I just assumed that people knew. That was until I asked a friend and then my brother about how many calories were in a pound. Neither one of them knew. Well, I learned what happens when you assume!
As a result, I thought I would educate others who might not know. After all, it is time for New Year's resolutions!
If a person wants to lose weight (or gain, for those fortunate ones that need to), there has to be a caloric deficit/expenditure that is the equivalent of 3500 calories of energy. In other words, to lose a pound of weight, you need to be engaged in some type of activity that will expend (burn) this many calories of energy OR you could deny yourself this many calories in your diet OR you could combine both physical activity AND food restriction to accomplish the loss of one pound of weight.
Many people contend that I am oversimplifying this. Not making the achievement of weight loss easy as possible usually results in no improvement. I have been raised on the KISS principle - Keep It Simple, Stupid!
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), the "gold" standard organization in the health and fitness industry, would suggest a 1-2 pound weight loss per week. This is the equivalent of 3500-7000 calories expended through physical activity/exercise or denied through diet or a combination of diet and activity per week. To simplify, divide the 3500 or 7000 calories by 7 days per week. This becomes a 500 or 1000 calorie per day "proposition".
Because ACSM also recommends successful weight loss through a combination of diet and activity/exercise (based on the research), this is what I would suggest too. (Check out the National Weight Control Registry.) You could deny yourself 250 calories per day and pick up additional activity/exercise for the other 250 calories per day. This would make a deficient/expenditure of calories per week that would be the equivalent of 1 pound of weight loss per week.
One of the simplest activities to include in a daily routine, is walking. You don't have to have special clothes just comfortable shoes and you can walk inside/outside. How many calories would a person expend by walking?
Let's assume that a person weighs 170-pounds and has decided to walk their dog for 1 hour per day (30 minutes in the morning and then again in the evening). This person would expend 230 calories as a result of this activity (more body weight person would expend more when walking the dog). Combine one hour of walking (activity) with one scoop of vanilla ice cream (1/2 cup) instead of two scoops. One scoop is 137 calories compared to the almost 250 calories in two. A 12-ounce serving of Coke has 136 calories. Deny yourself one of your sodas/per day and you are on the way to reaching your goal of losing 1 pound per week.
I strongly encourage you to record your activity/exercise AND food intake. This way you can't "cheat" and wonder why you aren't meeting your goal of weight loss.
There are numerous iPhone/Android apps to help you record your physical activity/exercise and food intake. Most of them are simple yet effective in getting a "real-time picture" of your habits. I have found favor with the app, Lose It, but there are many others that might be of value to you with an app search or asking others.
Just remember, you didn't gain the weight in a week or a month or even 6 months (most likely). Consistency of effort is one key to losing it (daily efforts). Focus on losing 1-2 pounds per week. Give it time AND consistent effort!
Good luck!
Kim Fischer, Ph.D., ACSM cPT, NSCA CSCS, and owner of Empowered By Learning LLC, created a Personal Trainer Certification Exam Preparation Course and accompanying Study Outline, Action Plan for Passing a Recognized Personal Trainer Certification Exam, and other study materials to support people in reaching their goal of becoming a certified personal trainer by a "gold standard" organization in the industry. Kim guarantees that course participants will pass their exam or their next course is free. Learn more about how to simplify and organize the process and the content for one of the recognized Personal Trainer Certification Exams such as ACSM, AFAA, or ACE by getting a free excerpt of Kim's step-by-step Action Plan when you subscribe at http://www.empoweredbylearningllc.com/
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