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It is common knowledge that there are approximately
3,500 calories in a pound of fat. This is of course
an imprecise statement, since the exact number of
calories that need to be burned to consume a pound
of fat will vary from person to person, based on age,
weight, exercise intensity, body metabolism, and other
factors.
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However, as a test, I want to see how hard it would
be to burn 3,500 calories in one week purely through
exercise. This is not as simple as it seems.
As noted
in my post on calories
burned while walking, walking a mile can burn
120 calories, depending on your weight and speed.
If it takes you 15 minutes to walk a mile, that's
four miles an hour, or 480 calories. |
Therefore to burn 3,500 calories you would need to
walk for 7.29 hours, without stopping to eat! It's
easier to consume 3,500 calories than to burn them.
For example, take a look at this McDonald's
meal:
| Meal Item |
Calories
|
| Big Mac |
560
|
| Premium Crispy Chicken Club Sandwich |
680
|
| Large French Fries |
570
|
| Vanilla Triple Thick® Shake
(32 fl oz cup) |
1,110
|
| Hot Fudge Sundae |
330
|
| McDonaldland® Cookies |
250
|
| Total Calories |
3,500
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In other words, to burn off this meal you would need
to walk over 7 hours! And that's just one meal! So
what's my plan to burn 3,500 calories in one week?
Simple; I need to burn 500 calories per day for seven
days (but you already guessed that, right?).
So here are some 500 "calorie" combinations (based
on a 190 pound man):
Monday - Fast walk/ Running on treadmill,
half hour (330), Calisthenics (push ups, situps),
moderate effort, 1/4 hour (170) = Total Calories 500
Tuesday - Running on treadmill, half hour
(370) Weight lifting, moderate effort, half hour (130)
= Total Calories 500
Wednesday - Bicycling, including hills, 45
minutes (500) = Total Calories 500
Thursday - Fast walk/ Running on treadmill,
half hour (330), Calisthenics (push ups, situps),
moderate effort, 1/4 hour (170) = Total Calories 500
Friday - Roller blading, moderate effort,
15 minutes (150) Bicycling, moderate speed, 13 mph,
half hour (350) = Total Calories 500
Saturday - Roller blading, moderate effort,
30 minutes (300) Bicycling, moderate speed, 13 mph,
17 minutes (200) = Total Calories 500
Sunday - Bicycling, including hills, 45 minutes
(500) = Total Calories 500
Of course there are an infinite number of combinations
to hit 500 calories per day. For example, a half hour
walk in the morning, and a 45 minute walk at night,
would equal roughly 500 calories. The point is this:
a week's worth of exercise
equals one large meal at McDonald's, so to lose weight
a combination of exercise and a proper diet is required.
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