When you’re trying to lose weight, it helps to know what it takes to drop a pound — the specifics. The information I’m going to share with you today is just the simple basics behind weight loss. To start with, we need to know the calorie deficit that it will take to drop one pound. Any guesses? The answer is 3,500. If you have a deficit of 3,500 calories, you will drop one pound. Given that, now we need to talk about how you cut out 3,500 calories in a healthy way over a realistic amount of time — a week.

• Cut 500 calories each day
• Increase your activity to burn an extra 500 calories each day
• Cut 250 calories each day and increase your physical activity to burn an extra 250 calories each day

By choosing one of the methods above, you should be able to drop about one pound per week which is certainly an attainable goal. So now you might need a few ideas to increase your activity or cut calories from your diet. Here are a few suggestions:

Increase activity by:

• Doing an extra 20-30 minutes of cardio exercise per day
• Clean your house - yes, washing windows and vacuuming actually burns calories
• Turn off the TV and go for a brisk walk
• Yard work- mow the grass, weed, water plants, etc.

Cut calories by:

• Start using smaller plates- you’ll likely eat less
• Eat slowly - you’ll enjoy your food and give your brain time to tell you when you’re full
• Snack Smart - cut out the chips, soda and ice cream and replace it with a healthy snack like fresh veggies
• Cut the salad dressing - switch from using a creamy dressing to using a good quality extra virgin olive oil and vinegar, or try squeezing a fresh lemon or lime over it