The William Wirt Way to Weight Control

It all started so simply.  I was breaking out and my dermatologist suggested I reduce my consumption of beer, red wine, coffee and scotch to see if that would help.  But Doc, says I, those are my four major food groups. My vanity won out over my eating habits.  Lo and behold, my face cleared up and I lost weight.  So I'm thinking to myself.  Damn, you must have been drinking too much and, What else are you consuming that are empty calories?  My quest began. I do enjoy my walks during lunch.  In fact, they have become somewhat of the office joke.  Now, previously after taking my walk I consumed a Big Grab Bag of Nacho Cheesier Doritos and a 20oz. bottle of Gatorade.  Can't be many calories in that, can there? WRONG!! A 3 oz. bag of Doritos is 420 calories.  A 20oz. bottle of Gatorade is 125 calories.  This can't be.  Don't all the sports stars eat and drink this stuff.  And they're in shape, aren't they?

He's cool, but must be using drugs, since if he eats Doritos, he'll get fat.

As Austin Powers said, "But what does it all meeean Basil?"  420 calories, 125 calories.  How much is that, how much do I need?  Michael Jordan's personal trainer says this to determine your daily caloric requirements: "If you are sedentary, multiply your weight by 13. If you are moderately active, multiply your weight by 15."  Much too imprecise for me. But let's step back for a minute.  I have a simple philosophy.  You will lose weight if your caloric intake is less than your caloric burn.  You will gain weight if your caloric intake is greater than your caloric burn.  All the diets (Atkins, Pritikin etc) are variations of this equation.

I did some digging and found this website http://store.yahoo.com/hon-online/howtocalyour.html. As of the date of this article (8/03), the link was still active. I'll summarize.  The caloric intake required to maintain your current weight is driven by your height, weight, age and energy expended during the day.  The first three are easy to determine.  Energy expended during the day comes in three forms.  The first "Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR) is the number of calories your body needs while at rest." The second,"Specific Dynamic Action (SDA) is the energy required to digest, absorb, transport, and metabolize the food that you eat."  This is estimated at 10% of your BMR and PA.  Physical Activity (PA) is the thrid form. So the formula goes like this:

Calories Needed = BMR + PA + SDA SDA = 10% x (BMR + PA) Calories Needed = 1.1 x (BMR + PA)

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