That would of course be 0.13 lbs of pure fat per day. 0.13 lbs of subcutaneous fat equates to approximately 520 calories of food or in a balanced diet would equal around 3 times 0.13 lbs or more than a 1/3 of a pound of actual food. This would equate to 4-5 slices of bread or a rather large bowl of porridge.

520 calories also equates to around 1 hr of moderate exercise in terms of calories expended.

To lose the weight I would firstly take a weekly diary of exactly what you are eating and spreadsheet it into days versus meals versus calories consumed. An analysis will give you some surprising results. i.e. alcohol consumption will most likely be a major offending entry in the spreadsheet.

If your current lifestyle has mean't that you have gained 40lbs in the last year then the difference in cutting out those additional calories could well be 1000 calories or nearly 2/3 of lb of food per day or to put it another way 1 hrs of moderate exercise per day combined with 1/3 lb less food per day (actual weight of food in a balanced diet).

1000 calories per day difference reduction to the current intake could be very tough and sap the willpower. The only way I can think of to achieve this difference would be to cycle 20-40 miles per day and become a vegetarian or Lacto-ovo vegetarian as keeping up a demanding diet for 9 months will most likely end in failure.

BTW you will never achieve the linear reduction in weight loss, you make have to rethink the line shape in your on-line spreadsheet.

I don't know that I would make it too self-executing. Lest martinfocazio find himself chained to a radiator in a dark basement with nothing to satisfy his hunger but a canteen full of tepid water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKs0oEIVOck

LOL ...Keller Double Stuffing Marshmallow Fudge Sludgers

You could sell quite a few of those over here in Scotland.

Thanks for the correct advice, I don't expect to follow a linear curve. The 40 lbs took more than two years to put on, and I know that my linear curve is highly improbable.

However, as far as the 1,000 calories a day reduction in intake? That's not only possible, I found 1,000 calories to drop just because in New York, the law requires sellers of most food to post their calorie count. So, I took a look at my outrageous snacking habit:

Post-Commute Snack: A Jalepeno Cheese Bagel (420 Calories)
Office Snack: Cookies (300-500 Calories), Occasional can of soda (200-300 Calories)
Pre-Commute Snack: Box of Candy (200-300 Calories)
After Dinner Snack: Chips and Salsa (400-500 Calories)

Not to mention that in my office, we have unlimited free soda, candy and other snacks, as well as regular birthday cakes and people bring in home-baked banana bread, muffins and cookies all the time.

Fortunately, I really like string beans and baby cut carrots, as much as I like chips and salsa, so my snacking habit is satiated with that.

I don't expect a linear decline at all (I'm well aware that it's going to be a curve with flat spots, bumps and dips) but I also know that I need the overall path to generally conform to a downward trend. I do a lot of statistical analysis at work, and I've looked at other folks who have trended their own weight-loss and the success cases all have a similar shape, a steep drop, then a level off, increase in muscle mass and then a gradual taper to target.

The logging the food thing - I used a product called "Event Tracker" for the iPod Touch - it really works. I know calorie counting is not in fashion but for me that's working. I like the empirical nature of calories.

Martin:

In an environment with cakes, muffins, etc., you don't have to completely forgo them, depending on your willpower.

Have a THIN slice of cake or banana bread, for example, or ONE cookie.

I don't know about for the iPod, but when I actually lost weight, the tracking program I used on my Palm had a HUGE database of food calories, including most of the major fast food chains. It was very helpful to just look up the food and enter it in a couple of clicks.


Good will!

(I won't say "good luck", because luck has nothing to do with it. )

Personally, I find that stress does wonders for weight loss. This probably explains the gain since leaving the fire company.

Martin, just something that came to mind that you might want to consider is a larger number of meals but with SMALLER portions that add up to the same number of calories. I seem to recall that the idea behind this is that by having less time between meals reduced hunger levels which means your less inclined to want too snack.

I saw one documentary from BBC about latest scientific facts regarding losing weight - it was called "10 things you need to know about losing weight". Quite interesting (I already knew some things but some were new for me). It can be found on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVSDHwA6nFw .

Some interesting information from science:
http://scienceblogs.com/obesitypanacea/2010/03/body_mass_index_bmi_as_a_measu.php

http://scienceblogs.com/obesitypanacea/2010/03/is_weight_loss_associated_with.php

That blog is focused on the issue.

Ah, nice to see it put so clearly:



In short: MOVE MORE! And... eat less. And adjust your intake away from sugar and junk food towards quality stuff.