At the suggestion of fellow Fit to Tell blogger, Cora, I've been using LiveStrong.com's My Plate for a few weeks now, and only today did I figure out how its suggested calorie feature really works. You see, once you create a free account on the site, you can input your age, height and current weight. Then, given your usual activity level and weight loss goals, the site calculates a suggested daily calorie limit. For instance, I'm 27 years old, I'm about 5 feet, 11 inches tall, and I currently weigh 206 pounds. I'd like to be losing 3 pounds a week (I realize this is a little ambitious, but last week was a real kick in the pants for me.), and I'd describe my daily activity level as being moderately active. With this in mind, LiveStrong suggests that I try and get 1,596 calories a day...not to be too specific.
The thing is, the My Plate tool also lets you track your workouts. I've been inputting my daily workouts this whole time. What I never realized until this morning, though, is that by working out, you increase the number of calories you're allowed to consume. For example, today I swam 2000 yards in about 45 minutes. The system gives me credit for burning 927 calories along the way. That means that today I'm allowed to consume 2,523 calories. That's about 900 more calories that I have been consuming in weeks past. That's a lot!Hopefully making this discovery will help me to better fuel my body and keep my metabolism turning on the days when I work out. I hope that all translates into some weight loss this week.
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