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500 Calories a Day – How to Lose a Pound in a Week

500 Calories a Day - How to Lose a Pound in a Week

If you are seeking to lose weight and reduce body fat in a quick amount of time, then you will need to burn more calories compared to what you are eating – which is through creating a calorie deficit. This is by far the quickest and most beneficial way to lose weight in a short amount of time. You are able to accomplish a calorie deficit through counting calories and reducing the amount of calories you are eating while also increasing the amount of calories that are burned within a workout session. In order to lose a pound, you will need to burn approximately the same number of calories that are found within a pound. This number comes out to around a 500 calorie a day deficit that should lead to weight loss of approximately one pound of fat per week.

Calorie Deficits Explained 

According to a concept called the 3,500 calorie deficit, creating a 500 calorie a day deficit should lead to weight loss of around one pound. While this is true to an extent, the rule may overstate exactly how much weight a person could lose within a week. Within the short-tern, your body could lose a pound a week, but as your body becomes used to this frequency of calorie loss and your metabolism changes, the rate of weight loss may slow. 

Overall, the 3,500 calorie deficit does not account for your metabolism changing or the progress within your weight loss that plays a great role within the amount of fat you will burn further down the road. Having said that, you should still shoot to burn around 500 calories a week for a period of time, and maybe take it up a notch as time progressives and you see your physical changes slowing. While the 3,500 calorie deficit may not be completely accurate, it still rings true that the more calories you burn and less calories you consume will aid you within your weight loss – which is why starting at 500 calories a day is a great starting position. 

How to Reduce Your Calorie Intake 

What are some ways to effectively reduce the amount of calories that your body takes? While it may seem simple to undereat in order to cut calories quickly, it is still important to provide your body with the fuel that is needed in order to effectively run it. Cutting calories too quickly will put your body into starvation mode, which will slow your metabolism down and ultimately make it challenging to lose weight. Eating a well-balanced diet with protein, vegetables, and fruit is the way to go when attempting to lose weight. Get rid of the junk food and put your focus on calories that are nutritional. 

How Exercising Helps With Calorie Elimination

Exercise is extremely important for our bodies and especially for weight loss, but it’s not the only thing that will contribute to your weight loss. It is also important to make sure that you are not overdoing your exercising as well. You want to shoot around for a healthy weight loss of one to two pounds a week, because if you are losing more, you may be losing too much muscle mass in addition with fat. The amount of calories that you burn entirely depend on factors such as activity of choice, level of effort, your weight, metabolism, and time that you are spending exercising. Some of the best exercises for losing weight quickly include the following: 

  • Running (Interval Sprints) – Running and interval sprints is by far one of the most beneficial exercises that will aid your weight loss. What you will need to aim for is running at a steady pace with then exerting all your energy into a sprint. Doing this for period of time will torch calories like never before. 
  • Jogging (6.5 Miles an Hour) – Jogging is one of the most popular exercises to do either outside or on the treadmill. Jogging at approximately 6.5 miles per hour will burn calories substantially and will get you to your goal of 500 calories a day with ease. You will need to run about 5 to 6 miles in order to burn 500 calories, since runners burn around 100 calories a mile. 
  • Swimming – Swimmers are in great shape because the activity uses every muscle group in your body. Swimming at a steady pace for a period of time will allow you to burn the calories you need without even breaking a sweat. 
  • Boxing – Boxers are also in great shape because of the amount of force and energy it takes in order to hit a heavy bag. If you are someone that is seeking to get into boxing and weigh around 200 pounds, then hitting the bag for only 40 minutes will allow you to torch 500 calories easily. 

Below we have supplied a chart of some other great exercises for you to burn 500 calories in a period of time. Within the chart it list your body weight, the time it takes to burn those calories, and the kind of exercise that you are seeking to complete as well. 

Combining Calorie Reduction with Exercise

If you do not have enough time to burn 500 calories a day, then combining calorie reduction with exercise is the route to go. This allows you to cut your exercise time in half while also cutting your calories as well. With this being said, burning 500 calories a day while eating junk food at a consistent rate will not get you to your goal – it will in some ways just even out the amount of calories that you burned for that day. This is why burning a fair amount of calories while also limiting your calories on a day to day basis will get you to where you need in terms of your weight loss. Therefore, get out there and start exercising and get to where you want to be in terms of your weight loss goal!