As promised, today I am going to talk about the “push away” exercise!

One thing that always amazes me is that when I talk to people, they either don’t eat enough (because they are on a calorie-restricted diet) or they eat way too much. It might not be always in the amount they eat, but the calories are super high with low nutritional value because of the choices they make. For your body to run efficiently, an average female needs a minimum of about 1,500 calories a day and an average male about 2,000 calories. Of course, it all depends on age, weight and activity level. There will be another calculation below to find out how many calories your body needs. You need to find a diet for your health, but also something you can continue for the rest of your life. There are people who eat pretty healthy, but eat too much! That’s where the “push away” exercise comes in hand. After a sensible plate of healthy and good-tasting food, push away from the table. If you are still hungry in 15-20 minutes, add a little bit more to your plate. Too many times, people eat a lot of food in a short amount of time and then they feel stuffed. It takes your brain about 15-20 minutes to give you the signal that you are full. When you are trying to lose weight, 1 to 2 pounds a week is a healthy way to lose it. Your chance of keeping it off will be much greater. Always remember, how long did it take you to put the weight on? Now, as mentioned above, many will go from too many calories to not enough calories. This calculation below will get your personal calorie intake.

The following has math in it again, if it’s a challenge ask one of your family members or friends to help you with the following.

You need to know the following: gender, age, weight in kilograms (divide your pounds by 2.2 = kilograms) and height in centimeters (your inches x2.54 = centimeters)

If you are a male: RME = 66 + (13.75 x weight in kilograms) + (5 x your height in centimeters) – (6.8 x your age in years).

Female: RMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kilograms) + (1.8 x height in centimeters) – (4.7 x your age in years).

So for me, it would be the following: 665 + (9.6 x 61 kilograms = 586 rounded up) + (1.8 x 170 = 306) – (4.7 x 57 = 268 rounded up). 665+586+306-268 = 1289. So my resting metabolic rate is 1,289 calories per day just being efficient, doing nothing, being awake. Are you still with me? Next step is to see where your activity level is and we are calculating our TDEE = Total Daily Energy Expenditure. The calories you need to live and move. The following is the number you need to pick that fits the best for your activity level per day.

• 1.1 if you don’t exercise at all or very infrequently

• 1.275 if you are a bit active and exercise 1 or 3 times per week

• 1.35 if you exercise 3 to 5 times per week

• 1.525 if you are very active and exercise nearly daily

For my TDEE, I need to multiply my RMR = 1289 x 1.525 = 1966 (rounded up again) calories per day should be my intake with my activity level. Most days I am around that number and I truly feel my body and I are in sync. When I do not do much (which does not happen often), my appetite goes down. When I do more than usual, my appetite goes up.

It’s all about being aware what you put into your body, isn’t it? Start writing everything down or use an app on your phone to keep tabs on your food intake. And push away from the table after eating a sensible plate of healthy, good-tasting food.

Ester H. Marsh is director of healthy living at the J.F. Hurley Family YMCA.