How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?

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 I started this blog in 2009, to try to help people who have had problems losing weight.  I had to stop posting for several months but got serious about the blog again and I have been writing ever since. Losing weight is not just an isolated problem that affects a small percentage of people. Sixty-six percent of adult Americans are overweight and half of those are seriously overweight.

I found out the hard way, after years of yo-yo dieting, that I was doing this all wrong. Forget about losing weight, you have to lose fat. So what’s the difference you might ask. The way you diet and exercise makes a difference. On a typical diet, the average person loses 70% muscle and 30 fat. That causes you to lose your strength ending up tired all the time and lose motivation. 

So, what is “seriously overweight” exactly. I’ll spell it out. The British Healthcare System has a good handle on this. Much of the best research has been done by the British and Canadians. I may not agree with the whole formula but it has merit.

They developed a formula to find your Body Mass Index and from there they can calculate your percentage of body fat. It’s the ratio between body Mass Index and Body Fat. If the percentage of fat is between 20 and 24 you are in the normal range. If your percentage of fat is between 25 and 29 you are overweight and if your percentage is 30 or more you’re obese. You can still be relatively healthy between 25 and 29 but more than that and you have a serious health problem. This is where I disagree with their system. This is a system that was invented several decades ago by the British and is widely used by doctors to determine your percentage of fat. I think it's outdated and only works for a small percentage of adults. Health clubs use a better method. Some clubs will test people at no cost to you. 

You should know your number and several medical websites will calculate your number for you. I mentioned earlier that I didn’t agree with all of the systems used to calculate BMI and you’ll see why if you go to a website and try to get your number. The best way I know and use is the BMI caliper. I got one on Amazon for less than $10. You can measure this yourself. If you belong to a gym, most gyms have a caliper and they will do it for you. If you're dieting and exercising you don’t have to use a scale to measure your success. The caliper will tell you the truth. The only thing to worry about is losing inches. If you drop two pants sizes you’re on the right track. You only use the scale occasionally the make sure you are not gaining.

And you can gain when you’re exercising a lot. You can increase your appetite. And then you start to reward yourself for having a good workout. Stopping for a smoothie or a Latte. There are protein shakes that can help your muscles recover from a hard workout, but be careful for the calories. Even a normal one-hour workout will only burn about 300 calories unless you run a 10K or something just as strenuous. Exercising to lose weight is not the same as exercising to stay fit.

If you want more info about your body follow me on X, the former Twitter, @ray0369 to get a link to my latest posts.

If you want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. 

Look for my first book at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com and other online bookstores. Just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Look for my podcast by searching “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight” on the podcast app that you use. You’ll see a piece of my book cover.




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