You’ve probably heard that the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you eat.
But how do you know exactly how many calories your body needs each day? And what happens if you don’t meet those calorie requirements?
The best way to lose weight is by eating less, moving more, and using a combination of diet and exercise. If this sounds like something out of an infomercial, it’s because it sort of is.
How Many Calories Should You Burn Per Day To Lose Weight?
If you’re eating 500 calories less than your body needs per day, you will lose one pound per week.
There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. If you cut 500 calories from your diet for seven days, that would equate to three pounds of weight loss. Assuming there are 7 days in a week, that would only be around half a pound of weight loss per day.
According to the experts, if you cut 500 calories from your diet every day for two months, you’d shed 10 pounds.
If you’re eating 500 fewer calories than your body needs each day (for example, 1,500 instead of 2,000), you will lose one pound per week.
If it has been 300 days since you began this regimen, then theoretically speaking you should weigh 14 pounds less than when you started out at 2,000 calories each day.
To lose one pound in seven days requires an average deficit of 500 calories per day over that period of time. The calorie requirements vary between men and women, with an average woman requiring 2,000 calories each day to function at her best while an average man requires 2,500 calories.
The calorie requirements vary between individuals depending on physical activity levels, general health, age and certain other factors.
However, it is clear that the higher your daily intake of food is the harder you are going to have to work in order to lose weight.
A pound of fat has 3,500 calories. If you cut 500 calories from your diet for seven days, you will lose three pounds in that period. Assume there are seven days in the week; then each day would lose around half a pound of weight.
How Many Calories Should I Burn A Day Exercising?
It’s a question that gets asked all the time. The answer is different for everyone, but it typically ranges from 300 to 900 calories per day.
That means if you want to lose weight, your daily diet should be about 2,500-3,500 calories per day.
If you’re looking to maintain weight or build muscle, your daily diet should be around 1,500-2,000 calories per day.
Eat Enough Calories To Match The Exercise You Do
If you don’t eat enough calories to match the amount of exercise you do, your body will use some of your muscle tissue as fuel. Burning excess muscle is counterproductive because it lowers metabolism and may actually cause weight gain.
Fortunately, there’s a simple rule of thumb that can help: Simply add some cardio to your day and move around more, in general, to burn extra calories while doing absolutely nothing.
Here are just a few examples:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible.
- Go for a walk with friends after dinner or get off the bus one stop early and walk the rest of the way home.
- Park at the edge of a parking lot or go on a bike ride during lunch break.
- Spare half an hour at the end of the day to take a walk.
- Do some gardening, walking, or other chores around your house instead of watching TV.
Exercise helps make people who are already lean even leaner and gives those who aren’t quite there yet a head start on their weight loss goals.
Doing Cardio Burns Calories and Raised Your Metabolism
Doing cardio consistently will help you lose weight, improve cardiovascular health, which is important for lowering blood pressure, strengthening the heart muscle, and improving overall energy levels.
Not only that but it also has positive effects on mood, memory, and cognitive processing speed.
On top of all that, research shows that exercise might help control appetite by increasing metabolism rates and regulating hormone release throughout the day. This means you won’t have to eat as much to feel full and satisfied; it also means you’re likely to snack less and make healthier food choices overall.
Daily Exercise + Diet Helps You Lose Weight Fastest
Take our word for it: Exercising on a daily basis is one of the best ways to lose weight fast, especially if your diet holds up as well. It’s not just about how many calories you burn each day exercising but also what those activities are doing to improve your health as a whole.
If you want to shed excess fat with cardio, no problem. Just choose from any one of these nine exercises and work them into your daily routine.
You can even alternate among them or do two or three back-to-back throughout the course of the day if that fits better into your schedule.
Nine Exercises That Help You Burn Extra Calories
Exercise 1:
Start your day with a cup of the black stuff. Drink 16 ounces of strong coffee at least 30 minutes before exercising to help improve endurance and give you a metabolic boost.
Coffee might also have various fat-burning effects so drink it even if you don’t feel like it when you first wake up in the morning.
Exercise 2:
Park further from your destination or go for a walk after dinner, when possible. If that’s not an option, just park a few blocks away from work one day instead of right in front of the office entrance. Every little bit counts!
Exercise 3:
Get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the rest of the way home or vice versa going to work.
Exercise 4:
Make a habit of taking the stairs instead of the elevator whenever possible. Don’t take the elevator from only one floor up or down, either; walk a few flights at least once a day to stay active and burn extra calories.
Exercise 5:
Go outside for a brisk walk or run while traveling from one destination to another, especially if you use public transportation that doesn’t have an extensive network of underground tunnels.
If you’re going out with friends or family, turn it into an adventure by exploring new neighborhoods on foot.
Exercise 6:
Use your lunch hour for more than just eating! It’s common sense but many people don’t realize how much walking is involved in choosing healthy food options, picking up their meals to go, or just finding a place to eat.
Spend your lunch hour getting some extra steps in by walking around the block followed by a healthy meal at home if you can.
Exercise 7:
Take care of small house repairs and other chores like gardening with your bare hands instead of using power tools for everything.
It’s good exercise and it gets the job done – two birds, one stone!
If you need help, make sure to enlist whoever you live with so they can start exercising too (just kidding.) Or better yet… ask them to join you in doing whatever activity it is that interests both of you.
People are usually more willing to take part in an activity if they’re not expected to do it alone.
Exercise 8:
Walk or run to the grocery store instead of driving. It’s just good for the environment, and if you’re short on time, take public transportation there instead of driving your own vehicle.
If that’s not possible, just do your best to walk at a normal pace or jog when you get there so you can maximize the exercise benefits while shopping for nutritious food options.
Exercise 9:
Do various indoor exercises like yoga or Pilates in front of the TV after dinner one day per week instead of watching yet another episode of your favorite show (even if it is “Game of Thrones”.)
This will help improve your flexibility, body awareness, and overall wellbeing without breaking up your routine too much while still getting you active.
Phew! I’m exhausted after all that exercise! Now, if only there were a way to get these results without having to put in all that work… Oh, wait.
There totally is. You can even burn calories while watching the next episode of “Game of Thrones” or any other show for that matter with Rumble FIT from Brookstone