Maintaining a normal weight for your height and age is important for disease prevention and longevity. Food intake and daily exercise are two essential components of the weight loss dynamic that you can control. Weight control and fitness pay multiple dividends, such as an improved physical appearance, enhanced self esteem and better control over the destiny of your physical being.
The Formula
One lb. equals 3,500 calories. To lose 10 lbs. in one month, you have to burn 35,000 calories per month or 8,700 more calories per week more than the number of calories you consume. This is equivalent to 1,250 more calories per day burned in excess of your daily caloric intake.
Diet
If your daily caloric intake is 1,200 calories, then the number of calories you have to burn daily to lose a target weight 10 lbs. in one month would be 1, 200 + 1, 250 = 2, 450 calories per day. Men should use a daily intake of 1500 calories for this equation.
Application
The formula for losing 10 lbs. in one month, or 2.5 pounds per week is: Intake of 1,200 calories - 2, 450 calories burned = - 1, 250 or 1, 250 more calories burned than consumed per day. Within one week, these calories burned in excess of those consumed equals 1, 250 x 7 = 8,750 calories or 2.5 pounds lost.
Calculation of Daily Calories Burned
The calorie burn calculator at the Discovery Health website allows you to plug in your current weight and daily activities to get an estimate of how many calories you burn in a day. According to Discovery Health's activity calculator, a person weighing 160 lbs., who sleeps eight hrs per day, works at a desk for seven hours per day, spends one hour showering, and several hours on the phone and watching TV, burns an estimated 2,050 calories per day. With a daily caloric intake of 1200 calories, this individual would burn only 850 calories per day more than what is consumed. In order to lose 10 lbs. in one month, an additional 400 calories per day would have to be burned.
Activity Selection According to Calories Burned
The amount of calories burned per hour for a given activity varies according to the weight of the person and the level of physical exertion involved in the activity. To burn an additional 400 calories per day, a type and duration of exercise that would burn the necessary calories would have to be engaged in daily.
Calories Burned by Activity
High-impact aerobics and stationary rowing will burn 511 calories per hour, according to the list of physical activities and calories burned provided by the Mayo Clinic.com website. To burn 400 calories, these exercises need to be engaged for slightly less than one hour daily. Jumping rope on the other hand, burns 730 calories per hour and a stair treadmill burns 657 calories per hour. Engaging in these activities would further reduce exercise duration. The type of exercise and the amount of time spent exercising can be adjusted to meet the target amount for calories burned. Always discuss exercise and weight loss plans with a qualified health care professional to ensure safety.
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