800 calories per day. Now all I have to do is make sure I eat 2800 calories per day and do my workouts and drink a lot of water (didn't see that one coming did you) and I am going to lose weight.

Now it is your turn. Go through the formula and see what you come up with. The next step will be to log, however you choose to, your daily caloric intake and the rest WILL take care of itself. This does require SELF HONESTY and SELF DISCIPLINE, but you can do it.

As for averaging calories; let’s say you only workout 2 times a week and during those sessions you burn 400 calories each. So over the course of the week you will burn and extra 800 calories. Divide that number by 7 and you get around 114 calories per day. You would add this number to your daily caloric needs to come up with an average instead of adding 400 calories twice a week. You can do it that way if you want, but I always think that keeping it simple is easier and more effective.

Now for my shameless plug. You were waiting for it, I could tell. www.HighOctaneHealth.com. I am forming Challenge groups that start on the 1st and 15th of each month. All you have to do is purchase a program. You have 10 different ones to choose from and then commit to the challenge. I will be on your back side like white on rice for the entire time to make sure you are doing the workouts, following the meal plans and accurately and effectively counting your calories.

Not only do you get a Beachbody workout, you also receive Shakeology and if you are wondering what the hell Shakeology is go to www.Myshakeology.com/carlsonfitnow and learn more. This meal replacement shake will help you cut calories while dramatically increasing the quality of nutrients you are putting into your body.

All of this is VERY SIMPLE. Now I did not say easy, I said SIMPLE. You will have to change bad habits in order to create a new lifestyle, but YOU CAN DO IT and I can help. What are you waiting for? The only time to do something is now. Get out of your own way, get uncomfortable, and get BUSY.