Fat 2 Fit: Gaining, Losing, or Maintaining Weight
Ready to do some math? To shed pounds, you first need to compute how many calories you take in and burn each day, then subtract from the first column and add to the second.
By: Carole Carson | Source: AARP.org | 2008-12-28
Do you know what the level of activity you typically have and how many calories you burn at that level? Losing or gaining weight is a function of calories in versus calories expended. For example, a typical sedentary woman (age 35 to 50) has a daily allotment of 1,800 calories and a man no more than 2,200. To lose weight, calories need to be reduced and/or more calories need to be burned through exercise.
Walking one mile burns about 100 calories. At a pace of 3 miles per hour (a reasonable gait), it takes almost two hours to burn 500 calories. Walking not only burns calories but also increases white blood cells, which defend against infection.
"No medicine, dietary supplement, or other strategy has emerged to be as powerful as a 30- to 45-minute daily walk," said David Nieman, a professor of health and exercise science.
Playing singles tennis for an hour and 40 minutes burns about 1,000 calories. More time (2 hours and 15 minutes) is required to burn the same number of calories playing doubles.
Since one pound on average is equivalent to 3,500 calories, a 500-calorie daily deficit translates into a reduction of one pound a week, a safe level of weight loss. To achieve this deficit, experts recommend burning about 250 calories daily and eating about 250 fewer calories each day.
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