When it comes to losing weight, the specifics are fairly straightforward: In order to shed pounds, you need to burn more calories than you take in every day. For most people, doing this requires a combination of diet -- to reduce your daily calorie intake -- and exercise -- to increase your daily calorie burn. If you want to lose 10 pounds, counting calories is the simplest and most effective way to achieve the results you want.
The Facts
One pound is equal to 3,500 calories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means you'll need to cut 35,000 calories to lose 10 lbs. You can safely cut between 500 and 1,000 calories per day as long as you keep your total daily calorie count above 1,200. You can also use physical activity to burn calories. How many calories you burn during a particular exercise depends on your current weight and intensity, but getting 30 to 45 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity exercise every day should average out to an additional pound per week of weight loss. Expect it to take between five to 10 weeks to lose 10 lbs.
Calories in Your Diet
One way to reduce your daily calorie intake is to drink only water or seltzer water with a little fruit juice, since drinks account for most people's excess calories every day, says JoAnn E. Manson, chief of the division of preventive medicine at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, in "Glamour" magazine. Cutting out high-calorie coffee drinks, fruit smoothies and sodas can save you between 200 to 600 calories a day if you consume them regularly, says Manson.
Calories from Exercise
If you're in the habit of exercising but can't seem to shake those last 10 lbs., stepping up your aerobic exercise routine and adding strength training to the mix may help you burn those extra calories. Losing weight actually slows down your metabolism over time, so you may need to shock it back into high gear by adding high-intensity intervals to your regular workout, explains Manson. And strength training burns four times as many calories as aerobic exercise, so adding it to your routine can help you burn off those last 10 pounds, says Wayne Westcott, fitness research director at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, in "Glamour" magazine.
Considerations
Losing 10 lbs. changes the number of calories you need every day to maintain your body weight, so going back to your old eating habits will just make you gain back the weight you've lost. To figure out how many calories you need every day to maintain your weight, multiply your current weight by 15.
Member Comments