The math is pretty 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 is roughly 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.
All right – that doesn’t sound like much, especially if you’re more than 25 pounds overweight. Studies have shown that those who lose 1-2 pounds a week, are more likely to keep the weight off and maintain a normal weight for the rest of their life.
So how much exactly IS 500 calories? If you are going to reduce your intake of calories but 500 a day, you need to know what to cut out? Here is how you lose 500 calories a day
*You can use milk in your coffee instead of creamer. Savings? 50 calories per cup.
* You really don’t need butter on the baked potato. Savings? 100 calories
* Drink fruit-flavored water instead of a 16 ounce 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. The average snack bag of chips has over 300 calories. Savings? 300 calories
*Eat corn on the ear. There is 165 calories for every 1 cup serving of canned corn. Every ear of corn has 85 calories in them. Savings? 80 calories.
*Change to a low fat cram cheese spread 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. Thin French fries absorb more oil than the thicker, meatier ones. Savings? For every 4 oz. seving there is 50 calories
You cna also lose one pound a week if you up your activity level by 500 calories, if you want to look at it from a exercise perspective. How easy is that to do? Take a look:
* Take a half-hour walk around the park. You need to aim for a pace that is little fater than a stroll, but not too fast, you don’t want to get 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’re out on the floor instead of at the table drinking up high-calorie drinks, the more you’ll get out of it. The kind of dancing that makes you breathless and that warms up your body will give you a nice calorie savings. Burn: 400 calories per hour
* Swimming is great for you, and a lot of fun, too. The water resistance means you burn more calories, and you avoid the stress impact on joints from aerobics, dancing or walking. Do a few laps at a slow crawl – if you can get up to an hour you’ll be doing great! Burn: 510 calories
* Get out into your garden. 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. Hook up with a friend for a weekly tennis game and you’ll be amazed at the difference. One hour of vigorous tennis is one of the best calorie burners around. Burn: 800 calories
Keep in mind that all of the exercise and calorie numbers are based on a woman’s weight of 130 pounds. If you weigh more, you’ll burn more fat. Would you like an additional 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. You got it – your body uses more energy to maintain and feed muscle than it does fat.
For the best results you can combine food savings and exercise techniques that will effeciently burn the 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.