Per the formula: 1223 calories a day. Yikes.
I’m afraid to do the formula.
UCB, my waist has a ways to go to get to .4 or .5 times height! If I could move 5" from my waist and put it on my butt, I would look a LOT better. I’m an apple shape and have been since I was ten.
The American Heart Assn says women should have a waist measurement below 35" for heart health. Oh, I wish…
This. For the first one or two years of my low-carb/heavy-exercise lifestyle (well, it felt pretty heavy-exercise to me), I did a lot of complaining (poor me!) and I was hungry all the time (WHERE ARE MY POTATO CHIPS?!) Now it just seems normal: if I eat more than I should I feel miserable and if I skip a day of exercising I feel antsy. I rarely feel hungry any more.
I won’t lie, though - to me, heaven will be unlimited scalloped potatoes and Sour Cream & Onion potato chips.
Emerald Kitty…Our rowing machine is a Concept 2
It got the best reviews when we were shopping for a rower.
“Per the formula: 1223 calories a day. Yikes.”
1200 calories is starvation mode. The formula assumes you do nothing but rest stretched out on a sofa under a cozy blanket. Add some activity, and you can eat more.
ek, here’s one of my favorite exercises. It doesn’t involve either ankles or wrists. Keep your abs nice and tight during the hold, and you’ll be strengthening those as well:
[Glute bridge](10 Best Exercises for Women and Workouts for Women)
Planks are terrific for strengthening the core. Start small. 
[The 30 Day Plank Challenge](Blog - Slimming Solutions)
Every time I go to the gym, the first thing I do is stretch my hip flexors. This is another case of seeing up close and personal with my aging parents why this is important:
[Kneeling hip flexor stretch](Butt & Hip Exercises | Kneeling Hip-flexor Stretch)
Lunges, if done correctly, shouldn’t strain your ankles. Just make sure that the forward knee doesn’t go over the foot.
Here is a BMR web calculator and a short explanation of what it means:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/tools/bmr-calculator
Mine is close to 1200. I will keel over eating this little! I am awake and active at least 16 hours a day, so if on average I burn 25 calories per hour above my BMR, just by doing what I am doing (cleaning, walking to my bus, etc.), I can allow myself additional 400 calories. That’s 1600. If I add rigorous exercise, I can have 300 or so more and still not gain weight.
Wow, under that calculator, mine is 1183. I think I have consumed that much at many meals. I’m content with my weight and its been pretty stable for the past 45 years, going up and down a smidge. None of my healthcare providers are concerned about my weight and I’m not either.
I have not missed cutting back on carbs. I have always lived veggies and fruit. We tend to eat small quantities of meat with veggies and some fruit at each meal. It works well for H and me. He’s been stable at his weight over the decades too.
Neither of us are exercise fiends, but H is motived to exercise so he doesn’t gave back pain. I try to exercise to keep him company.
This is another good exercise for building those fat-burning large muscle groups. And I do NOT use a big barbell when I do them. That’s just crazy. I use small dumbbells, maybe 3-4 pounds. You can even do this exercise empty-handed.
[Romanian Deadlifts](Work Your Hamstrings with Romanian Deadlifts | Muscle & Fitness)
Again, I repeat: BMR is NOT what you need to eat to maintain your weight! Your body need more, unless you hibernate!
"Our rowing machine is a Concept 2"
Concept rowers are the best. Well worth the money. Actually, if you live near water and have a rowing club nearby, take a lesson or classes.
My cardiac rehab facility uses Concept rowers. I like them.
I’m four years out from when I started working on losing weight and it is STILL a struggle to make good choices. I thought it’s be ingrained by now, but my body craves certain things and it’s hard not to listen to those voices!
Great idea Slackermom, I would love to do that.
I did a few stints a few years ago with these guys and it was a blast.
http://www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-magazine/dragon-boating-is-a-great-workout-with-a-beautiful-view/
But Ill have to get better organized, right now I am combining my exercise time with supporting my friend who was just diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers.
It is a little more challenging than I anticipated, but I want to do what I can.
Back to that formula – Post #75, here:
It says I need 1700, which is a reasonable amount, even though I’m only 60 inches tall and 104 pounds. Are you guys sure you did the formula correctly? Did you add in the 655??
The only thing I find odd about that formula is that it lets you have 4.7 more calories every year older you get.
Thankfully in the summer we do a CSA, so we tend to be overflowing with vegetables at this time of year. I lost a lot of weight and maintained it pretty well until last summer. Too much work, too much distraction from adding a major addition on the house and my college grad is living with us and so I tend to cook rice, pasta and potatoes for him that dh and I didn’t have when it was just us. I eat tiny portions of the carbs, but the weight has been creeping back. Determined to get back to exercising, but it’s hard to actually do it!
^^^It subtracts 4.7 times that amount, not adds
EK - dragon boating can be really hard on shoulders - conventional rowing is usually better for the body. Concept 2 are pretty much the gold standard and I wouldn’t get anything else. They can also likely be found used. I think they’re bomb proof. Rowing is great for people with iffy knees as there is no load. However . . . it is still non-weight bearing so doesn’t do as much for the bone density issue. You do get leg work but for building bone you want heavier with low reps not the muscle endurance of rowing.
“= Total # of calories you need to [[maintain]] that weight”
No.
This is the calories your body needs to pump blood, etc. if you do absolutely nothing. Since humans do not hibernate 24/7, the actual number should be adjusted upwards to account for activity.
The total amount of energy you need to maintain your current weight will include your BMR plus the energy you “burn” depending on the level of activity.