One pound of fat is comprised of 3,500 calories. Losing 3 pounds of fat is, therefore, as easy as increasing the number of calories you burn, so that you burn an additional 10,500 calories or eat 10,500 calories fewer than you need to for survival. Your body needs a certain number of calories to keep your current weight. If you find out what that number is then you can eat below that number until you lose the three pounds. Diet and exercise together will get you to your goal faster.
Step 1
Use an online resting metabolic rate calculator to estimate your daily caloric needs. Put in your gender, age, weight and height. The number you get is the number of calories you need to eat daily to maintain your current weight. Lower that number by 500 to 1,000 calories to lose between one and two pounds in one week.
Step 2
Plan out your meals with your target calorie goal in mind. Andrea Wenger Hess, a nutritionist at the University of Maryland, suggests planning your meals and "indulgences" to help with your weight loss. She says that budgeting 100 to 200 calories for fun foods that you enjoy will help you stay on track and not give in to cravings.
Step 3
Burn between 250 and 500 calories per day through exercise to lose one to two pounds in one week. Sharon Liao wrote in an article for Shape magazine that combining approximately 250 calories of exercise with 250 calories of calorie restriction will lead to one pound of weight loss. Cutting 1,000 calories a day and burning calories through exercise should help you drop at least two pounds in one week and get you close to your three pound goal quickly.
Step 4
Use an activity calculator or a calorie calculator on a piece of cardio equipment to determine how many calories you have burnt off. Enter in your weight, time, and activity. Be as exact as possible for the most accurate results from the calculator.
Step 5
Stick with the plan until you lose the three pounds. Continue to exercise and eat your resting metabolic rate of calories so you do not put on weight again. Keep exercising for at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week for general health, as advised by the American Obesity Association.
Things You'll Need
- Resting metabolic calculator
References
- Common-Sense Strategies for Long-Term Weight Loss
- "Drop a Pound by Friday;" Shape magazine; Sharon Liao; November 2009
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