The weight, Calorie and BMI values in the current and new groups, and the height can be individually calculated using the label buttons. The check boxes in each of the two groups determine which of the two remaining values will be used for the calculation. For example, selecting [Calories/day] in the current group and clicking [Current weight] will calculate the Current weight using the value in [Calories/day].

All calculations involving BodyMassIndex also require a value in [Height], since BMI is a function of height. Height can also be calculated using [Current weight] and BodyMassIndex].

Example 5.

Click [Clear all] to start with clean fields. Set the preferences to [English] units, [Female] sex, [AmerHrtAssn] Cal/day/lb and [mod.Active] activity level using the Preferences panel. Enter "25.0" for [New BMI] and "62" for [Height]. Select [New BMI] and click [New weight] to display 136.7 lbs, the weight associated with a BMI of 25.0 for a 5' 2" female, using the AHA calculations. Click [New Cal/day] to display 1845 calories/day required to maintain the 136.7 lb weight.

Figure 5. Resultd from Example 5

Consuming the required Calories/day for a desired weight will eventually cause one's weight to get arbitrarily close to the desired weight, but the desired weight can never actually be reached since the calorie deficit (and thus the weight reduction) begins to approach zero as weight gets very close to the desired weight. However, one can choose an aritifcial "New weight" that is somewhat less than the real desired New weight for a lower (or specific) New Cal/day intake that will show reaching the desired New weight in a reasonable time.

Example 6. Continuing from Example 5, enter "150" for [Current weight'.Open the Projection panel, select [Weight], enter "137.7" for [Weight] and click [Calculate] to display 670 days required to get within 1 pound of the desired weight.Taking 22 months to reach the goal weight is certainly sensible, but may be too long for many people. An alternative is to decide on a specific Calories/day dietary plan and use that to calculate an associated weight to be used for the projection.

Continuing with the example ... replace the "1845" with "1500" for [New Cal/day], select [New Cal/day] and click [New weight] to display the associated weight of 111.1 lbs. Return to the Projection panel and enter "136.7" for [Weight] and click [Calculate] to display 109 for the # days. A 1500 calorie/day diet will result in achieving the goal weight in about 15 weeks, at which point the calories/day can be increased to the maintenance level of 1845.

Example 7. Now select the [Male] checkbox in the Preferences panel to automatically show the main results for the same size male. Select [Weight] in the Projection panel and click the [Calculate] button to display 98 for the # Days to reach the same 136.7 lb weight. It may not be fair, but that's the way it is.