What's In a Pound?

Have you ever stopped and thought about how many calories it takes to gain or lose just one pound? I definitely have and after doing some research and through classes toward my degree, I have discovered that it equates to about 3,500 calories! Thousands of calories! It is overwhelming when you first think about it but it isn't impossible.

To possibly lose a pound in one week, if you are lucky, you need to burn up 3,500 calories in that time period. An easy way to conquer those calories is to divide them up by week. When you do that, you only have to think about burning 500 calories per day! Doesn't that sound much better? Another thing that will help is to do the same thing to the amount of calories you ingest per day. Decrease your calories by 500 per day and you are more likely to lose that pound faster than if you were just exercising.

Personally, that feels a lot easier to manage especially since I love to eat. I have discovered my passion for healthier living while at college but it doesn't help that I love to eat and I tend to be very picky about my food. But I have set a challenge to myself to be more open to different food, particularly vegetables because I know that without changing your diet along with exercising, you won't really go anywhere. But I am realistic and you should be also, that we are human and will make mistakes. If you are too strict on yourself with your diet and exercise, it will only hurt you later on by taking out the fun and joy out of living health.

So remember, work hard for what you want but go easy on yourself when you make mistakes.