A “burning” question we are often asked is:
“What is the number of calories burned per pound of fat?
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The number is higher than you might think.
Many dietitians agree that three thousand five hundred is the typical number of calories burned per pound of fat.
Yes to lose just one pound of fat you will have to burn up 3500 calories.
How much is that? Well if you are on a diet such as the 1800 diabetic diet, you are eating 1800 calories a day. So 3500 calories is about two full days worth of food.
Yikes. No wonder it is so difficult to lose weight.
But there is hope. You don’t have to burn up all 3500 calories at one time. You can do it bit by bit.
You can also avoid calories in order to avoid gaining weight. The fewer calories you add to your daily diet, the fewer you will have to try to burn off every day.
Here are some activities and how many calories they burn for you.
Just sleeping burns about 50 calories. Not bad.
Gardening for an hour burns 350 to 500 calories per hour.
Skipping rope with a jump rope burns 700 calories per hour. About the same as fast running and more than jogging (see below). This is one of the best exercises, it can be done almost anywhere and the equipment costs less than five dollars.
Jogging at 5 miles per hour will burn around 500 calories per hour.
Aerobics classes burn about 450 to 500 calories per hour.
Walking at a normal pace, and playing golf (without a golf cart), each burn around 250 to 280 calories per hour.
Power walking can burn over 600 calories an hour. So can riding a bicycle or an exercise bike at the gym.
Housework can burn 100 to 200 calories per hour, depending on the activity level.
And you might want to try bee pollen for an all natural way to help you have more energy for exercise and to be more active.
Another way to “burn” away calories is to simply avoid the easy ones.
For example, a tablespoon of mayonnaise has 150 calories of pure fat. If you leave it off your sandwich you never have to take it off your hips later.
Ask yourself, is a brief moment on the lips, worth a long time on the hips? Is this worth it, considering the number of calories burned per pound of fat?
The same goes for sugary sodas. Try drinking water instead next time you are confronted with this choice. Just say, to yourself or out loud, “I’m tired of soda. It doesn’t quench my thirst. I’m just going to have good old water.”
You save hundreds of calories here too. They all add up. Avoiding 3500 calories this way keeps another pound of fat from being added to your body. One less to try to remove later.
Every time you eat, try to keep in mind the number 3500 – the number of calories burned per pound of fat.
This is all easier said than done of course.
The increase of activity to burn calories and the lowering of calorie consumption are the two sides of the weight loss equation.
Some women have found that it helps a lot to take a natural supplement with Garcinia Cambogia and green coffee bean for easier weight loss.
Most people have a mistaken belief they have to eat less food. That is not the case. The truth is, they have to eat different food. They are eating the wrong foods.
You can go to McDonald’s restaurants and order a cheeseburger, fries and a soda… or you can order a chicken breast sandwich on a whole wheat bun, with a glass of water.
If you weigh the meals they are about the same quantity of food. The difference is in the ingredients. In the calories per pound. One meal has far more calories and fat than the other.
A quarter pound of lean chicken is not the same as a quarter pound of cake and ice cream.
So you don’t always have to eat less food, you may simply need to eat different food.
If you can change your eating habits, one little habit at a time, you can change your body.
What habit will you start with? The soda? The mayonnaise? Switching from creamy coffee drinks to plain? Trying a natural boost of energy from bee pollen supplements instead of a sugary energy drink?
Small changes add up for you or against you.
We wish you all the best of success in making these small changes. Good luck and stay positive. You can do it.
The Editors