I feel it is important to understand the concept of 3500 calories equates to one pound of fat burned/gained. Technically, this means if you eat 10 glazed-cream filled Krispy Kreme Donuts; expect to ride the bike at level 10 for about 7 hours to burn off the 3500 calories. It is important to note that this is just a guideline-It does not take into consideration your metabolism, genetics etc.

If you type in 3500 calories you will find numerous articles contradicting each other (some from reputable sources, some from guys with their shirts off that have a certification for fitness they bought online). Having said this, I don't believe that you can lose a pound of fat each week if you simply cut 500 calories from your diet each day, but I do believe you can use this as a simple guideline. The positive about the 3500 calorie concept is that it encourages us to count and note the calorie content of the food we are eating and motivates the user to change their lifestyle. This helps to encourage the individual to be accountable for their food choices instead of choosing whatever the current fad diet of the week is. The unfortunate situation is fad diets do work....for about 6 months or until the user gets sick of starving themselves from living off egg whites and grapefruit. These diets gain notoriety because we only hear about the instant weight loss, not the inherent weight gain that occurs when we go back to our old patterns.

When we read these articles, it is important for us to understand that every person is different and that there are several factors that need to be accounted for when attempting this for ourselves.

#1-Genetics-Everyone has different genetic potential! If you take ten people attempting to cut 500 cals a day and we weigh in a month later, they may all have different weight loss results. This is the same for weight gain or strength and power development and unfortunately we are all different.

#2-Metabolism-How we convert food to fuel and how efficiently we use that fuel can influence weight loss and gain. Our genetics, sex, age, and muscle mass can dictate how effectively our metabolism works.

#3-Activity Levels-Exercise!!! Your exercise routine is one of the most effective ways to lose weight. You can increase the rate at which you burn calories from anything from walking, to weight training, and everything in between.

Unfortunately we are unable to change our genetic make up, but we are able to make changes to our metabolism and activity levels. Our metabolism can be altered through diet by: Frequent and smaller portion sizes (3 meals-breakfast, lunch and dinner along with 2-3 small snacks between each meal). Eating small snacks throughout the day (fruits, veggies, yogurt etc). Eating breakfast (your body has been fasting since your last meal and your metabolism needs to be kick started to fuel you for the day).

Our activity levels are one of the most important ways for us to burn calories. The beauty of exercise is that the calories burned can be cumulative throughout the days/weeks/months etc (a brisk ten minute walk 2-3 times a day, taking the stairs at work etc) . Ultimately a structured strength and conditioning regimen will burn more calories, but when encouraging individuals to be active, we need to take what we can get!

To sum everything up-encourage people to use the 3500 calorie concept as a guideline for lifestyle change as opposed to a diet and to make note of the calories they consume so they can make alternate choices when needed. A combination of a healthy and active lifestyle is not a diet, it is how we are meant to live and it needs to be treated as such!

My Final Thoughts-To Quote Hulk Hogan "Train Hard, say your prayers, eat your vitamins (to clarify-you should eat your vitamins, not inject them), be true to yourself and be true to your country"!!! I am a firm believer in balance and taking a little bit of info from everywhere and everyone you can, so here is my modified Hulkster mantra "train hard, eat a balanced diet including lots of fiber, fish oils and a good multi-vitamin, drink plenty of water, be true to yourself and do unto others as other do unto you unless they do something mean to you then just throw sticks and stones at them....ooooooohhhhhh yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!"

Lastly - Talk to your friendly trainer at one of the Level 10 Fitness locations about your diet. We are not nutrition experts, but we can offer you great advice on how to make small changes to your diet so that you can receive great results. Write down a food and drink journal including approximate portion sizes (don't forget to include a weekend day where we tend to let loose a little) so that we can help you achieve your goals.

Yours in Strength,
Joe