Oy. Math.

Check my math here.

I'm 5'9", 34 years old, and I weigh 228 pounds. So according to this website, my basal metabolic rate (the number of calories I'd burn if I stayed in bed all week) is 1811.

Once I know my BMR, I can calculate my Daily Calorie Needs based on my activity level using the Harris Benedict Equation.

If I assume that on this diet I'll be only barely active, maybe doing yoga and a few walks a week, I'm supposed to multiply my BMR by 1.375.

So that means the number of calories I "need" in a day to maintain my weight is 2490. Let's round up to 2500 to make this math problem a little easier for my already-overtaxed brain.

The other fact I need for this calculation is this: to lose one pound, you need to have a deficit of 3500 calories.

Starting Monday, I'll be eating 500 calories.

So if I need 2500 calories a day to maintain my weight and I'm eating 500 calories a day, that's a deficit of 2000 calories a day, or 14,000 calories a week.

14,000 calories a week divided by 3500 calories (since that's how many calories it takes to lose one pound) = 4 pounds a week.

Not bad for an English major, right?

Honestly, I am hoping to lose more than an average of 4 pounds a week if I am doing a diet this extreme. I would really, really love to get under 200 pounds in this first round, which would require a 28 pound weight loss. If I average 4 pounds a week, I'll lose 24 pounds in the first 6-week course.

This is hurting my brain. Off to bed.