When it comes to calories and losing weight, the goal is to create a caloric deficit. What is a caloric deficit?  It means your body has used more calories than you have consumed. You can obtain a caloric deficit through diet, exercise, or a combination of both.

To lose one pound, you’ll need a deficit of 3,500 calories. So if you want to lose a pound a week, you would need to decrease your caloric intake by 500 calories a day or burn 500 extra calories every day.  When you participate in an activity, such as walking, golfing, cycling, tennis, even gardening and cleaning the house, your body burns calories.

If you are focusing on weight loss or even wieght maintenance an average caloric intake for an entire day  is 1200-1500 calories.  If you consume an original Whopper sandwich, medium fries, and medium coca-cola from Burger King you are taking in a total of 1300 calories in one meal.  To burn the entire meal off, you would have to ride a stationary bicycle for two and half hours. 

Burning Calories

How much activity does it take to burn the calories consumed at your local fast food restaurant?  Here are a few examples.

Food eaten	Activity
1 piece of pepperoni pizza (Pizza Hut)	1 hour of golfing
1 regular beef 'n cheddar sandwich (Arby's)	1 hour of gardening
½ cup of ice cream (Braum's)	½ hour of vacuuming, dusting & sweeping
1 piece of original cheesecake (Cheesecake Factory)	1 hour of stationary bicycling
1 chargrilled chicken sandwich without sauce (Chick-fil-A)	1 hour of dancing (slow ballroom)
1 short stack of 3 pancakes (IHOP)	1 hour of pilates (beginner)
1 chicken breast original recipe (KFC)	½ hour of tennis (singles)
1 double cheeseburger (McDonalds)	1 hour walking, brisk (13 minutes/mile
1 turkey breast sub 6” (Subway)	1 hour of weight lifting (light)

To learn more about achieving caloric deficit and gaining a healthier lifestyle, contact your healthcare provider at Draelos Metabolic Center - (405) 348-5364.