Simple Math

[LosingItAll 49]

I have seen several posts lately about calories, carbs, fats etc. and I just want to put this out there.

There are 3500 calories in a pound. You must take in fewer calories (if you used to eat 2500 calories a day and now you eat 1000 then you are losing 1/2 pound a day!) and exercise. Walking you only burn about 150 calories per mile (unless you are power walking) - so get moving and start sweating!! If your combination of fewer calories and exercise equals a net of -3500 then you lose a pound (yes there is Water weight etc. but more or less this is true over time).

I am a bit of a number cruncher but I like seeing it in black and white - so hopefully this perspective helps someone. This is also why it is important to track everything that goes into your mouth and your exercise.

[suzahhn 19]

True that. You could eat 1,000 calories from Twinkies every day and lose weight. You will be malnourished, but calories are calories.

Although, keep in mind, running and walking a mile burns the same amount of calories . I know it's logical but sometimes I think it's important to keep in mind. I'd be much more inclined to take an hour stroll every day vs. a 10 minute run.

[Jess55 97]

True that. You could eat 1,000 calories from Twinkies every day and lose weight. You will be malnourished, but calories are calories.

Although, keep in mind, running and walking a mile burns the same amount of calories . I know it's logical but sometimes I think it's important to keep in mind. I'd be much more inclined to take an hour stroll every day vs. a 10 minute run.

LOL. I actually remember seeing something about this on TV a while ago. Some guy did a study and ate like hostess products and other junk, but stayed within a certain calorie allotment per day and he still lost weight. I don't think he was reccomending doing this, but just proving the theory that as long as you are burning more calories than you are eating you can lose weight.

[isaviolinist 11]

I have seen several posts lately about calories, carbs, fats etc. and I just want to put this out there.

There are 3500 calories in a pound. You must take in fewer calories (if you used to eat 2500 calories a day and now you eat 1000 then you are losing 1/2 pound a day!) and exercise. Walking you only burn about 150 calories per mile (unless you are power walking) - so get moving and start sweating!! If your combination of fewer calories and exercise equals a net of -3500 then you lose a pound (yes there is Water weight etc. but more or less this is true over time).

I am a bit of a number cruncher but I like seeing it in black and white - so hopefully this perspective helps someone. This is also why it is important to track everything that goes into your mouth and your exercise.

This is true, and its something I reiterate over and over on this site as there are many on here who don't think that the science behind calories in vs calories out is true for them (they feel they are a special case). However just to clarify your statement that I bolded above. If you are eating 1500 calories a day less than what you used to, that doesn't equal 1/2 pound loss a day. The ONLY thing that equals 1/2 pound loss a day is a 1500 (1750ish really) calorie deficit a day above and beyond everything that you have consumed. So if you are eating 1000 calories a day, but you're only burning 1500 calories a day, you only have a 500 calorie deficit. So please don't be confused about that concept.

[happygirl65 5]

And keep in mind that our calories required to maintin the weight go down with every pound we lose so it bears a recalculation from time to time and also shows why weight loss slows if we are still eating that 1000 calories you lose 40 lbs and suddenly your calorie requirements to maintain are less than they were before.

[Noturningback15 45]

I thought I had it down too but apparently not! I was burning too many calories in the gym and needed to increase my intake to lose. I have been stalled for three weeks but I layed off the workouts some and I have lost a pound since Sunday.

[HeatherinCA 10]

Yep!! Intense exercise or walking up hill for an hour burns like 600 calories

[va_viv 3]

Ok guys I think I am TOTALLY confused now. Can someone PM me and explain it again...please! I really want to understand. Thanks!

[Jess55 97]

I thought I had it down too but apparently not! I was burning too many calories in the gym and needed to increase my intake to lose. I have been stalled for three weeks but I layed off the workouts some and I have lost a pound since Sunday.

The same thing happened to me. When I first started back working our, my weight stalled. So I backed off for a week. And I started losing again. I was going to do 5 days last week, then I realized it was to much , so I did 4 and managed to lose again. I think days I work out I need to eat a little extra or I won't lose. Like today I burned 700 calories doing cardio and weights, so I am going to eat a little bit more calories to balance things out, because I find if I don't eat enough I do not lose

[Cleo's Mom 257]

The same thing happened to me. When I first started back working our, my weight stalled. So I backed off for a week. And I started losing again. I was going to do 5 days last week, then I realized it was to much , so I did 4 and managed to lose again. I think days I work out I need to eat a little extra or I won't lose. Like today I burned 700 calories doing cardio and weights, so I am going to eat a little bit more calories to balance things out, because I find if I don't eat enough I do not lose

If it's calories in vs calories out, please explain to me how burning more calories exercising causes you not to lose weight but reducing workouts and thus calories burned does? I'm confused about the science behind this.

[Acadia 20]

IsAViolinist is correct. It's not just calories in that count.

The scale I have (Onrom Body Sensor) tells me, based on my weight, body fat percentage, and skeletal muscle percentage the number of calories I need to sustain my weight, which is currently around 1,789. So, theoretically, if I keep my activity exactly the same, but limit my caloric intake to 1,200 - I'll lose 1 lbs a week.

If I increase my activity I can lose a little more, but most exercise burns so few calories that they aren't worth doing if you want major results. Stick with things like boxing, kettlebell swings, or heavy weight lifting for a really dramatic weight change. Doing kettlebell swings, 20 minutes, two times a week (total 40 minutes per week of exercise) I'm able to lose 2.2-3.0 lbs per week. So in those mere 40 minutes I'm pumping my body to the point where it burns an extra 7,000 calories a week.

** Something very important to note, as your body fat percentage goes down and your muscle percentage goes up your BMR (calories required to keep your weight the same) will go up. Muscle needs more calories than fat to survive - not many, but a few extra. That's why people who are really active need thousands of calories per day to fuel themselves (think Michael Phelps and his 12,000 calorie days during heavy training).

As for those of you who aren't seeing results and are hitting the gym 5-7x a week. Stop going so much. Seriously. Give yourself at least 24-48 hours between workouts. You can't build muscle unless you give the torn muscle fibers time to heal. If you work out every day you're not giving your body any time to heal. And when you're at the gym, do your heavy weight workout first (if you can do more than 5-8 reps with the weights they're too light), then do your cardio. Also - eat a high Protein meal an hour BEFORE you go to the gym. Your body needs the fuel before, not after.

Trust me, you'll see amazing results.

[Jess55 97]

I know, and like I said earlier calories in bs calories out works, but I dont know there seem to be exceptions. I am eating much less than I used to but if my calories go to low I do not lose. And that seems to not only be with my food. If I do to much exercise with out eating a little more, I do not lose. Not sure why

[Perk25 0]

Your body needs fuel to work on if you eat to little your body goes into starvation mode and will hold on to everything you eat and store it as fat because it thinks you are starving, thats why you can eat 600 calories a day and workout and not lose any weight. Drinking a Protein shake or adding a little extra lean chicken or fish on days you workout will help keep your metabolism up so you burn calories, and if you are only eating a couple hundred calories and you are losing weight it's probably because you are losing your muscle mass, which is not good because your muscle helps you burn calories.

[dcowens 2]

Thank you for this post!!!! It was really helpful to me. =)

[stargate713 0]

You can "do the math" all day long...but the human body is a remarkable machine which is always striving for balance and homeostasis. It's a symphony of systems that must work in tandem....and if something is out of balance, one area will take over until it's reestablished