Calories Per Pound of Fat

5lbs of muscle vs 5lbs of fat

Okay, there are about 3500 calories per pound of fat. There are 9 calories per gram of fat. By comparison, protein and carbs each are worth 4 calories per gram.

I know, if you do the math it doesn’t seem to add up right. The difference is in the blood, blood vessels and other tissue within the fat itself.

So now what do you do? There are a few things you need to know to get the most out of this information.

• What is a calorie
• How is fat used by the body
• What’s the best way to get rid of it

A calorie is a measure of heat. It takes one calorie to raise one gram of water to one degree Celsius. Knowing this, we know we need to raise our metabolism, or our metabolic rate. This would be the amount of calories we burn at rest.

Once we know your metabolic rate we can calculate more accurately your daily calorie use.Knowing the daily use, simply subtract 400-500 calories per day in intake. After seven days, you’ve cut 3500 calories out of your diet. If there are 3500 calories per pound of fat, you’ve just lost almost a pound of fat. (Assuming you were exercising while dieting.)

A couple things on this, first it’s important that you not cut your daily intake by more than 500 calories. Any drop below this will trigger your body to store more fat as a defense against starvation. I know, you’re not really starving, but your body doesn’t have a conscious mind that reasons that way.

Second, this is why “cheat days” don’t work. You sacrifice all week, making those decisions every meal, putting yourself to the test just to blow it all in one day.

The average cheat day will run you on average about 2800-3200 calories. After six days of successful will power and determination you have saved your body from about 3000 calories. One more day will be 3500… But instead, you’ve done so well, you deserve a reward. So you celebrate with a cheat day.

At the end of the day you’ve erased your entire week of work. That 3500 calories per pound of fat is right back in your body. That is why so many people have trouble losing weight. So, no cheat days!

Before going further, It’s important to know that your body works a certain way. It’s designed to stay alive. You’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re trying to change the way your body works. You can’t. No, you just have to operate within the rules of the way the body works.

• The fat that’s on your body, was put there on purpose- That’s right, it wasn’t an accident. You gave your body more than it needed, and it took some of that and stored it away for future use. If you only eat one or two meals per day, you’re storing even more than someone who eats five times per day. At 3500 calories per pound of fat, you only need to over eat by 500-600 calories per day to gain a pound of fat per week too.
• Fat is not your body’s preferred source of energy- And, fat is your body’s last line defense against death, It won’t get used for the household chores. Your body always prefers sugar to fat. Sugar, you know, “carbs”. See carbs are just sugar in the body, and for the purposes of this discussion its primary role is to fuel activity. Oxygen is the other half of the fuel equation. So, the majority of your activity by far (unless you spend at least 3 days per week 25 minutes or more sustaining an elevated heart rate) is fueled by carbs.
• Your body will not burn fat unless it absolutely has to- And why should it if you’re constantly feeding it all the fuel it needs? You must create an environment that will force your body to use fat for fuel. Hence, the low carb diet. Don’t make the mistake of thinking of carbs as the enemy however. Don’t stop eating all carbs. That will only work for a while, and you’ll feel horrible.

How Do You Get Rid of It?

It just means you have to have a plan before blindly consuming. Yes, it will include preparing your meal plan in advance. It doesn’t have to take a long time, but it does have to be done. There are plenty of convenient foods and supplements that make this easy to be done on the go.

Here are some other tips:

• Don’t eat starchy carbs in the last half of the day.
• Eat five small, evenly portioned meals per day. Breakfast being the biggest. (Yes, I know it’s an adjustment)
• Drink your daily allotment of water, (1/2 your bodyweight in ounces per day, plus an additional 16 ounces for every cup of coffee, tea or soda).
• Choose low glycemic index carbs for your carb portions
• Weight training is a must for losing fat. The more muscle you stimulate, the more fat you’ll burn.
• Get your full 8 hours of sleep. Studies now show that people who are obese sleep an average of 5-6 hours per night. By contrast, people at their ideal bodyweight sleep 7-8 hours per night. It’s for real. Brain chemicals do a lot of work in the metabolism department. Many of these chemicals require stage four sleep in order to be produced or secreted. Stage four sleep is only reached deep into the sleep cycle.

Now that you know how many calories per pound of fat there are, and armed with some insider tips you should be able to move forward to success. I find many people need help with all the figures and variables, My advice for those who don’t have the time to devote to research and planning is to get a meal plan that will help you.

Here’s a great resource for the “low down” on fat loss. If you’re looking for more information, Click Here!