Doing the math is pretty easy and simple. One pound of fat is the equivalent to 3500 calories. Want to lose a pound a week? Then you need to consume 3500 calories less per week than you use. That’s about 500 calories a day. You can lose one pound per week if you cut 500 calories from your normal daily diet and keep your activity level the same.
I know that doesn’t sound like much, especially if you are over 25 pounds overweight. Study after study has shown, though, that those people who lose weight gradually – at a rate of 1-2 pounds per week -are far more likely to keep the weight off and maintain a normal weight for a lifetime.
So how much is 500 calories exactly? If you’re going to reduce your daily intake by 500 calories, it helps to know what you need to cut out, right? Here is how you lose 500 calories a day
*You can use milk in your coffee instead of creamer. Savings? 50 calories per cup.
* Skip the butter on your baked potato. Savings? 100 calories
*Drink fruit flavored water rather than soda. Savings? 200 calories
* Have a salad instead of that tempting Big Mac. A Big Mac weighs in at a whopping 460 calories. Have a fresh salad along with a light dressing? Under 100! Savings? 360 calories
* Pass by the bag of potato chips. An average snack size bag of chips has over 300 calories. Savings? 300 calories
* Eat your corn on the ear. A 1 cup serving of canned corn has 165 calories. An ear of corn has 85. Savings? 80 calories.
* Switch to low-fat cream cheese on your bagel. Savings? 90 calories per ounce.
* Love those fries and can’t give them up? Switch to the thicker steak cut fries rather than the thinner ones. The thinner frech fries absorb a whole lot more oil than the thicker ones. Savings? 50 calories per 4 ounce serving
If you’d rather look at losing weight from an exercise perspective, you can also lose one pound a week by upping your activity level by 500 calories a day. How easy is that to do? Take a look:
*Go for a half hour walk around the park. Aim for a pace that’s a little faster than a stroll, but not fast enough to be breathless. Burn:160 calories.
* Get out your bike and take a ride. Aim for about five miles total and if you feel like it you can take on a few moderate hills. Burn: 250 calories
* Go out and dance your heart out. The longer you are out dancing on the dance floor, you wont be at the table drinking those high calorie fruit drinks and the more calories you will burn. Dancing that makes you breathless and warms up your body will net you a nice calorie savings. Burn: 400 calories per hour
* Swimming is great for you, and a lot of fun, too. The resistance in the water means that you will be bale to burn more calories dancing or walking in it and you will avoid the stress impact on joints from aerobics. A few laps as a slow crawl is wonderufl-if you can get up to an hour you’ll be doing even better! Burn: 510 calories
* You should get out and do some gardening. An hour of gardening tasks that includes bending and stretching can burn up to as many calories as a brisk walk. Burn: 250 calories.
*Play a game of tennis. If you and a friend meet up once a week for something like a tennis game you will be amazed at the difference. An hour of vigorous tennis is one of the most effective calorie burners that are around. Burn: 800 calories
It’s important to keep in mind that all exercise/calorie numbers are based on a woman weighing 130 pounds. If you weigh more then you will definately burn more fat. Want an added bonus to burning calories through exercise? You turn fat into muscle whenever you exercise. Three guesses which kind of body tissue burns more calories – even when you’re not exercising. Your right-your body uses more energy to maintain and feed muscle than it does fat.
For best results, mix and match food savings with exercises that burn calories. You must keep in mind that if you eat less than 1000 calories a day for more than just a few days that you will convince your body that it is starving and it will slow your metabolism down. Keep calorie ranges reasonable, and consult a doctor if you want a quicker, more drastic weight loss.
Tags: fast weight loss, healthy weight loss, lose weight, lose weight fast, simple weight loss, Weight Loss
