Math over feelings

So far, my food intake strategy has simply been to stay hungry, which has made me the winner that I am today. The downside of this approach is that, in the the throes of hunger, I make terrible choices in food consumption and in my personal life. I hear that the technical term for this behaviour is 'anorexia'.

A food strategy based on an unreliable source like my stomach is bound to eventually fail. My stomach betrayed my pudgy 11 year old self, scarring me for a lifetime with a fear of the return of those wonder years.

In stead, I refer to another childhood source of dread for the solution to my weight loss problem: math. Math will help me definitively calculate my recommended caloric intake.

First, how much do I need to survive? The following formulas determine the Basal Metabolic Rate.

Adult women:
655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years)
OR
655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) – (4.7 x age in yrs)

Adult men:
66 + (6.3 x weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
OR
66 + (13.7 x weight in kg) + (5.0 x height in cm) – (6.8 x age in yrs)

My calculations tell me that I should not dip below roughly 1300 calories. Okay, math, I'll trust you for now.

Now, to determine how much I should eat based on my level of activity, to maintain my current weight:

• Sedentary (no exercise, sit at a desk most of the day): BMR x 120 percent (ie. an extra 20% on top of the BMR)
• Light Activity (no exercise, on feet during the day, eg. shop work): BMR x 130 percent
• Moderately Active (exercise 3 or more days a week for 30 minutes or more): BMR x 140 percent
• Highly Active (exercise 5 or more days a week for 30 minutes or more): BMR x 150 percent

My calculations give me roughly 1700 calories, but I am trying to lose more weight so I will bring it down to 1600.

Now, it will be up to me to record everything I eat and calculate my daily rate of consumption. Already, my faith in biology has been destroyed. I hope that my trust in math is not misplaced, lest I be forced to turn to religion.