A word about Resting Metobolic Rate (RMR)...

We hear all the time about our metabolism and how it affects our weight but what we really need to know is what we can do about it and assist ourselves in our journey to wellness.

First....a few facts:

• one pound = 3500 calories.
• your rmr is the rate at which your body burns calories while at rest.
• look at calories "in" versus calories "out".
• any calories burned above your RMR go towards that 3500 cals.
• any calories eaten above the rmr need to be burned or weight gain as it adds up to the 3500.

So....google: shapeup.org rmr calculator
fill in the blanks of weight,height,age and sex...this will give you your RMR (so if you laid around on the couch all day the rmr is the number of calories that your body will burn by doing "nothing").  This gives you a good indicator of what calories you can take in to maintain your weight.  If you stay at your rmr calorie count then your weight won't change.

Now...you need to track the calories "in"...the only way to do this is by keeping a journal and noting everything you eat.  There are plenty of calories counters on-line so there's no excuse for not writing down the calories.  Don't forget the "little" things like the mayo that you put on that sandwich...every single little calorie counts. Be truthful...it's for your eyes only...If you give in and eat that chocolate cookie--no big deal--just make sure you track the calories.  Read your labels and nutritional guides for any restaurants (again...easily available on line)...no excuses!

Next...you want to calculate your calories "out" or burned.  This is a little more difficult.  I love the polar 7 heart rate monitor which tells me the calories burned in a day as well as my target heart rate while exercising. These numbers of how many calories burned can be estimated but won't be very accurate unless weight, height, sex and age are taken into consideration for the calculation.  Don't trust that treadmill at the gym that says you burned 400 calories....unless you input your personal stats--it's not accurate.

What you want to see....is the calories "in" to be at or below your rmr rate and "out" to excede the rmr.
For every 3500 calories "out" a pound will be gone.
Soooooo....if your rmr is 1500 and you eat 1500 calories a day...you need to burn an additional 500 calories per day to lose one pound per week (500 cal x 7 days = 3500 cal = one pound);
Now ....500 cals to burn over and above your rmr is very doable.  Get moving. A good walk can burn 300+...taking the stairs instead of the escalator burns extra...every little calories makes a difference (both "in" and "out"...!!!) 
Options:
if you can't burn 500 cals/day...then lower your calories "in" by 200 and do it that way... The choice is yours.
Don't take your calories below 1200/day tho because then your body could think it is in starvation mode and stop burning those calories.
Set a calorie range that is reasonable....ie: 1300-1500 or higher if your rmr is really high; Don't box yourself into a corner....there are days when you need those extra calories.

So...I sure hope all this make sense!
Once the math makes sense, the whole weight-loss thing makes sense.
Good luck. You can do it!