I disagree with many of the fad dieting methods.  However, I have found that a majority of the best and long standing diets agree on one thing: water.  Most diet plans believe that drinking water helps in weight reduction.  Imagine that, the most available source we have that is basically free and easily accessible.

Researchers in Germany conducted a study measuring the resting heart rate of both men and women before and after they drank a little more than 16oz of water.  After 10 minutes, they discovered that the participants metabolism began to rise.  After 40 minutes, the average calorie burning rate was up 30% higher in both men and women and continued to stay elevated for more than an hour.  Researchers calculated that drinking 8 glasses of water a day can easily burn off 35,000 calories or 10lbs a year.

You can consume 8 to 12 cups of water a day safely.  Cool water seems to be more effective in calorie burning because your body has to work harder to warm the water up to body temperature thus, burning more calories.

Outside of burning calories, water has always been advised by health experts for a healthier life.  Water is essential in providing lubrication for joints, helping blood flow, nutrient absorption, skin elasticity, proper digestion and regulating blood pressure.  These are just a few of the benefits of drinking water.

If water is too bland for you, try adding lemon, lime, oranges, or strawberries.  Get in the habit of carrying a water bottle with you. Drink a glass of water before you get in bed.  I have found that by drinking water before bed,  I began to actually crave it out of habit before I could go to sleep.  Replace sugary drinks with water at every meal.

Just think of the calories you can save with this simple calorie burning method.  So why not try this little trick?  Not only will your health benefit, your scale might display a number you been waiting to see for a long time.

Here are the basics of our formula:

1. Multiply your desired weight by 10 to get your Resting Metabolic Rate. See the desired weight chart here.
2. Multiply that number by the activity factor below

• 1.1 – Sedentary (like an office worker seated throughout the day)
• 1.2 – Moderate (on your feet most of the day)
• 1.4 – Active (physical tasks throughout the work day)

For example a 5’10″ male weighs 200 pounds and works in a retail environment (on his feet all day,) so he has an ideal weight goal of 166 pounds. Multiply that times 10 to get his resting metabolic rate (RMR). Multiply that times 1.2 (Moderate activity level.)

That gives us 1992 allowable calories. He wants to lose a pound a week to get to his goal. A pound a week in calories is 3500. So on a daily basis he’ll need to consume 500 fewer calories than his RMR. So he needs to consume no more than 1492 calories a day.

Calorie counting is easy when you use the calorie counter at MyFoodDiary.com.

Try my simple formula to get your weight loss program working!

These diets basically take away the high calorie foods such as breads, pastas, potatoes, processed foods and sugar. There is no “secret formula”, just simply cut back on calories without having to cut back drastically on food intake. Choose your foods wisely. A combination of healthy carbohydrates, protein and fat are needed for your body to function normally.

In order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you take in. You must take control of your calorie intake while burning calories through exercise, lifestyle changes and determining your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Your RMR is described as the number of calories your body burns to maintain your vital body functions such as breathing, heart rate and brain function. Your RMR also accounts for up to 75% of the calories that you burn daily.

The first thing you need to do is, figure out how many calories you need per day for your body to function normally. When you get this number, you can accurately balance the number of calories you eat against how many you expend.

To determine your estimated RMR in calories, see this chart for your desired weight. Note your desired weight on the table and now multiply your desired weight by 10. (ie: 5’8″ female 140lbs x 10 = 1400 calories – this would be your RMR.)

Next check your activity level chart here. Multiply the factor times the RMR. So for our 140 pound 5’8″ female desired weight, let’s say she has a sedentary lifestyle. Maybe she works in an office environment. Her factor would be 1.1. So 1.1 times the 1400 calories is a 1540 allowable calorie intake to maintain weight.

Now to loose weight – 3500 calories not eaten in a weak equals one pound of weight loss. So to lose one half pound per week, our lady would need to eat 250 calories LESS per day (3500 (loses 1 pound in a week) /2 (to lose a half pound instead) = 1750 / 7 (days in a week) = 250. Or burn off an extra 250 calories daily through exercise.

To lose 2 pounds per week, she would eat 1000 calories LESS per day or burn off 1000 calories extra per day. 7000 (2lbs) ÷ 7 days = 1000 per day. But there is a problem here. It is not recommended to lower caloric intake below 1200 calories per day withour strict medical supervision. So for those who want to lose weight faster and who are up against this lower limit of calorie intake, the answer is to increase calorie outgo by exercising more.

We’ll go into further detail on this in future articles. In the mean time, to make the whole calorie counting process much simpler, I recommend the Calorie Counter at MyFoodDiary.com

Many people don’t even attempt weight loss because they know before they even start that they will fail if they have to go hungry. And at the other end of the spectrum there are those that quit eating all together with some deprivation program or fasting diet, either of which I think is the absolute worst thing you could do.

Through starving yourself, you simply lose muscle while the body stores fat for energy. Of course, individuals doing a starvation diet may reap some weight loss but, it can be guaranteed that when they go back to their “normal” way of eating, the weight will come back. This is yo-yo dieting.

Wouldn’t it just be easier to eat well, monitor calorie intake and add in a little exercise? I believe the days of starving yourself and yo-yo dieting are over! It’s time to make your body lean while maintaining sexy and shapely muscle. You can maximize your weight loss by combining proper nutrition with exercise, and keep it off.

When you make a lifestyle change, as opposed to a quick fix diet, your results will stay with you for years to come. You will lose weight, become healthier and feel better!

Recommended reading: Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle.