The magic number for losing/gaining a pound of fat is 3,500 calories (on average, although every person could have a slightly different number to coerce their body into letting fat go). So, every time you get in 3,500 calories worth of exercise mixed with diet, you are going to lose 1 pound of body fat (keeping in mind that it takes fewer calories to burn a pound of muscle, and to burn off “water weight”). Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Such exceptions generally come when exercising raises the resting metabolic rate higher and therefore allows the person to burn more calories than just what is burned during the workout (burning calories for up to 12 hours after exercise). Also, in a state of ketogenesis, such as that induced by both large quantities of exercise and low-carbohydrate diets, a person can burn a greater number of calories than what they would from just exercise alone. So, it is thought that in such situations, the rule of 3,500 calories is not necessarily broken, but seems to be slightly modified due to extra chemical reactions in the body that may be more eager than usual to release fat.

However, for simplicity’s sake, let us just assume that each of us will have to cause a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose weight. So, to do this, you could cut back 3,500 calories from your diet (such as reducing 500 calories per day for a week) or by exercising to burn an extra 3,500 calories (such as burning 250 calories per day for two weeks) or by using a combination of the two. In general, it is thought to be much better to have at least some of your caloric deficit from exercise. By placing all the emphasis on diet (especially when people cut their calories to less than 1,800/1,500, etc), people often find that they are far more likely to hit plateaus and have a harder time losing weight (remember that exercise helps you to burn calories even after you are done exercising). This is in part due to the fact that the body has a “starvation mode” of sorts that dislikes having a large, sudden change in caloric intake. Especially if that intake is maintained for longer than 3 days (a dieting technique called “cycling” involves dieting for 2 days followed by 1 day of intake at the body’s “even” level). Also, without exercise, people are very likely to lose muscle mass (thus decreasing how many calories their bodies burn each day making it harder to lose weight).

So, we need to use up an extra 3,500 calories to lose a pound. It is also best that we incorporate at least some exercise into our routine. OK. What else should we do? Well, it is very important to keep in mind that there are two types of exercise that can help us loose weight in different ways. Weight training builds muscle mass which can help raise our resting metabolic rate permanently (RMR or BMR; the energy our body burns just to keep us alive). It is estimated that every pound of muscle gained will burn an extra 35-50 calories per day. Cardiovascular exercise helps to burn potentially large amounts of calories immediately, and can also raise the RMR temporarily for up to 12 hours after exercise. Increasing flexibility and recovery by stretching is also very important. Stretching properly during warming up and cooling down helps to elongate the muscles, making you less stiff and sore from training your body.

Now, there are two more important things to remember about losing weight. One is that it takes fewer calories to burn a pound of muscle than a pound of fat. That means, your body may try to burn your muscle instead of your fat (which we definitely don’t want since that lowers our RMR). Strength training is the perfect way to combat this. Even light strength training for “tone” and weight bearing exercises will help to preserve muscle mass (weight bearing including walking/running for your legs and exercises like push ups/situps for the rest of your body). Another important aspect is that water is essential! The body can lose water surprisingly fast when a person starts an exercise regime. Dehydration can make you feel fatigued and hungry at least, and at worse make you extremely sick. So, remember to drink lots of water! It is a good idea to take a water bottle to the gym and refill it several times during your workout (also remembering to drink water BEFORE your workout). A person should drink a bare minimum of around 64 ounces of water per day. The more you are going to exercise, the more water you should drink.

Also, always keep in mind any physical limitations you may have. Please see a doctor if there are any questionable health issues that may make dieting or exercising dangerous for you. Also, start slowly with exercise and gradually work the time and intensity up (there’s nothing worse than an overenthusiastic first day followed by stiff, sore muscles the next day). Also, it is far better to get into a steady routine than to push yourself several hours, then wait a week to exercise again. It is recommended to get at least 30 minutes of at least light exercise each day (although this can be walking to the store, climbing stairs, gardening, playing with cute animals, or anything else that is an everyday activity as well). Again, strength training is also good to throw in as well as cardiovascular exercise that raises your heart rate more so than everyday light exercise (raising the heart rate during exercise “tones” the heart in much the same way as strength training tones the muscles, making it stronger and healthier).

Strength training can be as simple as doing push ups, sit ups, squats, laying down and lifting your legs up and down in the air (if you are a heavier person, exercises including using gravity against your arms/legs will be especially effective), curling canned goods, lifting groceries, or as involved as using weight machines that target specific muscle groups. There are all kinds of creative ways to build muscle, including using your own body as resistance (pushing your palms against each other, pushing your leg against your arm, leg against leg, etc), using objects like door frames/walls (doing squats/lunges or “pushing” against it with your arms/legs), or using machines. Also, you can always make cheap at-home versions of free weights using canned goods, blocks of wood, textbooks, or any other heavy objects that you can think to use to exercise your muscles.