Teething Keys and Calculating BMR

I mentioned in yesterdays post that I was "good sore." Oh my. Things tightened up at work and I had to really put some effort into not hobbling. After my last walking-break, I sat for a long stretch, and I think that's when things really got tight. But, I'm pretty sure being sore contributed to an amazing night's sleep. I kept dozing off on the couch, so Cody sent me to bed at 8:30 and I slept like a rock.

You know that feeling when you've been really "good" and you get on the scale feeling smug and expecting it to be down...but it goes up half a pound? Yup, that happened today. Logically, I know it's just fluid retention from being sore, but I did give the scale a dirty look.

Today, I'm going to take a break from Wishlist Wednesday except to report that I bought the Nuby Teething Keys. I snagged them at the store when I went to buy teething tablets. They are awesome! The other two teething toys we have are a little to big for S's mouth and he gets kind of frustrated with them. The keys are a great size and they stay cold for a long time after you take them out of the fridge. S really likes shaking them and chewing on all the different surfaces.

The other thing  thing I wanted to chat about today was the method I'm using to calculate my BMR and calorie deficits. **BMR for anyone that doesn't know is Base Metabolic Rate, the number of calories you need to survive without moving.

A lot of aps and websites for weight loss will automatically calculate your calorie needs for you - which is awesome. Sparkpeople was the first website I used to actually calculate calorie needs specific to me - whereas before, I used some one-size-fits-all calorie range.  This, in and of itself, was kind of a huge revelation, and was instrumental in my first 70 pound weight loss. Obviously I didn't keep the weight off, but that is a story for another post, and I feel this method is something that works well for me.

Because I like the feel of keeping track of things manually, I ordered this food journal that had a really great explanation of how to calculate the number yourself. As a numbers nerd, this is something that I really enjoy. For me, it makes things very straightforward and logical and takes out some of the emotion.

So - the basic formula is:

At my current weight, this works out to be:

BMR = 655 + (4.35 x 312lbs) + (4.7 x 70in.) - (4.7 x 31yrs)

BMR = 655 + 1357 + 329 - 146

BMR = 2195

Of course, this is the number of calories you burn if you don't move at all. So, you then take this number times a factor depending on how active you are throughout the day. I always default to sedentary because I like to consider any activity I get "extra" - like earning bonus points. The factor for a sedentary lifestyle is 1.2. So:

BMR x 1.2 = 2195 x 1.2 or 2634

This is the only time during weight loss that I'm happy to weigh more. Of course, for those of you that aren't quite so nerdy - using an ap or website does the exact same thing without the work will make mores sense. But for me - the act of calculating the number and then manually adding and subtracting calories every day really boils a complicated issue down to balancing a spreadsheet, or managing a budget.