3500 Calories (this # is extremely important in weight loss)

How many calories do I need to burn to lose (1) pound?  3500 calories

One pound of body fat is equal to 3500 calories! 

A healthy rate of weight loss is approximatley one to two pounds per week.  If you are losing faste than that you may be losing bone and muscle mass in addition to fat.  In order to average one pound per week it would be necessary to burn an additional 500 calories per day (7 days a week x 500 calories per day = 3500 calories).

If you do not have the time or energy (which we all should find the time, b/c you would have more energy) to burn the additional 500 calories a day you can use a combination of calorie reduction and exercise.  Such as burning 300 calories a day through exercise and reducing calorie intake by 200 calories.

Look at it this way, when that cookie, cake, or any tempting food is taunting you, ask yourself are those calories even worth what it will take to burn it off.  If you really stop and think, you will talk yourself right out of it :-). 

Keep up the good work!