Lose one pound a week

How To Lose One Pound A Week

You might ask, “How can I lose one pound a week?” Would you like to lose one pound a week until you reach a weight goal that suits you?

It’s way too easy to gain an extra pound in just one day.

However even worse, it takes much longer to lose that one pound!

Here’s why. And read to the end…

One Pound equals about 3,500 calories

It is well documented that approximately 3,500 calories is what goes into each pound of your overall weight.

Do you know how darn easy it is to consume 3,500 calories?
(You probably know)

The thing is, do you know how darn hard it is to rid your weight of those 3,500 calories?
(you probably know)

In one sitting you might eat too much and too many calories. A big meal and all those sweets. Or simply too many oversize meals in one day (and too many sweets / sugars). Adult beverages really pack in the calories too!

Just one day of over indulgence could take an entire week of a calorie deficient diet to just break even! It’s cruel, I know. But that’s the math.

3500 divided by 7 days equals 500 calories per day

That’s right. If you want to lose one pound of weight (each and every one), you will need to eat roughly 500 calories LESS per day for a week. And that’s not less than 3,500, that’s less than a ‘normal’ diet where you would remain even…

You gotta pay to play. Losing weight is the ‘pay’ part.

How many calories in a normal diet?

An average person will burn about 2,000 calories per day. This figure will vary somewhat depending on age, gender, and activity.

Eating (and drinking) roughly 2,000 calories per day is an approximate normal consumption with some variables. A 2,000 calorie daily intake will remain approximately weight neutral.

Diet reduction to 1,500 calories per day

For most average people, they will have to give up 500 calories per day for a week to lose one pound of weight gained during that single day of indulgence.

Arghhhhh!

Embrace the suck.

That said, you can do it. Here’s how:

Think about your normal eating habits throughout a typical day and week.

Chances are that there’s something in there that’s extra high in calories that you could give up or substitute. You’ve got to find 500 calories somewhere. I’ll bet that you can.

Find That One Thing

We all have different eating and drinking habits.

Some of you may drink soda. Well each can is at least 150 calories, maybe more. Give it up. Drink water for a week instead. Better yet, give up the soda!

Sweets. Sugar is LOADED with calories. And you may be shocked to discover how much sugar is in the foods and snacks that you might be eating each day. If you give up the sweets, you will likely have found your way to lose that pound each week (or more!).

Maybe you drink that special coffee mix at Starbucks. Any idea how many calories are in all that extra stuff that’s mixed in with it?

Alcohol. It’s packed with calories. Lots. Maybe you cut back a bit for awhile to lose that weight.

I don’t have to spell it all out for you, because you already know your guilty pleasures in this regard.

Choose your 500 calories per day ‘thing’ to give up.
Stick with it for awhile to lose that pound.

Lose One Pound

Weight Loss Tip #1

I can nearly guarantee that if you simply substitute water instead of your other beverages for one week, you will likely have found your 500 calories per day!

Weight Loss Tip #2

Calories can also be burned off with exercise. While it may take an hour on a treadmill to just burn a few hundred calories, it will also get your metabolism going which will further enhance your body burning calories for a time afterwards.

Start Now

Given that the date of this post is January 1, New Years Day, I’ll bet many of you have a resolution to lose some weight. Hopefully this little bit of advice will get you on your way!

This is the scale that I use. It’s one of the best rated on amzn:
>> Etekcity Digital Body Weight Bathroom Scale

[ Read: 5 Benefits Of Exercise And Physical Activity ]

[ Read: Get Outside Into The Real World – Walk, Look, Listen ]

77 Comments

  1. Ken,
    Happy New Year to you and yours. Good article, right to point. I managed to lose about 20# in 2017 cutting out pop and replacing it with water. Also, switched from sugar to stevia in my coffee and iced tea. Every little bit helps!

    1. Minerjim-one of the first things I did when I started my weight loss phase, was to switch from regular soda to diet soda. I had no idea how many calories regular soda had-it’s crazy!

      1. Size, Get rid of the soda entirely. Your body doesn’t know what to do with those chemicals and it sits in your liver making you sick. There has been research linking Parkinson’s to diet soda.

        1. DAMedinNY-thanks for the concern but I’m in excellent health by every marker my doctor uses and he’s totally fine with my diet soda intake (we’ve discussed it in-depth). I have no health problems, take no meds and maintain a bmi of a 21. Doing pretty good over here :)

        2. Hate to diss your doctor, but doctors are not geniuses, they’re human, and many probably study these things less than most of us HERE do. I LOVE my naturopathic Doctor, but I have found that she doesn’t know some of the things I know. SO ABOUT DIET SODA. Aspartame and Sucralose, the major sweeteners in diet soda cause Cancer, (some few info. you may find disagree, but it is probably put out by the sugar or soda industry), and the caramel coloring in dark colored soda is poison and carcinogenic. I STRONGLY suggest you do your own research. . . . To Your Health!

        3. . . . I would rather have sugar than those carcinogens. You may be okay NOW, but get cancer or kidney or liver failure down the road from consuming too much, like a friend of mine did.

        4. Spirit Filled Lady;
          My late wife drank 3-5 Cokes a day, please note the “Late”, passed of Cancer. She was healthy as a horse, eat well and took very good care of herself, till the Cancer popped up, yes I BLAME the Coke.

        5. . . . however, refined sugar is poison too, as I KNOW you being diabetic well know. Blessings to you. I’m going to look into IF.

        6. NRP and Svzee too
          I’m so sorry to hear that NRP. (Was it diet soda or regular? It doesn’t matter, BOTH are poison, just curious). My friend sucked on diet soda for years. I tried to get him to drink the wonderful mountain water we have here in Oregon with lemon juice, or a few drops cinnamon oil. He switched to regular soda and got kidney failure. Cinnamon and lemon juice make it taste sweet and both help with weight loss! Lemon balances PH, and cinnamon balances blood sugar. I put one or both in my water and keep by my side. I truly believe the cinnamon keeps my weight down. Bless You.

        7. Spirit Filled Lady;
          Just good old regular Coke Cola.
          You know, the stuff that if you spill it on Concrete it will eat through if given enough time.

        8. NRP, :). On a side note, I saw a discussion you had with someone thanking you for posting about tumeric. Would you mind elaborating? I’m new here today, so this might not be the right thread. How much to use, what kind. I use a product called Super Bio Curcumin from LifeExtension. It is suppoded to be 5x stronger than regular curcumin without having to take 1000s MG’s. of curcumin to keep it in the blood plasma. However, I get it from my doctor and it’s too expensive for how much I take. Here is why I ask: I dont have a kitchen to cook right now, and sometimes I hurt too bad (pinched nerves in spine) for that anyway; when I try to take other supplements with tumeric or curcumin, I get terrible heartburn, and it requires MANY capsules. Your suggestion? Sorry if this is an inappropriate spot for this folks!

        9. Spirit Filled Lady;
          let me finish up my lunch and I will answer you on last Saturdays Article….

    2. I’ve read that the average American eats 1/2 pound of sugar daily. Think about it. sugars are everywhere.

  2. Sigh…yup I too need to shed pounds..
    For myself though, I have found if I say/think “diet” or such, it has the opposite “effect”..

    what I have been working on (instead), for some time now,
    is simply eating healthier.
    –Eating more vegetables.
    –Making a point of putting a bit less on plate, and then asking myself “am I hungry?”…
    –Taking smaller portions in general
    –etc

    sadly I cannot claim this has resulted in noticeable weight loss, but I do believe that over time it will. At any rate, I seem to be healthier than most I know…(even though overweight). My blood pressure and cholesterol are good, and I do not take meds..

    I will just keep plugging away at “healthier habits”, and hope that it eventually results in weight loss….

    1. Anon, please look up “Intermittent Fasting “ and “Alternate Day Fasting” on YouTube.
      I have personally had very good success so far – I’ve lost 2.5 lbs/week since 11/11.

      1. Mr. Gray

        Thank you for the personal experience/recommendation. I have seen these keep popping up in news/articles. Nice to get a personal view on it. Will check in to it.

      2. Mr. Gray

        when you are on fasting day, what exactly DO you eat/drink? The articles I have read had quite a wide variety ….thks

        1. I have been doing intermittent fasting. The only thing I do is no eating until 12:00. I also cut out extra sweets, not counting what’s in my food naturally. I haven’t drunk sodas in years so that wasn’t a factor. I walk at least 30 minutes a day. I lost a # a week at first but it slowed down to a couple #s a month. That’s alright, the slower the better, stays off longer. I backslid during holidays and paid for it with a 5# gain but I’m back to it and have lost one of those. It’s a lifetime struggle for me but the payment is good health. Best wishes to everyone in this brand new year.

        2. Veggies-what you’re doing now is what I’m doing as part of my maintenance plan-an eating window IF protocol (this is the most popular/common version of IF). I break my daily fast at 11am-noon and then stop consuming calories at 7pm.
          One thing about this method though is that it does not have a calorie deficit built in, like alternate IF or 5:2IF has, and you still need to make sure that you’re eating at the correct calorie deficit for your weight loss goals.

        3. Most “diets” work. It’s just that most of us don’t stick to them.

          Contrary to what we all keep hearing, you should actually be hungry (but not ravenously hungry) before you eat. Americans have a fear of “hunger” as though it’s instantly fatal or something.

        4. Anon-I did this protocol for my weight loss phase (it’s also called JUDDD/Dr. Johnson’s Up Day Down Day Diet): on my fasting/’down’ days I consumed 300-500 calories (super important that you alternate with maintenance level calorie days and do not do two low calorie days in a row). I ate a lot of veggies, broth, low calorie entrees (Lean Cuisine has some in the 300 calorie range etc), low calorie hot cocoa/water/tea/diet soda etc. The first few times are hard but after you get into the routine it gets a lot easier/is not a big deal.

          A less strict variation of the plan is Dr. Mosley’s 5:2IF protocol, where you only do 2-500 calorie days a week/5 maintenance or close to maintenance days a week. He has a great BBC documentary-Eat, Fast & Live Longer that you can find free online. His book The Fast Diet is also a good read.

          IF is not for everyone, especially those who have a history with EDs, but it’s a legitimate option for some people and for me it worked great :)

        5. Svzee
          Thank you for info. So you do eat “something” on fasting days. I wondered. Lots of different approaches out there, and many suggest even less…but..

          I like yours better.

        6. All the Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig stuff is normal food, just in reasonable portions. The same effect can be obtained by eating reasonable portions of food from the supermarket, but then, Jenny Craig et al would go out of business. Their meals have an incredible markup.

  3. Weight loss, the great American past-time.

    I believe I know where this article came from, sorry all hehehe

    First a quick story of a co-worker. His probably close to 400+ right now, his knees are gone (Dr. told him no knee replacement till he loses weight, period), he just wrecked his back from picking something up, and ha can do nothing but sit at his desk. I mean total wreck.
    Last year 2016 he decided to lose weight. His kids paid for a complete food program, he dropped the 4-5 48oz sodas a day, and he was able to (at the time) walk some. He was doing GREAT, lost 105 pounds over about 5-6 months. Until he started to “sneak” a little, a soda here, a bag of chips there, than he dropped the food program, yes you guessed it, he gained it ALL back in less than 4 months, he literally ballooned. Now he can hardly walk from the parking lot to the office.

    The reason I tell you all this is because you CAN-NOT 100% change your diet with one of those stupid programs and expect it to stay off. I know so many people that have tried so many different CRAPO. The weight loss food programs are a multi-Billion dollar industry, and like my co-worker, it works, till you stop paying hundreds a week for their food.

    Ok, back to reality, the one pound a week, I have been doing great, till I stopped losing weight, than got discouraged, but did lose 20 pounds. Now I’m holding steady, BUT I’m now back on loss mode again, starting today I print out a countdown sheet, one week per line, with the expected weight next to the date, and a Blank for the actual weight for that week. I weighed in this morning, will do in a week, till the end of 2018. I have to say, the full one pound a week is hard to do, and That’s why I dropped it, I’m not modified it to 4/3 pound a week, 40ish pounds by the end of the year….. I will be happy with that.

    BTW, weight comes on very fast and easy, it goes off slow and painfully……

    Back to the Wood Pile fot todays exercise, splitting wood by hand, no machine.

    1. NRP
      hmmmm you wrote “, I’m not modified it to 4/3 pound a week”
      do you mean 3/4? maybe so..grin

    2. NRP-make sure you’re re-running your numbers after every few pounds loss, since you’ll get less calories as your weight drops, (during my weight loss phase I ran my numbers every 5lbs lost and then adjusted).
      Also, pay close attention to your first of month weigh-in and then your last weight-in of the month and use those as your measuring stick for how you’re doing. While I’ve been a daily weigher for around 5 years now, I know that the daily ones don’t mean a whole lot because your weight can fluctuate several pounds a day, due to all sorts of things not fat gain related. Going by first of month/last of month gives you a better pictures of what’s actually happening.

      1. Svzee
        appreciate the input.
        I also have a sure fire way of knowing….
        I look in the mirror and keep asking who that FAT dude looking back is HAHAHA 😁
        Its all good though.

    3. NRP….your posts about tumeric has changed my life. At 47, my doc said I’d need a knee replacement by 50. I was getting injections every 3 months, taking narcotics and anti inflammatories 4 times a day on top of that. I started taking tumeric 1000mgs to start, and i have not needed an injection for over a year. During this year of improvements, i have managed to lose 50 lbs because my pain is so low, that i only need one dose of medicine to get through a 12 hour shift at work. I am so grateful to you and your comments, that I pay it forward every time i see someone walking with arthritic knees. God Bless you fully this year.

      1. Someone else;
        Please lets give the credit whereas the credit is due, I learned of Turmeric from one of Ken’s articles. I, like you, owe Ken a GREAT deal of thanks; it has changed my life for sure. Actually played 18 holes of Golf this past weekend.
        Please if you feel ok with it, let others know of your success and keep up the GREAT work on the weight also
        :-) :-) :-) :-)

  4. I used this formula and lost 15 lbs. in 4 months. I gained 2 lbs. when cooking for Mr. Gene through brain surgery recovery. Am working on that now + the needed loss of 10 more–doing great.

    Women:
    655 + (4.35 X weight); then, add (4.7 X height); then subtract (4.7 X age); then to that total, X 1.2 if sedentary (as I am in winter)………so, my daily need in calories is 1410.
    I can eat 900K each day and lose a lb. a week.

    Don’t get discourgared the first two weeks; it will go slow and then remain a steady loss.

    1. For many people, using the cut-back/diet for two days, then off one day(just necessary calorie intake, no more!!!!) works really well.
      Remember, if you go ‘drastic’, the body will have forgotten what to do with the calories it hasn’t had for many months–use common sense.

  5. Oh those sodas. I once mailed 17 teaspoons of sugar to my youngest son. That is a 21 oz. drink and that is the sugar in one of those drinks. At least I think that is the numbers, close anyway. He was working as a desk clerk in Gatlinburg on the night shift. Had a bad habit. The note said this is what you are drinking, Love Momma. We rarely had sodas around when he was growing up couldn’t afford them and did not really care for them. Oh lets talk bread and butter……………………………

  6. Ahh, one of my favorite topics to read about/discuss :) I’m about 4 1/2 years into maintaining a 50lb weight loss. This makes me a statistical freak of nature, since around 80% of people regain their lost weight within two years, and most times gain even more than they initially lost. Besides the weight loss/maintaining the loss, I’ve normalized a pre-diabetic glucose number and the rest of my blood work is now stellar. I maintain a bmi of around a 21, and I’m also a part of the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), and my data is being used in some of their research studies, which is pretty cool :)

    For my weight loss phase I did an IF protocol (intermittent fasting), and now in maintenance I do another version of IF. It works well for me and makes the whole thing fairly simple. But Ken is spot on-weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance comes down to calories. Any program or ‘guru’ who tells you differently is trying to make a buck or is just ignorant.

    If anyone has any questions/needs help getting started (or needs help with transitioning from the weight loss phase to the maintenance phase), just let me know!

    1. Svzee, Transitioning from weight loss to maintenance phase sounds like a good topic for another separate related article. If you feel so inclined, write something up and email it to me for posting as an article ;)

      It’s difficult enough to lose weight. But to stay that way (maintenance) without reverting back to weight gain is a big issue too.

      1. I’d love to put something together, I’m starting my new job tomorrow so give me a few days to get situated with that and then I’ll work on it :)

  7. About 45 years ago, I lost close to 150# of unwanted weight with just one trip to divorce court. I felt a lot better.

    CD in Oklahoma

    1. Thats funny, same here, lost 160# of hateful unwanted weight, few months later i felt too skinny and put on 120# of sexyness!

  8. The calorie math is just the beginning.
    If you want to experience serious weight loss, look on YouTube for “intermittent fasting” or “alternate day fasting”.

    1. Mr. Gray-I used alternate day intermittent fasting for my weight loss phase and now I do 16:8IF as part of my maintenance plan :)

      1. I’m using IF right now. I have 73 lbs to lose – I’m down 18 so far, since 11/11. That’s about 2.5 lbs/week.
        If I remain on schedule I’ll be at my high school weight of 185 in mid-July.
        Intermittent fasting has worked better for me than anything else I’ve ever tried.

  9. The word diet has a temporary connotation to it. Perhaps it is simpler to say, “I will not eat anything with sugar in it ever again.” After a period of adjustment say”I will never eat bread, potatoes, rice or pasta again.” Done!

    1. Skeezix-you actually just hit on one of the big pitfalls that people fall into with weight loss/maintenance-the idea that you have to permanently cut out the foods you like, in order to be successful. This just sets you up for frustration, failure and many times leads to the vicious cycle of yo-yo dieting.
      A more realistic and sustainable approach is to learn how to eat all the foods you like, within your weight management goals. There’s nothing wrong with sugar, bread, potatoes rice etc etc-I eat them all on a regular basis, while maintaining my weight loss and better health markers. However, I’ve learned how to fit them into my calorie targets and how to eat them in the correct portion sizes. I had to learn that I control food-it does not control me. This gives me the freedom to eat what I enjoy, and the power to walk away from it when it’s time to be done with it :)

    2. See, that’s another thing. I don’t stop anything.
      I will have a soda with popcorn every now and then; I love pasta–I just eat half what I used to; not a big bread lover, but crackers every now and then; potatoes also, but in moderation.
      I didn’t make it to 25 lbs. loss because Mr. Gene had surgery. But, even eating again– and I was cooking to help him regain the 25 lbs. he lost— I still gained only 2 lbs. in 3 months, so that wasn’t like I was pigging out.
      I think I just know now how to eat smart.

  10. Good evening, Everyone,

    Another thing to keep in mind is real food is satisfying…

    A few decades ago I feared “fat” all the marketing was eat low-fat etc…

    That really messed up my health and hormones, I was eating too high carbs (sometimes binge eating carbs) and not enough protein and healthy fat…I also struggled with anxiety badly…

    Your brain needs good fat to function properly…healthy fats are needed for good hormone production and also our nerve cell “axions” are covered with a layer of fat, if you are not eating enough fat you may feel poorly and/or have huge cravings because your body is not satisfied

    Also for carb high complex carbs are very satisfying…
    especially oatmeal, a long slow burn…there are many tasty things to do with oatmeal

    sweet potatoes too

    I like use organic cold pressed olive oil or organic unrefined cold pressed coconut oil throughout the day’s food

    seeds are good too very healthy! Chia, flax, pumpkin, sunflower, hemp, sesame…

    (good combo of protein and fat)
    Also eggs are good too!

    Also many processed foods can contain “flavor” enhancers like “natural flavor” “yeast extract”, hydrolyzed protein and other MSG derivatives…these chemicals are loaded with “free glutamic acid” in extremely high amounts…these are known as “excitotoxins” and/or “neurotoxins” which stimulate the brain to crave more of it!

    The long and short of it is, when I learned to eat good proteins and fats and eliminate artificial chemicals from my diet may weight has stayed good…

    Peace and Good Health to all!

    1. Shepherdess
      You are right on in every regard. Protein and fat satisfy way longer, and more protein than carbs causes weight loss. Calorie or portion size does not matter if we get enough protein and fat like “cavemen” did. Refined carbs and chemicals are the real problem. My problem is affording the protein foods . . . And NOW, unfortunately, I don’t want to eat animal foods, because of Fukushima radioactive iodine and particles in rain water and subsequently in all food, and cows, chickens. especially ocean fish, meat, eggs, and dairy have the highest accumulation because they are the top of the food chain (((DISGUSTED)) (((SAD))). . .

  11. Happy New Year everyone!
    I’m one of the folks here who will be working on the 1-lb per week goal.
    Over the years I’ve tried low-fat, low calorie, low carb ( I was really hating that one), counting points, joining a gym – all totally unrealistic for long-term weight loss. So for me, this going to come from a combo of changes I need to make: smaller portions (except more veggies) and more exercise. I spend way too much time driving both a car and a desk, and not enough time walking. After my hysterectomy last year my hormones were way out of whack and made things worse.
    Thankfully I don’t have to lose 100#, or anything as drastic as that, but I’d feel a lot better if I could end 2018 down about 30#.

      1. Hi Mr Gray,
        Thank you for the encouragement – I want to keep it realistic.
        Happy New year to you!

  12. Believe me, I am no health-food nut or diet fad nut.
    BUT –
    Please look into the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar.

  13. Hi again. Have not had time yet to catch up to all the post.
    BUT wanted to suggest something to read…. again, beleive So Cal Gal suggested “The End of Food”. If you want to know the problem with OUR weight…. Read the book…. frightening.

    1. NRP,
      The End of Food was suggested by BJH – I read it after he wrote about it and it was frightening to me as well. I stopped reading Atlas Shrugged to read that, then went straight back to AS. No wonder I’m all fired up lately!

      If anyone hasn’t read The End Of Food yet, I’ll add re-add my suggestion to BJH’s and NRP’s – it’s an important read. It’s covers a lot of important info about our entire food chain as well as the politics that have messed with food at every stage from seed to the retail store.

      1. SoCalGal,
        Happy new year!
        The book really puts the puzzle pieces together.
        Just the insidious behavior of all these cretins makes my blood boil…
        We are surrounded by very evil characters hiding in plain site…

      2. So Cal Gal;
        Thank you for the “credit” correction, and Thank you Bill Jenkins Horse for the read…… Holy Cow people, ya-all need to read this.
        Makes me shutter just to walk into a Food Store anymore.

    2. I ordered the book last week. It’s on the to do list for after I finish Atlas Shrugged. I’m going to flip a coin to decide if I read it or one of Lauren’s books first.

      I started to pack it on after I quit smoking. Metabolism slows after you quit. Food seems to stay in your gut longer giving you a chance to absorb more of the calories in it before passing it back out.

      I’ve been considering a MRE diet. So many of the non-military MREs are lacking in calories. Portions are rather on the small side but at an average of 300 calories I could eat 5 of them and still only be doing 1500 a day. A bit heavy on the salt for my taste. Prego, Hormel, Cambell’s and Walmart , Target and Sam’s carry them. I have enough in the car to last a week if I’m walking home. I would certainly have lost a couple of pounds if by the time I walked a hundred miles.

      Actually when I look in the mirror I don’t look bad. Youthful in my appearance and nicely proportioned. Until I turn sideways and then notice I resemble a pear. My hair looks nice until you look at the top of my head. I’m starting to look like Friar Tuck there!

      My resolution for the year is to lose more weight and get more exercise. Also hoping to do more fishing. Somebody once told me that there are no fat fish because most fish eat fish. On a boat in the ocean you are almost constantly moving as the your body wants to naturally stay upright. When the boat rocks to the left you will tend to tilt yourself to the right. DW and I were tremendously fit after spending many months on our sailboat. In port we also walked just about everywhere. Maybe I should just go sailing again to lose weight.

  14. How about water retention? I can put on and lose several pounds a day with water gain and loss.

    1. Old Chevy-that’s normal fluctuations and is part of how our body works :) I can fluctuate several pounds a day due to all sorts of things-hormones/time of month, digestion periods/elimination timing, what time of day I weigh myself, sodium intake the day before etc. And then things like batteries getting old on the scale, taking a shower before weighing, (you’ll usually see an uptick on the scale afterwards), moving the scale to a different area in the house/set on a different floor, using a different scale (Dr. vs your personal one) etc etc.
      That’s why I pay attention to my first weight in of the month and then compare it to my last weigh in of the month. I’m a daily weigher but I realize that there will be all sorts of fluctuations from day to day.

  15. And, one more thing to consider and I’ll hush.
    I am small-framed, and only 5′ 1″. So, I didn’t realize just what I had lost (15 lbs.) till I put on jeans and shirts I couldn’t wear for 5 years.
    15 lbs. for many is not much; for me it was a lot.

    1. JJ-also, the lower body weight you get, the more noticeable a pound or two can make! Also-after your weight loss phase your body will continue to change shape for several months, even if your weight is static.

  16. Sex! Massive, full-throttle, uninhibited, unrushed, toe-curling, kindred spirit, athletic, gymnastic, bombastic, gold medal worthy tango between the sheets until dawn. It leaves less time to stuff one’s face with comfort/depression food, while providing a full body and soul aerobic-cardio workout of muscles you never knew you had. Done right, it’s good for an easy 30 pound drop in six months. Done with someone you love… it will inspire more sophisticated taste in much healthier food too. ….don’t ask. Just trust me. 230 down to 185, five months. Helluva lot better than “fasting” ugh. Judge not! For I am on point and correct. … What??! No one mentioned it yet. Just trying to help.

    1. McGyver-there’s actually been studies done on calories burned through sex and unfortunately it’s not that many sigh… lol :)

  17. to McGyver:

    umm… I hate to be the buzzkill on the subject of sex butt for those kinds of bedroom antics, you should get your annual check up to include a 12 lead EKG prior to engaging in such antics.

    Having driven ambulance from long ago, I can say that the event that precipitated a cardiac event ( terminal or merely embarrassing) was the sexual act regardless of the use of props, costumes, harnesses, swings or mirrors suspended from the ceiling. Most other cardiac events are found to be sitting on the commode. ( never underestimate the Valsalva maneuver – it is Not found in the Kama Sutra or any sex manual that I am aware of.)

    Me? I will not have sex with you McGyver as you are a dude I and I do not play that way. ( and my wife would kick my A$$!) Some calories are burned from sex butt it is more akin to running a 100 yard dash as opposed to a 10 K foot race ( 6.2 miles)

    My weight loss plan? I have not read a reply that mentions the widespread use of Corn Syrup in processed foods. There is much mentioned of sugar being evil but, I still use both sugar and honey in SMALL Quantities. I am trying to cook and eat at home and to avoid eating at any fast food franchise. Burger and fries are a 1x per week thing at good, sit-down establishment that my wife and I enjoy together. If we get fries at all, it is a small portion and I may end up throwing away a portion of it at the end of the meal.

    I pass through a fast food gauntlet on my way home. Late at night, they are the only establishments open. Each night I drive past the gauntlet and get my butt home to feed my dog and toothless cat before I sit down with a bowl of vegetable soup and 2 drinks at the end of my workday. I also think of the money saved as each fast food meal will cost $6-7 per meal versus a can of soup that will set me back on average $1-2.

    I have never been grossly overweight butt I have been heavy enough that I did not feel good and my stamina dropped ( in the bedroom as well McGyver.) and my blood pressure began to climb. This is a bad direction for me and I know my family history. (heart attack and stroke) so I choose to eat right, in moderation and exercise.

    My dog is great motivator for getting me up and moving as well as the length of my grass in the yard during the warmer months. I am holding steady at 180 lbs and am working on getting to 170 lbs. I am not going to try for my high school weight because I was a distance runner putting in 100+ mile weeks back then. ( 35 + years ago and 52 lbs ago. ).

    1. Hi CaliRefugee,

      Huh… this is the first time I’ve been up for work at this hour in three months. Actually my wake up call was my blood pressure. A couple of years ago it had skyrocketed, real bad, stage 3+. What’s worse is that nothing except for one drug could even touch it. And the one that did work, dropped it like a stone, way too hard and only for an hour or so before rebounding. The soul-crushing stress and non-stop harassment at my last job just about did me in. Being suddenly liberated from that nightmare gave me time to work on this problem. Now it’s at least somewhat manageable and without drugs too. No dudes, umm dude. Almost up-chucked my morning non-caffeinated beverage. No props or swing sets. But, errr, no “100 yard dash” either. Ain’t sayin’, just sayin’.

  18. Weight loss
    Eat less, Move more.
    Eat Right. Move Responsibly.
    AND get a Dog, they not only help with the exercise, they eat 1/2 the dinner :-)

  19. Diet and exercise cannot be separated; one has an effect on the other. The more exercise you get the better you feel mentally and physically; which results in better eating habits. A good diet benefits a fit body – making it easier and more enjoyable to exercise.
    I just saw a $450 value video exercise program on an infomercial offered for 4 easy payments of guess how much.. $19.95! But if you call now, the first 200 will only have to make 3 easier payments of $19.95 plus they get a free 10 minute video of some extra workouts. I got a better workout plan, turn off the TV and go for a walk, it doesn’t cost you anything. Which I did at -5 F.

  20. I just think back to my college days when I didn’t have any money. Well, most of my childhood we didn’t have any money. I would go to bed extremely hungry some nights. So I let my tummy growl occasionally although I doubt I’ll ever be that thin again!

    1. Victoria
      Been there done that, hence I carry a lot of my food preps with me…… 🙄

  21. What worked for me was writing down every single thing I ate, including the item’s calorie value, and keeping a running tally of my calorie count for the day. It was an absolute chore to do this every day, but it worked. It let me pace my eating to get through the day. It also made me more aware of just how much I was eating. Finally, I sometimes would skip a snack because I didn’t want to have to look up the calorie value and fetch my notebook. I averaged a loss of about a pound and a half per week.

    1. Lestalt-there’s several online calorie trackers/diaries available and I’ve tried them all-hands down the best is My Fitness Pa-free to use and it has a huge database of foods. I’ve used that site on and off for a few years now to track calorie intake/macros etc. If you gravitate towards a more whole foods way of eating then Cronometer is another great tracking option-gives a crazy detailed breakdown of micros etc.

  22. Good morning all! Our family changed our diets a few years back when we noticed everyone in our age group was on meds and feeling poorly. Started doing some reading and found we weren’t eating healthy enough even though we ate at home most of the time and home cooked meals.

    Take processed foods out of your diet. When you eat, eat fresh and raw as much as possible. Get animals proteins that you know how they were raised – without antibiotics and hormones, non GMO, etc. get back to basics and you will feel 100 percent better and your blood work will reflect your improved health.

    Do I backslide once in awhile? Yes. Especially when on the road visiting family or friends. And I don’t feel as good as when. I eat at home. But I just move forward and get back to my routine.

    By the way, that flu bug was good for keeping any extra Christmas weight off. Not what I would prefer, but it worked. Unfortunately, it also made me nonproductive for a couple weeks. I wish Good health to all of you for this new year and congrats to all of you working so hard to get the pounds off.

    1. DamedinNY-I actually improved all my health markers while still eating a very ‘processed’ diet-GMO foods, HFCS, foods modified to be ‘diet’ foods etc. The only thing I changed was I started consuming fewer calories and with that came weight loss and better health, (my pre-diabetic glucose number dropped into the 80s, total cholesterol in the 150 range/triglycerides in the 40s etc). I didn’t exercise at all during my weight loss phase either.

      A few years into maintenance I still eat out a few times a week, eat lots of ‘processed’ foods etc, along with lots of veggies, whole grains, lean meats etc. I just eat all the foods that I like, within the parameters of my calorie targets, and I’m in excellent health-go figure :)

      You might be interested in looking up the infamous ‘Twinkie Guy’-a teacher who ate only Hostess cakes as a science experiment and not only lost weight but also improved all his health markers. Or watch Fat Head-where a comedian only eats McDonalds for a month and loses weight/improves health markers. It does make you wonder a bit and I do think weight, genetics, and environmental issues impact our health a lot more than we realize?

      Ken-sorry I’ve totally highjacked the comment section for this post! This is my favorite topic to read about/discuss though, since its been such a big part of my life these past few years.

  23. I started walking a fast mile a day, burning 100 calories since the 1st,, and get a cardio workout for 15 minutes. I have cut down on calories eating too, which doubles the weight loss. Although I don’t use a scale, I use measurements around my waist, hips, chest and thighs. It keeps the shock away on how many pounds I weigh!

    1. Stardust-great job! You can also use a pair of jeans as an indicator of how you’re doing-pick one pair and try them on a couple times a month and see how they fit-if they’re getting loose on you then you know you’re heading in the right direction!

Comments are closed.