How Can I Lose 10 Pounds?

"How fast can I lose 10lbs if I burn off 500 calories by running 4-5 miles a day, and eating 1200 calories?"

I get questions like this a lot via my fitness business.

I'll give you a rough guideline but I can't answer this question
with 100% accuracy because I don't know your metabolic rate (how
many calories you burn during a normal day), the type of food you
eat, how often you eat, how much sleep you get, etc.)

So let's look at some examples. If 1,700 calories a day keeps
your weight the same and you reduce your caloric intake, you'll
lose roughly 1 pound per week.

There are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. 7 days per week x
500 calories per day equals 3,500 calories per week. So, if you
added the running that burned 500 calories per day, this would be
another pound lost per week.

Now, keep a couple of things in mind. 1,200 calories per day may
be too low, which will cause your metabolism to slow down. This
is how people who go on a diet end up gaining all the weight back.

In addition, if you are not doing any weight training, about half
of that weight lost will be muscle, which will also slow down your
metabolism, again causing weight rebound and putting you in a worse
situation than before you lost the weight.

This is why I said roughly one pound per week up above. A pound of
muscle is only 600 calories and since you'll be losing muscle and
fat, you may lose more than a pound by burning 3,500 calories in a
week.

In addition, your body shape won't change. You'll just be a smaller
version of you, or what I call skinny fat.

You should add some weight training to your running plan, 2 to 3
times per week.

I would also reduce the amount of running you are doing, both in
number of days you run, and how far you run each day. Consider only
running that distance 2 or 3 days per week.

Consider performing high intensity interval training instead of the
running on 2 other days per week.

In addition, keep track of your calories. You only want to lose 1 - 2
pounds per week (you may lose more in the beginning. And keep in mind
that how you look is more important than the scale. If you lose 10
pounds of fat and add 10 pounds of muscle, you'll way the same as you
do now but you'll look a thousand times better.

You'll also be smaller as a pound of muscle does not take up as much
space as a pound of fat.

I hope this helps.

Good luck! I'd love to hear your results and questions (see below).

Weight Loss in Ten Minutes

Weight loss does not happen quickly for most people, but there is a critical point that becomes so motivating, success seems to be effortless and permanent.

This success has nothing to do with the latest supplement touted on infomercials. They may be helpful but they are not the reason people lose weight. New fangled gym equipment is not the secret either, although exercise is important and a convenient workout allows people to stick to a fitness routine. Pre-made diet meals are useful when pressed for time, but they are not the only ingredient in successful weight loss.

There is a critical point when someone truly desires to commit to a new health plan. For many people who have been overweight for years, being in shape is a long lost memory rather than a reality. The thought of beginning the challenge seems impossible. Over weight issues are so commonplace the underlying message is that it is the norm. When everything is super-sized the temptation is hard to refuse. Modern day diseases that are life-style related are now treated with maintenance drugs that ironically make it more difficult to lose weight. It is as if our culture is trying not to let us reach that critical point to welcome better health in our lives.

When people lose weight successfully and quickly there are two common denominators. They reach a point where they realize they were much too comfortable with their excuses and then they chose a manageable eating plan that did not leave them feeling deprived. Discovering these realizations helps people get past the indecision that prevents them from succeeding.

Of course, losing weight must be done in a safe manner. Although it takes a number of months to achieve weight loss, the benefits are felt immediately. The empowerment of a committed decision is just the beginning. A manageable weight loss plan restores someone's energy level so there is a feeling of thin even if the scale doesn't reveal the goal weight yet.

Being able to replace an old mind set of impossibility with accomplishment is the greatest weight loss there is. If you can lose the weight of failure, the actual weight loss is easy.