The math behind the madness

Man, I love the Basal Metabolic Rate. Not quite as neat as the Dewey Decimal system, but check this math out:

At 37 years old. 6'1" tall and 350 lb, my body requires 2916 calories just to run. If I keep my intake on Medifast near 800 calories, that's a 2100 calorie DAILY deficit. I'd have to look it up, but I seem to recall from high school P.E. class that an excess of 4000 calories will add a pound of weight, but that a deficit of 2000 calories results in a pound lost. Assuming that's true, I should be capable of shedding a pound a day on MediFast, which is well better than J's rate, but J started out at 240, so his starting daily deficit was only like 1400 calories.

Now, the downside. If I reach my intermediate goal of 240 lb, my BMR goes down to 2233 calories, and my daily deficit starts to resemble J's. If I continue to 190 (J's current weight, but I'm 3 inches taller than him), I go down to 1922 daily. This means that in my post-MediFast life, I need to learn to be happy, satiated, and all that jazz on a bit under 2000 calories per day in order to maintain my weight (if I'm nearly totally sedentary).

Fortunately, the government will help me. The Nutrition Facts label has all of its percentages listed based on a 2000 calorie diet. :-)

As of this morning*, I'm down 10 pounds since January 15, to 340. 100/150 to go. So far, no major changes to my constitution, and the hunger pangs are starting to get manageable. And I've noticed that my tightest pair of jeans (the ones I'd dread putting on) are noticeably more comfy.

I think it's time to start adding mild exercise. Two years ago, I started learning German using audiobooks I downloaded from Audible.com. For a while, I was pretty good about walking for 30 minutes around the building, listening to the lessons. I still have the audio, I still want to learn German, I still need the exercise, and I bought new sneakers last nigh. If I can find a consistent time to fit it in, there's no reason not to. Of course, I could just see if L, R, M and T would mind me tagging along on their walk (three women and a man), which would be much more visually pleasant, if not love-life enhancing (T's married, M's a newlywed and L has a long-term boyfriend as far as I know). Besides, I haven't given up on my L.

*the diet doesn't really recommend weighing daily, as it can fluctuate.