BMR is becoming a very important tool as well as guide to helping people lose weight, but how do you use it? Let’s find out and if you’ve never heard of this term, you’re going to want to check this out.
BMR: It’s definition and what it is:
BMR stands for Basal Metabolic Rate. While there are complex definitions for it, the simplest is that it’s a measurement of how many calories your body burns on a daily basis to sustain itself. This also includes the periods when you sleep because your body is always working no matter what’s happening 24-7.
What uses does BMR have?
By understanding what your unique BMR is, you can use that information to make a decision on how to lose weight , whether through dieting or in coloration with exercise.
For example, if you see that your BMR is say 2,000 calories a day, and you decide to lose weight only through dieting, you would have to eat under the 2,000 mark to achieve this.
But if you add exercise into the picture and considering you workout everyday and that workout burns 500 calories, you would have to technically eat more than the 2,000 mark, but then subtract the workout’s effect. This would allow you to still remain under your BMR.
How accurate is BMR? Well if you use the formula, it’s a very close estimate. There are special tests that can be done to measure the exact number.
How to calculate BMR:
Understand a few things:
1. BMR is different for men and women. There are separate formulas available to help measure this.
2. You can find the “close estimate” of your BMR by either using a formula created by OR better yet acalculatorwhich already takes that formula into consideration. If you are/aren’t very athletic, you may want to also take your BMR and apply the Harris Benedict Formula to more accurately determine how many calories your body burns a day. Follow the link above and it will guide you through the process.
3. Your BMR number is reflected by your age, height and weight and can change for a number of reasons.
You may undertake a diet, lose weight and plan to keep your results for a long time. This would mean your BMR would be affected since your new weight is now added into the formula.
Or you may workout, put on more muscle or lose weight which would also affect your weight. Muscle weights more than fat which means if you gain weight but look bulkier, your BMR would go up because your weight would as well.
How to use BRM to lose weight:
Most theories and practices of diets and weight loss understandings revolve around the eat less, exercise more idea. Specifically in order to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. By doing so you lose weight.
Now when you add BMR into this, you have a very close if not exact estimate of you goal. As I mentioned earlier with my example, if my BMR says my body burns 2,000 calories a day, I’d have to eat less to lose weight. That’s really how you do it.
This is really something you should be careful with. Some people who need to lose weight right now tend to overdo these things in hopes of losing a lot of it quickly. They tend to go on starvation diets or cut out large amount of calories right away in hopes of getting those fast results. Most of the time, the best way to get going on a diet is to slowly transition into it rather than cutting out everything else cold turkey and going to extreme measures.
With regards to BMR however, what must also be included is how long it takes to burn away a pound which is 3,500 calories. Brian Flatt, creator of the 3 week dietuses this example to show that while BMR is a solution to help you lose weight via eating under your number, it’s also going to be slow in terms of results because of the large amount of calories you need to burn to reach even 1 pound.
To make this go faster, you can check out the 3 week diet plan which attacks this scenario in a 4 phase plan to get very fast results, or you can take the more traditional route, eat less and exercise more.
Rarely can a diet that lasts as short as a few weeks deliver on it’s promises. In the case of the 3 week diet, the claim is pretty huge:
15-20 pounds in 21 days. Is it really the case? Let’s find out:
There are many different versions of the 3 week diet, but the specific one here was designed by Brian Flatt who created his own version of it he promises people can lose up that much weight.
And there’s more claims and interesting things I found:
The 5 big claims. True or false?
The actual weight loss promise: 15-20 pounds in 21 days. Is it true? It depends on the person and how well they follow the plan, but everyone who does can lose A LOT of weight, period.
Very little exercise is needed. This is somewhat true. 20-30 minutes about 3 times a week or everyday if you can do it.
You can lose in 3 weeks what people lose in 3-4 months. True. A majority of the diet focuses on releasing and getting rid of fat storage in the body which will contribute to most of the weight loss results.
You can eat anything you want, anytime you want. After the diet is done, yes, but as long as you follow a specific rule regarding BMR which will be explained.
You’ll actually eat fat to lose weight. This is also true.
Some of the claims are quite out there, I’ll admit, but I just finished reading the entire booklet on this diet plan and there are solid theories and proof to back up the approach Brian takes with this diet.
How the 3 week diet works:
There are 4 phases to this plan, all of which span for a total of 21 days. The way this diet works is that it combines a number of dieting methods into one powerful plan. The truth is that it’s optional to go for all 4 phases, but for the best results, it is recommended to follow all 4 in the order it’s shown.
The main idea behind this diet isn’t so much weight loss, it’s fat loss where the bulk of weight issues (and health issues) come from. This diet aims to get rid of that through each phase as well as an exercise plan.
Brian makes a few things very clear early on:
First, if you eat less calories than your BMR (your required daily calorie intake), you will lose weight consistently, regardless if you follow the diet or not. So even if you stumble somewhere, stick to eating less per day than your BMR and you’ll lose weight gradually as it will help fat get rid of fat storage’s in your body. BMR calculators can be found online (they’re free).
The only problem with following this is that results will be pretty slow, but steady. Brian cites that we need to burn more than 3,000 calories to get rid of a pound of fat so even if we eat under our BMR but even a few 100 calories, it’s still going to take weeks-months to burn off substantial weight and if you’re 10, 20 or more pounds overweight, it will be even longer than that.
This is why cutting calories, while legit, is also a very prolonged way to lose weight.
Enter the 3 week diet, a shortcut to dropping the pounds way faster:
If you want much faster results however, this is where the 3 week diet will come into play. It aims to get rid of any and all fat deposits in your body through it’s 4 phase approach.
This diet is meant for very fast results. In addition to eating less than your BMR, the other phases aim to put the weight loss results into overdrive. Brian understands people want results so he’s taken the best of several diets proven to work, put them together for a much more powerful effect.
If there were a few diet styles I could explain that make up the 3 week diet, it would be:
Low carb diet/high protein.
Intermittent fasting.
High fat/low carb diet.
Interval training (exercise).
Let me explain each phase of this plan:
Phase 1: Lasts for 7 days.
This part of the plan is meant to detoxify the body and help you lose weight like it’s needed “yesterday” as Brian says. 5-10 pounds is what the expectation is here.
The first day you’ll be eating 4 meals, 3-4 hours apart and they are only going to be vegetables. It’s tough, but it’s only going to be for one day.
The next 3 days you’ll add protein foods into the diet and alternate them, eating 2 meals out of the 4 with protein and the other 2 will be just vegetable.
The last 3 days of the diet will involve adding proteins to all 4 meals which means no more alternating. Every meal you eat will be mixed.
Sample foods:
Vegetables: Beets, carrots, broccoli, tomato, spinach, onions, peppers, mushrooms, kale, cabbage, aritchoke and more.
These vegetables can be steamed, broiled or microwaved.
Proteins: Chicken, beef, eggs, fish and other related foods which have protein (list is provided inside diet plan)
You can ONLY drink water during these 7 days.
Phase 2: Lasts only 1 day
You’re going to be fasting on day 8. To make this easier to deal with, Brian recommends having your last meal at night, so you can sleep through a large portion of the fast and eat the next night.
Phase 3: Lasts 3 days
This phase is the one which interested me most. You’re going to be eating a high fat/low calorie/low carb diet and ironically with what Brian explains and the studies he cites, you are actually going to lose a lot of weight.
You are told to eat anywhere from 1,200 calories (women) and 1,500 (men) a day in which 80% of it consists of fat. You are allowed to add anything to your food that adds fat. Mayonnaise, avacado, bacon, eggs. This is all allowed.
Will this make you fat? Not even close. In fact, you will lose a lot of it. Brian makes it clear the only fat you should fear is trans fat and this is what you have to stay away from.
One study explained in this section talks about 4 groups of people who were on a 1,000 calorie diet. One group only ate proteins, one only ate fats, one only carbs and the last one was a regular diet.
The irony is that the group which was on the high fat diet lost the most weight. And remember, we’re talking 1,000 calories each.
The key is to keep carbs to a minimal. You are allowed up to 30 grams of carbs per day if you can’t hold on. There are also health benefits of a high fat diet.
Phase 4: Lasts until day 21 (9 days)
This is the easiest part of the diet. All it really focuses on is just eating under your BMR on a daily basis. There are different “aggression levels” during this phase with aggression being how much weight you want to lose.
Depending on how much weight you want to keep losing, you’ll eat under your BMR anywhere from 15%-30% meaning if your BMR was 2,000 calories a day, 15% would mean you could eat only 1,700/day.
Finishing the diet and eating anything you want:
Once you complete phase 4, you really can do what you like as long as you maintain the BMR rule. You can eat pizzas, burgers and anything you want. This can continue for as long as you want.
One thing that is mentioned is the “3 pound rule” which says if you gain 3 pounds back or more after the diet, go back and do one of the phases to get back on track.
Other things about the diet:
The book itself is 96 pages long. The first 44 pages are Brian explaining many of the theories behind the plan. By page 45, you’ll actually get into the diet.
There is an optional step to the entire diet and that is intermittent fasting. For 24 hours every week, if you can avoid eating for just 1 day, you’ll speed things along. Brian says he does it 2 times a week.
For people who are really new to this and have never tried it, 18 hour fasts are also recommend and again if you start the fast after your last meal at night, it will be easier.
There are also 3 additional offers after you purchase the diet book itself, one is a recipe book, another is a support connection and the other is known as the “Final Chapter” which is supposed to help you plan long term after your diet is done.
There’s a lot of chapters within this section, but some of the points mentioned is that you’ll be doing interval training workouts and a lot of the focus on the workouts is several things:
1. You will be exercising for about 20-30 minutes while you’re on the diet.
2. The focus of the workous is to keep burning off fat even while you’re dieting. Fat reduction is key.
3. You should aim to walk every single day.
4. The workouts don’t just burn fat, but are also aimed to sculpt the body and give you 6 pack abs.
Pros:
Very fast weight loss results. Up to 20 pounds are possible.
Targets fat storage areas in the body.
You can eat anything you like after the diet is done (so long as you keep to the rule).
Not much exercise required.
The phases give you the best results, but you can stick to one of them if you like so there’s flexibility.
Intermittent fasting can be tough for some people.
Working out, though short can also be tougher due to low carb eating/fasting.
3 Week Diet Score:
4 out of 5 stars. Excellent diet for fast results. There can be difficulties along the way, but it will get easier as you progress through each phase. Very powerful diet. Check it out!
Conclusions on the 3 week diet:
Overall, this diet is very powerful, no question about it. But is it for everyone?
Well if you’re looking for fast results and you have no problems with fasting just once (at least) or once a week (at most), then you should be fine with this. If you are, you can skip the fasting part and focus on the other areas of the diet.
Remember, it gets easier. Brian has really cut it down into sections so the most difficult parts are handled quickly. This is what I really liked plus with the intermittent eating (which is technically optional), about half of you will sleep off making the process easier. Intermittent eating and fasting by the way isn’t all that difficult and it gets much easier the more often you do it. It will speed things up.
I say do this diet if you’re OK with intermittent fasting and really need fast weight loss results. Normally diets which aim to get fast results also have a high chance of the yo-yo effect happening. With this diet, that’s taken into consideration. The yo-yo effect will not happen if you follow this diet’s rules. Get started here.
This means you can and will lose weight very fast and make sure it stays off. That’s a good diet.
As someone who has experimented with eating flaxseeds for many years, I can tell you that it can absolutely help you lose weight. The only thing that you really need to identify is what method you’re going to use since different methods bring about different results. Some more. Some less.
I do want to say that when I use flaxseeds, the ultimate goal isn’t weight loss even though it does happen. My main reasons for using flaxseeds have been to provide myself with proper nutrition, particularly vitamin E to help my hair grow better. I’ve also used them after eating any kind of meal, big or small to help it digest better.
Speaking from personal experience, it really helps. There’s less bloating, constipation and overall I don’t feel as “weighted down” after a big meal.
There are many different ways you can use flaxseeds, whether it be for weight loss or whatever other reason, but I want to stick to one particular method which is just eating them on their own. No sprinkling them onto salads or other types of foods, just the plain old way and there’s 4 ways I do this.
4 different ways I have used flaxseeds:
I’ll start with the first and least effective one which is eating them in their complete seed form. You can start off by eating a teaspoon or tablespoon of it everyday, usually after or during a big meal.
Even though it provides the least results (because it doesn’t digest as well when it’s in it’s seed form), there’s still some decent results you can get from it. I wanted to add this option because some people in spite of the better methods still prefer this one because to them it tastes better.
The second method involves grounding the seeds. You can really do this one of 2 ways:
You can either buy grounded flaxseeds which are available in most health food stores or you can buy the seeds in their complete form and ground them on your own.
I prefer the second option because when seeds are freshly grounded, they retain more of their nutritional benefits, but you have to eat them right away after you ground them. I find this method provides much more benefits and results than the first option.
The third option involves buying flaxseed oil. It has to be kept refrigerated and it’s taste is an acquired one. Though it may not taste good for a lot of people, I believe this one contains the best benefits out of all 4 options because it is in it’s purest form and the oil itself is the easiest for the body to digest, thus making it easier to absorb all of it’s benefits. Flaxseed oil may provide the best benefits, but it is also the most expensive. You’re looking at around $20-$30 a bottle which may last you about a month.
The fourth and last option I use is taking fresh flaxseeds, pouring boiling water over them and letting them absorb the water. This causes a oily like substance to come out and while it too is an acquired taste (feels like oatmeal), I find this too provides great benefits and is probably the cheapest of all 4 alternatives.
Now remember, these are just 4 of my personal options and there’s many more, but if you want to choose which one works best for you, I’d say stick to 2-4. Try out each of these options after a meal and see how you feel. The one which makes you feel the best is the one you should use.
As for how often you should use this, I personally stick to eating a teapsoon or two after every single meal. This is really beyond normal limits, but it works for me.
Combine this with a diet or go without it?
If you’re currently on a diet plan, adding the flaxseed element can certainly help improve your results. When I did a master cleanse, what helped me get through it was eating flaxseeds.
If you’re not on a diet, they can still help with your digestive system. I would add them into your everyday routine. It’s not hard to prepare them and it doesn’t take long either.
Do flaxseeds have side effects?
The benefits flaxseeds bring can also be interpreted as side effects. For example, improving your digestive system which flaxseeds do can cause you to go to the bathroom more often so a side effect may be diarrhea. And more need to go to the bathroom may make you feel more bloated, even though in my experience, it’s the opposite.
I will have to be honest though, with all the “Side effects” I’ve read about with flaxseeds, I have never experienced them in my personal life. The “worst” thing that can happen in my opinion is you will go to the bathroom more often and that is good since you’ll get rid of more waste in your body, help it function better and lose weight.
There are many studies showing that we have undigested foods in our body and bowel movements for many people aren’t nearly as often as they should be. If this is the case, then flaxseeds should be added into the diet to help regulate that balance.
How much weight can you lose with flaxseeds?
That would depend on what you’re doing while eating flaxseeds. I’ve lost close to 5 pounds in 1 week by just adding them into my diet. At the time I was in my early 20’s and I would say those results came about not just because of the flaxseeds, but also because of fast metabolism which flaxseeds will also indirectly help with.
Can more weight be lost? I’m absolutely certain of it and how much will depend on if you’re dieting, exercising or doing both. One thing I am certain of is that flaxseeds greatly help you in many health areas which will lead indirectly to weight loss happening.
While looking for this product, you may also find golden flaxseeds as well. From what I understand, they hold the same properties as regular flaxseeds (brown).
I’ve been a long proponent of taking cold showers intermittently which for me once every few days. It has been proven to provide multiple benefits such as helping improve your immune system among other benefits. But what about weight loss? Can this really help in that department?
Research is mixed on this, but logic says yes, it really can. But how? Well let’s look at this from a different angle:
A cold shower wakes you entire body up like nothing else. It basically puts it into shock and makes the heart beat faster and pump more blood. This increases metabolism and circulation which can absolutely lead to more calorie burning and obviously weight loss. Plus because the heart and body will work harder to make sure you are kept warm, this will only increase the amount of calories you can burn.
But let’s talk about the shock factor. Can such a shock be healthy or unhealthy for your body? Well if you’re used to doing this regularly, then the shock can provide good benefits and if you’ve never taken a cold shower, your body isn’t prepared for it and you just step into the cold without proper preparation (read on as this is VERY important), then it can be dangerous.
Never take cold showers/baths if…
You are sick or feeling like you’re coming down with something.
You are not properly prepared to do so first by preparing yourself.
How to properly take cold showers for maximum weight loss benefits (reduce risk):
Cold showers can be taken in different times during the day. It can be taken when you wake up, after you come home from work or finish a workout. It shouldn’t be taken before bed as this will make falling asleep much harder.
If you are new to taking cold showers and your goal is weight loss, understand the following:
You absolutely should not jump right into a cold shower (or any body of cold or freezing water) without properly preparing your body first. If you’re new, in order to prepare, you will first need to get used to the feeling of cold water on your body and the best way to do this is to start very slowly. For example:
If you plan on taking cold showers in the morning and you’ve never done it before, don’t start immediately. Pour some of the cold water into your hands and gently put it on your body. For starters, the armpit, hands then chest is a good place to begin. This must be done slowly and it will be annoying at first, but as you get more and more used to it, it will become more pleasant.
I take cold showers and often do things such as swimming in cold rivers and even though I am technically more prepared for it than most, I still prepare my body beforehand in this exact same method. I gently apply some of the water on myself to get used to it. Then I apply more water using the same method, but I splash it on myself. It is only after all of this is done that I finally start to come in. With showers, I apply the same exact method.
Should cold showers be taken during the cold/hot seasons?
Common wisdom would say that you should take a cold shower when it’s hot to cool or and a hot shower when it’s cold to warm up. And while it’s more comfortable for us to follow this method, by actually doing the opposite, we can get better results. This means:
Taking cold showers during cold seasons and hot showers during hot seasons can better help improve our health and also provide weight loss benefits.
Taking cold showers when it’s cold outside actually prepares our bodies to better withstand the cold temperatures which is why a lot of people who take cold showers during the fall and winter seasons tend to get sick less as well as don’t feel as cold as others.
Taking hot showers during the spring and summer seasons better prepares our bodies from succumbing to hot temperatures. This is also why a lot of people who take the hot showers during the hot seasons get sick much less and withstand the outside temperatures more.
Should hot and cold showers be mixed together?
I mix up my hot and cold showers in 1 session. I start off with a 10 second application of cold water on my body before getting into the shower itself. From there, I apply hot water on myself and do this for about 10 seconds. After that I will switch to cold water, slowly get into it and once I do, hold it for 10 seconds, then go back to a hot shower again and keep repeating this until I reach about 10 reps.
By the time I finish up (usually with a cold shower being the last), I will feel a tingly sensation in my body. This is considered a good sign.
Should you do this? You should obviously consult with a doctor prior if you have any questions or doubts, but I like it and it works for me.
There are beliefs that you should take mixed showers as this provides even greater health benefits. This is one of the reasons you see those who go regularly into saunas then come out and dive into a cold pool or hit the cold showers.
If you decide to do this, again, please be careful and take things one step at a time. Instead of jumping right into the pool or cold shower, splash a few places on your body first. Basically look before you leap as they say.
How many calories can a cold shower burn?
It seems like a play on words to say cold, shower and burn in the same sentence but it does happen, however with the studies being done right now, there is no solid evidence that taking cold showers leads to significant weight loss and calories burned also varies because we have to consider who the person is, their weight, how long they took the cold shower for, if they changed from hot to cold, then back and so on.
What is true is that cold showers can provide EXCELLENT health benefits IF you do is correctly. If not, then it can lead to health problems so make sure you never overdo this. Take things slowly with cold showers, but don’t depend on them to be the solution to all your weight loss problems. Use it as a small piece of a much bigger goal to lose the weight.
Wheat Belly is an approach to weight loss created by William Davis. In this review, I’d like to clarify how the diet works and let you know if it’s worth trying.
A breakdown of the Wheat Belly Diet:
For the most part, the book talk about the adverse effects of eating anything that is wheat. Basically anything with gluten.
The author talks at great length about how wheat today is not the same as it was many decades ago and large consumption of it in today’s world is what’s leading to not only weight gain (wheat belly) but also dangerous health conditions and diseases.
You can certainly lose a lot of weight if you cut out gluten and there have been many studies that prove this, like this. Gluten in today’s world contains ingredients that are not natural and can make it more difficult for the body to break it down, among other problems it may cause.
To summarize, the author recommends against eating anything that basically has gluten. He isn’t really a big fan of carbs and recommends sugar substitutes such as Splenda and limited consumption of fruits which is a bit contradictory if you think about it.
Great idea, but some information is confusing…
While I agree that quitting gluten cold turkey is a great way to improve your health, the author does kind of get into a double standard talk later on in the book. As I said before one example was him recommending a sugar substitute and limiting fruit consumption. Personally I think that is a bad idea.
Additionally he is not a big fan of legumes.
Certainly other diet books recommend them and there’s no arguing that they carry a lot of health benefits. But if you go back to the original idea, if he is against gluten and wheat with basically artificial ingredients, why then would you recommend a sugar substitute instead of fruits?
There’s been studies done on sugar substitutes and not all of them are great. I personally stay away from them and prefer raw honey as my source of sugar. As for fruits? I eat as many as possible. There’s a distinct difference between unhealthy sugars and healthy sugars. White sugar? Bad. Sugar from organic fruits? Good!
It’s certainly a very general idea, but if you want to get into specifics, I recommend avoiding eating anything with these ingredients. Basically anything that has white sugar, white flour, white salt is a no-no. And speaking from experience, it isn’t difficult to spot foods with those ingredients.
I do agree with the author that you should also try to avoid foods with gluten and stick to buying products which are labeled “gluten-free” if you wish to follow the guidelines of this diet. See how it works out for you. But overall the diet isn’t anything unique.
Pros:
You can lose weight with this diet.
Cutting out gluten from your food list can provide health benefits.
Cons:
The author kind of contradicts himself in some of his recommendations.
Doesn’t recommend eating a lot of fruits. I don’t agree with this.
Wheat Belly Score:
3 out of 5 stars. Good approach to losing weight & improving health, but some “contradictory” advice. See #1 rated diet.
Conclusion on the Wheat Belly Diet:
It’s basically a low-carb approach to eating, sort of like the Atkins diet. While the overall advice isn’t new, the reasoning for it is.
There’s never been a diet book to my knowledge that’s gone so in-depth as to why you should avoid wheat. Again this is what a large chunk of the book talks about and there is a lot of great information on it.
Ultimately the choice is yours. I personally have tried to cut out wheat from my diet and I have to say the results are better for the most part. Like I said before, I don’t agree with some of the advice the author gives because again I find it contradictory, but you can choose to follow the main guideline while ignoring the others you don’t agree with it.
The information in this book is pretty solid when it comes to the anti-wheat discussion. Cutting this out of your eating regiment is probably enough to kick things off in the weight loss department and start getting rid of that “Wheat Belly”. But it isn’t easy as wheat can be difficult to quit completely.
If you’re having a hard time adopting this diet’s ideas, I would recommend starting here, and at the same time only buying whole grain and gluten free products, then slowly transitioning to a point where you can cut it out cold turkey. How you do this is up to you, but I find transitional dieting is easier to do, complete and sustain than just quitting cold turkey as cravings almost certainly will return sooner or later.
If you’re looking for alternatives, you can also try the #1 rated diet on this website. It doesn’t have a lot of foods with wheat, but it’s more flexible in the sense that you can eat pretty much anything you like and lose a lot of weight in the short/long run.
In any case, in my understanding of this plan, it really comes down to avoiding unhealthy carbs that come from wheat related products, as well as from other foods like legumes. I’m for carb consumption if you’re about to work out and need that extra energy, but overall, you should avoid consuming them before bedtime or if you’re not planning on moving around a lot (for example, if you consume them before going to work).
What do you think of the Wheat Belly diet? Is it something that you feel can work for you?
BMR is becoming a very important tool as well as guide to helping people lose weight, but how do you use it? Let’s find out and if you’ve never heard of this term, you’re going to want to check this out.
