I just signed up 2 days ago, and unfortunately am not off to the best start. I could make all sorts of excuses such as the fact that I have a job that requires me to sit down for 10 or 12 hour shifts... but by no means do I blame my weight problems on my career choice (although the 12 hour shifts do take quite a bit of time out of workout time available). It's my fault that I am gaining weight and I need to avoid common temptations such as Pizza, fast food, and donuts that management occasionally provides...

As anyone who is on a diet probably knows, sometimes it is easier said than done :-/

As I mentioned, I had a few questions.

First of all, for days that I do not have much time to work out, what is a good calorie range for me to consume and loose weight at a HEALTHY rate. When I was in college, I managed to drop about 70 lbs (from 270 to 193) over a period of 12 months using a "salad diet" and little if any physical activity. I measured the daily caloric intake on some of those days and it was barely over 900. However, the reason why I have my shrugs about it being healthy is due to the fact that once I went back to some normal foods during a Christmas break, I ended up coming down with some Acid Reflux and spent a few nights in the ER. This did, however, add to the weight loss (knocked it down from 213 to 193 over a period of 3 or 4 weeks).

However, I had the smart decision of going to a gym when my weight leveled out at 193 lbs, and ended up bouncing back to 220 in a matter of 2 or 3 months as it was making me more hungry. Decided to cancel the membership as I was doing better without it.

Oddly enough, the time I started gaining weight back was when I started my last term - where there was no females within 5 years of my age who were not already married. This shouldn't be stunning given the fact that I was attending DeVry, and it's no better where I work (IT field) - there are no females within 15 years of my age.

Oddly enough, when I went to Hawai'i on a vacation where there was plenty of "attractive" females around, I had an easier time dieting and finding "motivation" to work out....

I hate to put it this way, but attraction (or some would probably say lusting) seems to be a motivating factor for me.


Second, and this is going to sound real strange, but is solo masturbation considered Sexual Activity? (Even if it is, I imagine it is considered the light as it does not necessarily involve as much movement as "real" sex.)

Thanks.

I don't think it is at all odd to find yourself motivated to lose weight when you're surrounded by attractive women. I find myself in the same boat, even though I'm married (to a woman that I think is pretty hot anyway).

As for having intimate moments with your right (or left) hand, I wouldn't think it would burn all that many calories unless you're extremely vigorous... and if you're that vigorous, you may be causing yourself some, ah, physical damage. At the risk of sounding like a perv, I suggest using a heart rate monitor.

I have no idea how to calculate your ideal caloric intake. There are general guidelines, but the best bet is to have it measured. I had this done myself as part of a weight management program at a hospital near where I live; it involved simply lying perfectly still while breathing in and out into a mask for half an hour. Somehow the computer measured your BMR by measuring CO2 burned.

A good estimation (that will change with your weight change) is try to eat your weight times ten in calories (if you are 200 lbs. eat 2000 calories in a day). It's an estimation at best, but until you have the time or money to lay down in a hospital for 30 mins, this should give you a good starting point.

I shoot now (at 230) to eat less than that, I shoot for 2000 calories, because I'm still trying to lose fat...but give it a shot, that's what I did for the first little while, then I did my own experiments and figured out what works for me.

You'll get there. Good Luck!