Lose 30 lbs in 30 days.

I passed a sign when leaving my appointment with my Acupuncturist at a gym across the street. "Lose 30 lbs in 30 days." I thought those sort of signs were a thing of the past. We discussed them at length over 13 years ago when I was completing my Bachelor's degree at Rutgers in Dr Watford's class.

So why do those signs aggravate me so much? Because it sucks in the person desperate to lose 30 lbs, who maybe doesn't know what it requires to lose 30 lbs of fat. It makes me wonder whether those drawn in really know what is necessary to burn 1 lb of fat. I'll share so we can determine the realistic nature of burning 30 lbs.

1 lb of fat translates into 4086 calories. This is based on there being 2.2 kg per 1 pound. So 1 lb = .454 kg. This then is converted into grams, giving us 454 grams. To then translate the grams of fat into calories. 1 gm would be 9kcal of fat. So 454 grams translates into 4086 calories.

So 30 lbs in 30 days. . .122,580 calories of FAT need to be burned.

Ok, so maybe I am not being fair. I'll make it an average that we need to burn by taking protein (1 gm/ 4 kcal), carbohydrates, (1 gm/ 4 kcal) and fat (1 gm/ 9kcal) and making that an average, because we want the Nutritionist to be fair right. So lets make it 1 gm/ 5.67 kcal. We need to burn 1 lb per day, so that brings us down to needing to burn approximately 2572 calories per day or 77,180 for the month.

Sounds attainable right???? Wrong. You now have to determine whether or not you are eating within a caloric intake that allows you to attain optimum nutrition. So if you needed to lose 30 lbs and lets say weighed 200 lbs and were my height, and you were starting at an inactive place - your metabolic rate would be that you are burning an average of 1936 calories per day. BUT are you taking in a mere 1936 calories or more?

When I started re-evaluating my health after my father died, I started tracking my calories. I only wanted at that point to stop gaining weight. I am pretty active, but I was starting at 160 lbs. I was consuming on some days 3000 calories per day! Not a very admirable thing for a Dietician. And in theory, I probably would have steadily GAINED about 1 lb/ week. So my starting point to stop gaining weight, was to drop down to 2800 calories per day so I could start burning what I was consuming, and then worry about maybe gradually start to lose weight. Each week I increased my activity and started being better about my exercise routine, and each week lowered the calories by 100.

So let us go back to our example of someone who wants to lose "30 lbs in 30 days." If the person changes their activity level from inactive to extremely active, they will go from burning 1936 calories to 3065/ day. Which sounds like well that could lead to 30 lbs right? I mean Stephanie said we would need to burn 2572/ day right? WRONG. A person HAS TO EAT during that 30 days. And the difference between 3065 and 2572 is only 490 calories per day. That would be a VERY unhealthy intake of calories. Imagine if you were talking about someone who was eating 3000 a day like I was. You would be hugely unhappy going from 3000/ day to 490/day. You also would not be getting the nutrition, vitamins, and minerals you need from food.

Is it starting to seem clear my reasons why I loathe the signs that say 'lose 30 lbs in 30 days?' I cringe when I see that. Can you lose more than a pound a week? Certainly I am not opposed to that. But even to try burning 3000 calories per day, you need to work a VERY physical job and train 2x/ day - which is great, but not with a goal of losing 30 lbs in 30 days.

So if you are looking to lose weight in a healthy way, where you have long term results, feel free to contact me or any other Nutritionist/ Dietician and a trainer and start losing weight or just living a healthier life.

So set realistic goals, eat healthy, and learn to be good to your body, mind, and spirit.

Namaste!
Stephanie