Simple Weight Loss Plan

The math is pretty simple. One pound of fat equals 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. 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. 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 exactly IS 500 calories? If you’re going to reduce
your daily intake by 500 calories, it helps to know what you
need to cut out, right? Here’s how easy it is to lose 500
calories a day:

* Use milk instead of cream in your coffee. Savings? 50 calories
per cup.

* Skip the butter on your 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. A Big Mac weighs
in at a whopping 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.

* Switch to low-fat cream cheese on your bagel. Savings? 90
calories per ounce.

* Love those fries and can’t give them up? Swap the skinny
fries out for thick steak-cut ones. Thin French fries absorb
more oil than the thicker, meatier 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:

* Take 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. Tackle a few moderate
hills and aim for about five miles total. 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. Dancing that makes you breathless
and warms up your body will net you a nice calorie savings.
Burn: 400 calories for one 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

It’s important to keep in mind that all exercise/calorie numbers
are based on a woman weighing 130 pounds. If you weigh more,
you’ll burn more. Want an added bonus to burning calories
through exercise? When you exercise, you build muscle by
converting it from fat. 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. Keep calorie ranges
reasonable, and consult a doctor if you want a quicker, more
drastic weight loss.

Michael Contaro http://weight-loss.atoz
online.com/

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