How to Lose One Pound

What Does It Take to Lose One Pound?

 

To lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than your body uses. Calories are the amount of energy in the food you eat. Some foods have more calories than others. For example, foods that are high in fat and sugar are also high in calories. If you eat more calories than your body uses, the extra calories will be stored as excess body fat.

 

A pound of fat is about 3,500 calories. To lose 1 pound of fat in a week, you have to eat 3,500 fewer calories (that is 500 fewer calories a day), or you have to "burn off" an extra 3,500 calories. You can burn off calories by exercising or just by being more active.

 

The best way to lose weight and keep it off is to eat fewer calories and be active. If you cut 250 calories from your diet each day and exercise enough to burn off 250 calories, that adds up to 500 fewer calories in one day. If you do this for 7 days, you can lose 1 pound of fat in a week.

 

"Then why can't I just quit eating for a while and lose weight?" Two things happen when you stop eating: 1) Your metabolism shuts down because your body thinks no food is coming, and it will do everything it can to conserve energy, thus, it will shut down your weight loss; and 2) when your body does have to burn something, it will indiscriminately consume good muscle tissue along with stored fat. This is why people with eating disorders such as anorexia never reach a phase where they look healthy - a body in deprivation burns muscle along with fat, so that the end result looks like skin draped over bones.

 

Muscle tissue burns fat; water flushes fat out of your body. This is why you must eat right, you must get some exercise, and you must drink water in order to properly lose weight.

 

What Foods Should I Eliminate From My Diet Immediately?

 

- Desserts (even limited quantities will wreck your diet; try sugar-free jello instead)

 

- Sugar (even in your tea - sorry!)

 

- Salt

 

- Soft drinks (use diet sodas sparingly - no more than 1 a day, because of the sodium)

 

- Beef, particularly ground beef (beef is the hardest meat to digest, and contains too much fat for weight loss. Lean cuts of beef should be limited to no more than one time per week, and eat it on the day after you weigh in. It will take days for you to get rid of it.)

 

- Pork (same reasons as ground beef)

 

- Ketchup (contains too much sugar for weight loss)

 

- White bread (when buying bread, look for bread that is 40-50 calories per slice)

 

Be healthy!