It looks enormous – a large, black wrought-iron gate sitting at the top of the hill overlooking the houses below.  We have lived in our neighborhood for five years when suddenly that huge gate was installed.

For Halloween I normally buy large sacks of chocolate candy bars, candied peanuts, and other chocolate treats to give out to the hordes of children as they Trick-or-Treat in the neighborhood.  The long line of cars usually creeps along at a snail’s pace.

I got ready.  I put the dogs up and emptied the sacks of candy into a large bowl for easy distribution.  But, this night the doorbell was strangely silent.  There were no visitors.
 
“I wonder what’s going on,” I lamented to my husband as he sat looking at his iPad.  “Oh, I think the gate closes at dusk.”

Indeed it had.
 
The next morning I realized I had dozens of Milky Ways, Snickers, M&Ms and 3Musketeers left over.  I put them away, but over the next week, I managed to find them one by one.
 
When my weekly weigh-in rolled around, I was SHOCKED.  I had gained 5 pounds!
 
How could that be?  My weight had been stable for over 2 years.

I think it was those cute little Fun Bars and that big, black gate.

Because I had not given the candy away, I had been snacking on 5-6 of those little 75-calorie Fun Bars each day.  That added up to an additional 450 calories/day.

The Harris-Benedict equation is used to calculate your caloric needs.  If you currently weigh 130 pounds and that is your ideal weight, you can calculate the number of calories you need each day to maintain that weight.  If you need to lose weight, just begin lowering your caloric intake by 250 calories/day.

To find out the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight, use this equation. 

655 + (4.35 x your weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x your height in inches) – (4.7 x your age in years) x 1.5 if you are moderately active = your total calories per day.

Weighing on a weekly basis, helps you catch any extra pounds you may have added while it’s still easy to do something about it.  Don’t wait until you’ve added an extra 10 – 15 as it will be much harder to get back to your ideal weight.  And don't add a new gate right before Halloween!