A caloric is a unit of measure that indicates the amount of energy we obtain from a particular food. One pound of body fat contains approximately 3,500 calories. So each time you consume 3,500 calories more than your body needs to maintain weight, you gain a pound. Conversely, each time your body expends an extra 3,500 calories, you lose a pound. So if you add a can of Coca-Cola (140 calories) to your daily diet and make no other changes in diet or activity, you would gain a pound in 25 days (3,500 calories + 140 calories/day = 25 days). Conversely, if you walked for half an hour each day at a pace of 15 minutes per mile (172 calories burned), you would lose a pound in 20 days (3,500 calories + 172 calories/day = 0.3 days).

The two ways to lose weight, then, are to lower caloric intake (through improved eating habits) and to increase exercise (expending more calories).

Don’t forget, it took time to gain weight; it will take time to lose it. The best strategy is to go slow, set short-term goals, and stick to them.

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