I want to calculate a theoretical weight loss resulting from an
exercise program over the next eight weeks.  Let's assume I monitor my
food intake to be neutral relative to weight loss.  My starting point
is 184 pounds, 5 foot 10, 59 years old, muscular/large frame.  If I
walk a 15 minute mile, logging exactly 2 miles in the morning and 2
miles in the afternoon over a trail with minimal up/down, assume 2%
average grade, and perform this routine every other day, where would I
be weight wise in 60 days?  Actually, I plan to walk this route every
day for 60 days, so I would like the "every day" calculation
primarily, but the "every other day" calculation would be my drop dead
benchmark.  Please include the references utilized to support your
formulas and the resulting two answers to this question.

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 20 Nov 2006 05:22 PST

Nice to see you again, and thanks so much for sending this my way.

Unfortunately, though, I can't think of a way to answer it!  

You could wind up gaining weight, depending on how much muscle mass
you add on, though it seems more likely you'll take off some pounds. 
But how many, and how fast, are questions I just don't feel competent
to answer.

I think it depends an enormous amount on your diet as well, and I'm
not too sure what you mean by keeping your food intake "neutral".

There are a few researchers here at Google Answers that have some
pretty deep background in the health sciences.  You might want to
repost your question without restricting it to just my attention and
hopefully, someone else will be able to answer it for you.  If you do,
perhaps some more detail on the food intake issue would help.

I hope we have a chance to work together down the road apiece, when
I'm a bit smarter, and you're a bit thinner.

Cheers,

paf

Losing weight is a simple equation: if you burn more calories than you
eat, the weight will come off. Start off by estimating how many
calories you burn each day using the calorie calculator
http://www.straighthealth.com/pages/tools/caloriecalclb.html . This
will give you an idea of how many calories to eat. Healthy weight loss
is 1-2 pounds per week. To lose 1 pound per week you need to create a
calorie deficit (burn more than you eat) of 500 calories per day. To
lose 2 pounds a week, you have to double the deficit to 1000 calories
per day. You can achieve this by eating less, exercising more or a
combination of both.