The Petite Advantage Diet (7 page)

Now, let’s examine a few facts about this math that can help to convince you of its importance.

Fact 1: Your body weight, right now, is the function of this equation:

Calories In - Calories Out = Your Present Body Weight

Now, take that equation one step further.

Calories In (Food and Drink) - Calories Out (Activity and Metabolism) = Your Present Body Weight

I am going to help you manipulate this equation to bring your “calories in” down and your “calories out” up to create a caloric deficit that will bring your body weight down. In the past, you have created a caloric surplus, and that is why your weight is presently higher than you would like it to be. Surplus equals weight gain and deficit equals weight loss.

Fact 2: One pound = 3500 calories. This is often misunderstood. I frequently ask audiences how many calories equal one pound and, if you can believe it, I have received answers as low as 50 and as high as 50,000! Clearly, there is some confusion. A calorie, for the record, is a unit of energy. Your goal is to balance your equation, “energy in minus energy out,” which I further define as, “calories in minus calories out.”

In the very recent past, some bestselling books have rejected this equation, referring to research that says it’s much more about the quality of calories you consume than the quantity. They disagree with the body-weight equation above, which I clearly embrace. I want to be perfectly clear. I
know
this equation works, as I have been relying on it for myself, my staff, my clients, and my readers for years. In the next chapter, we’ll talk about the quality of food, as there are foods I want you to embrace and foods I want you to eliminate or reduce in your daily diet. But I simply cannot agree that this body-weight equation is without value. It is the starting point for any successful weight-loss plan. If my theory of “calories in minus calories out” didn’t work, it stands to reason that I wouldn’t have the voice I have in this industry. Nor would I have everyone from celebrities to CEOs to soccer moms clamoring for my advice and proven results. Sorry to sound a bit “full of myself,” but I’ve been in this weight-loss business for over twenty-five years, working directly with clients. Many of the people who denounce this equation have never actually worked with a single person who has successfully lost weight. I have, thousands of times!

If you are presently struggling with your weight and not happy with what the scale reports (and you should be weighing yourself every day), then I need to help you rebalance your equation. Here is how I want you to look at weight gain and calories in the future:

• If you gain a pound, then you have consumed 3500 more calories than
your
present body required.

• If you gain five pounds, then you have consumed 3500 x 5 or 17,500 more calories than
your
present body required.

• If you gain ten pounds, then you have consumed 3500 x 10 or 35,000 more calories than
your
body required.

• If you are up fifty pounds, then you have consumed 175,000 more calories than
your
body required.

I hope you see how these numbers add up. The exact same thing happens as you lose weight. To take off one pound, you must create a deficit of 3500 calories and so on. It works in both directions.

Please take note of the fact that I’ve italicized
your
body. There can be slight (and I mean very slight) metabolic differences in women, even women of the same age, height, and weight. But please, stop comparing yourself to others. Just worry about
your
body and getting it to the healthier, leaner state that I
know
it was in at an earlier stage in your life.

Let’s be honest–we all use some sort of excuse to justify our present weight. I think I have heard every conceivable excuse from my clients, friends, and followers over the years. It’s human nature. I know I made excuses when I was overweight.

One common excuse used by women is that they are still holding on to “baby weight.” This is a big one, regardless of how long ago you had your last baby. So many Petites have told me that their first pregnancy was the catalyst for their weight gain, which they are still struggling with today, years or perhaps decades later. What I find is that, outside of the obvious weight gain that occurred with the pregnancy and post-baby, your schedule totally changes. With the stresses of motherhood, exercise, low-calorie meals, and sleep are the first to go. Therefore, it really isn’t just the baby weight that’s responsible for your weight gain; it’s really more your post-baby behavior and your new belief system. Look, I know from having two children (no, I didn’t actually carry them) that it’s tough with a newborn in the house and you are pressed for time and energy. But just understand, for the sake of your body weight, that had you gone back to your pre-baby beliefs and their accompanying behaviors–with your “calories in” lower and your “calories out” higher–your equation would have rebalanced and your current weight would be much closer to your pre-baby weight. Plus, you clearly need more energy to take care of your new baby and most likely a job, a husband, possibly other children, aging parents, you name it. When I get you leaner, I
guarantee
that you will get an energy boost. And don’t get overwhelmed by the big picture–consider every pound you lose post-baby (regardless of the baby’s age) to be a victory. Follow this plan and in no time, you will be at your goal.

Another frequent excuse for weight gain during pregnancy is that you are “eating for two.” Ready for the reality? Most women are shocked to hear that, when pregnant, you get to eat approximately 300 additional calories a day. No, that is not a typo. You truly should only be eating around 300 extra calories a day–two pieces of fruit (100 calories each) and a yogurt (many are right around 100 calories) or two eggs (around 90 to 100 calories each) and piece of whole-wheat toast or Ezekiel bread (right around 100 calories). So many women I know gain a tremendous amount of weight because they believe that pregnancy means they have forty weeks of “Get Out of Jail Free” cards and can therefore eat with reckless abandon. I actually don’t blame them, as that is the prevailing wisdom. And what makes it worse is all the pregnant women depicted on television and in the movies who do exactly that. Please know that it’s not healthy for you or for your unborn baby. I know, as I have helped hundreds of women, especially Petites, carry healthy babies, have easier deliveries, develop fewer stretch marks (if any), and then bounce back to their pre-baby weight in no time. Many of them were in their late thirties or early forties when this occurred, so I’m not talking about the youngsters who frequently bounce back faster.

Another excuse I often here is “I have a bad or slow metabolism.” There are, in fact, behaviors that can slow your metabolism, like skipping meals (especially breakfast) and eliminating exercise or exercising in the wrong way. But there are also behaviors that will rev your metabolism back up if it needs it and keep it revved up, even as you age. Keep in mind that your “calories out” number is a function of both your activity level and your metabolism. By increasing your metabolism, you can really accelerate your weight loss, since your metabolism burns many more calories than most activities and exercise because it burns calories around the clock. This is the way to get weight off that
stays
off, for good. It’s also the weight that is
all
fat, and you have to love the idea of blasting fat off of your body!

Seventy-five percent of your metabolism is determined by your behavior. Only 25 percent is determined by your genes. You can only blame 25 percent of your present body weight on your metabolism, if any. You must take a closer look at your caloric intake, which leads me to the next excuse: I really don’t eat that much. Since this chapter is all about The Math, let’s examine this excuse using another equation.

Back in 2001, I introduced my readers to the Harris Benedict Equation, which is an approximation of how many calories your body presently requires to
stay
at your current weight. Our goal will be to use this equation to arrive at a lower body weight for you. While this is an approximation, I strongly believe it is a great way to illustrate The Math. I also like the fact that it not only gives you a greater understanding of what is going on with your present body weight, but is also a perfect starting point for losing the weight, fast.

Here is the actual equation, and I am only using the one that applies to women since, ladies, this book is for you. This calculation is available on the Internet, so don’t get bogged down by the math. Just keep reading for now and plug the numbers in once you have finished this chapter.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Take the number that you calculate with the above equation and multiply it by the applicable activity multiplier listed below–and don’t lie about your activity level! This level should reflect what you truly do on a daily basis now and not what you
aspire
to do in the future:

1
. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise), multiply by 1.2.

2
. If you are lightly active (some light exercise like walking or a sport one to three days a week), multiply by 1.375.

3
. If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports like singles tennis three to five days a week), multiply by 1.55.

4
. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports six to seven days a week), multiply by 1.725.

5
. If you are extremely active (this is Olympic training, ladies, so probably does not apply to most of you), multiply by 1.9.

For the sake of illustration, let’s say you are forty-two years old, 5’3” tall, and 170 pounds, and that you use lightly active as your multiplier. I am using these numbers because these were the starting numbers for the Petite client I referenced in the introduction who lost forty pounds (and to this day has kept it off) on this plan.

655 + (4.35 x 170
[weight])
+ (4.7 x 63
[height in inches])
- (4.7 x 42 [age]) = 655 + 739.5 + 296.1 - 197.4 = 1493.2

1493.2 x (activity multiplier #2 or 1.375) = 2053.15

Therefore, my former client had to eat approximately 2053.15 calories a day to
maintain
her weight at that time. To lose just a pound a week (on my plan, you will easily lose three or four pounds a week during your first twenty-one days), she would have to eat 3500 fewer calories a week (because 3500 calories equals one pound). Remember, you have to create a caloric deficit to lose weight. Funny that 3500 is easily divisible by the seven days of the week. She would have to cut 500 calories a day (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories) to lose one pound. My client would have to have dropped her daily caloric intake to 1553.15 (2053.15 minus 500) to lose one pound a week. Again, please note, you will lose far more weight than that during your first twenty-one days on my plan, as you will also be shedding bloat, clearing out your intestines,
and
drastically enhancing your metabolism.

Weight loss is math, and you must understand that math if you truly want to succeed in the long run and not just for a short period of time.

Why do almost all the people you know who lose weight gain it all back? Once again, it’s because of the math. Let’s say that, in the example I just showed you, my client lost forty pounds, which is what she did lose. If her activity multiplier stayed the same, then her “after-weight-loss” equation looked like this: