Education and motivation about fitness, health, and overall life.
One of the most asked questions I get from women is “How can I get a bigger butt?” followed by, “How can I lose weight?” In my opinion, the answer to those questions is… SQUAT!
“The squat movement pattern is arguably one of the most primal and critical fundamental movements necessary to improve sport performance, to reduce injury risk and to support lifelong physical activity”(Myer, Kushner, Brent, 2014).
There is no “Magic Pill”!!!
Look, fitness is hard work, but it is doable. The great thing with fitness is that it gets easier the more consistent you are. You can’t expect to see fast results thinking you’re going to get the ideal body in just one day, week, or month. “Fitness is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” It takes time for muscles to build and mature. It takes time for fat to burn. You didn’t all of a sudden become over weight because you ate couple bad meals, so don’t expect to see abs after one week in the gym.
I believe, in life, no matter what they are i.e. relationships, money, and etc., “As fast as you get it, is as fast as it goes”. Sadly, when I was younger, I dealt with those situations many times. Whether it was doing shady stuff to make a quick buck or jumping into relationships, they all came and gone fast. I was too in a hurry, and I ended up in a worse position. Same thing with fitness, you have to gradually work on your body to get the best results. Every person that I have seen, that did a “crash diet”, (basically starve themselves) all ended up looking way worse then what they started off with. If fitness were easy, everyone would be in shape. Consistency is the key. With the right workouts, right nutrition, and right supplementations, YOU will achieve your goals!!!
In nursing school, we had to take a nutrition class as part of our core curriculum. We learned how to add up the proper amount of calories in order for our patients to receive the appropriate amount of nutrition for their gender and height. Coincidentally, I used this method on how to adjust my diet for my competition. To be honest, all it really is, is simple math, “Caloric intake vs Caloric output”.
** Side note** After taking this class and finding out this is a prerequisite for nursing school, there is no excuse for there to be any overweight or obese nurses… Just my opinion.**
So lets get started!
I was taught to use the Hamwi Method in nursing school for a quick and easy way to find out your ideal body weight for your gender.
For women: 100lbs for the first 5 ft of height and add 5 pounds for every inch after.
For men: 106lbs for the first 5 ft of height and add 6 pounds for every inch after.
Now this will all make sense in estimating your Total Energy Expenditure, or what we in the fitness world call “Finding out your ‘Macros’ and ‘Calorie Count’”. This basically gives you the amount of calories you need to intake each day to sustain your body weight. So below will be examples of Macros and Calorie Count I have made for friends, who probably did not follow it and wasted my time. In the examples below, it explains how you can loose weight by adjusting the calories. FYI, people pay big money for others to do this, and I’m giving it to you for free…. YOU’RE WELCOME!
This layout will break down essentially what everything means and how it works. Before we get into it, I have to explain a couple things in the example. Firstly, I averaged your HAMWI weight and actual weight in order to find your Basal Metabolic Weight. The idea behind that was to put your body in a caloric deficit early according to what you should weigh.
Secondly, I have to explain what, “Activity Levels“. When choosing your activity level, you are choosing your day-to-day activities for a 24-hour period, i.e. if you are going to school, work, and any other extracurricular activities.
Sedentary: Mostly sitting, driving, sleeping, standing, reading, typing, and other low intensity activities, which equals 10 percent or 0.1.
Light activity: light exercise such as walking not more than 2 hours a day, which equals 20% or 0.2.
Moderate activity: moderate exercise such as heavy housework, gardening, and very little sitting, which equals 30% or 0.3.
High activity: active in physical sports or a labor-intensive occupation such as construction work, which equals 40% or 0.4.
Macros and Calorie Count MALE
Current status:
Height: 5’9
Weight: 210 lbs
Ideal Weight based of HAMWI (based off height)
5ft (106) + 6lbs for every inch
106+9(6)=
106+54= 160 lbs
So current goal is the average to set up for Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
210+160=370
370/2= 185 lbs
BMR is the amount of calories is expended in 24-hours period to fuel the involuntary activities of the body at rest and after a 12-hour fast.
185lbs x 11= 2035 calories (BMR)
Add Activity Level
Moderate activity x’s 40% (basically you lift and workout about 5 days a week)
2035 x .4 = 814
BMR + Physical activity 2035 + 814 = 2849
Add
Thermic effect on processing food
2849 x 10% = 285
BMR + Physical activity + thermic effect on food processing
2849 + 285 = 3134
3134 calories
Subtract
500 calories (1 lbs of fat is 3500 calories, so in order to burn a pound of fat a week, we are subtracting 500 calories a day
3134-500 = 2634 calories a day
Protein = 184g =737 calories =28% of macros (2 grams of protein/kg or 10-35%)
Fats = 58g = 526 calories= 20% of macros (20-35%)
Carbs = 342g =1369 calories =52% macros (45-65%)
Macros and Calorie Count FEMALE
Current status:
Height: 5’4
Weight: 128 lbs
Ideal Weight based of HAMWI (based off height)
5ft (100) + 5lbs for every inch
100+5(4)=20
100+20= 120 lbs
So current goal is the average to set up for Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
128+120=248
248/2= 124 lbs
BMR is the amount of calories is expended in 24-hours period to fuel the involuntary activities of the body at rest and after a 12-hour fast.
124 lbs x 10= 1240 calories (BMR)
Add Activity Level
Moderate activity x’s 40% (basically you lift and workout about 5 days a week)
1240 x .4= 496
BMR + Physical activity 1240+ 496 = 1736
Add
Thermic effect on processing food
1736 x 10% = 173
BMR + Physical activity + thermic effect on food processing
1736 + 173 =1909
1909 calories
Subtract
500 calories (1 lbs of fat is 3500 calories, so in order to burn a pound of fat a week, we are subtracting 500 calories a day.)
1909-500 = 1409 calories a day
Protein = 109g = 436 calories =31% of macros (2 grams of protein per kg/ 10-35%)
Fats = 31g = 281 calories= 20% of macros (20-35%)
Carbs = 172g =690 calories =49% macros (45-65%)
If you want to add weight instead of subtracting 500 calories, just add 500 and adjust your protein, fats, and carbs. You will find the explanation and the importance of each of the nutrients under the Nutrition Blog page.