The math is pretty simple. One pound of fat is the equivalent to 3500 calories. Would you like 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. By cutting out 500 calories a day from your normal daily diet, while keeping your activity level the same, you can lose approximately one pound a week.
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 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.
* 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
* Skip the Big Mac and have a salad instead. The Big Mac equals 460 calories. A fresh salad with a light dressing? Less than 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.
*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. The thinner frech fries absorb a whole lot more oil than the thicker ones. Savings? 50 calories per 4 ounce serving
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 dancing – and really DANCE. 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 for one hour
*Swimming is something that is great for you to do and a ton of fun as well. 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
* You should get out and do some gardening. An hour of working in your garden (i.e. bending over, 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. 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 best results, mix and match food savings with exercises that burn calories. Do keep in mind that eating less than 1000 calories a day for more than a few days will convince your body that it’s starving and slow your metabolism. You need to keep your calorie ranges simpmle, and if you seek a more drastic weight loss measure consult your doctor.