Calories can be described as the energy gotten from food. When you consume food you get calories. If you want to lose weight you need to reduce your calorie intake. So how many calories to lose a pound?

While some calories are stored as glycogen, others are stored as fat. We’ll be explaining the calories that make a pound, in this article.

A scientist named Max Wishnofsky conducted research in 1958 to determine the number of calories that make a pound. He concluded that one pound of weight loss or gain was equivalent to 3,500 calories.

One limitation to Wishnofsky’s research was that he based his conclusion on the scientific evidence available as of 1958. However, his results received recognition in the media and scientific literature.

It has been established that one pound of fat contains 3,500 calories. Let’s use a generally accepted method of calculation to find out if it’s true.

Body fat tissue is 87% fat. Pure fat contains 8.7 to 9.5 calories per gram and one pound equals 454 grams. From the values listed, we can estimate that a pound of body fat contains 3,436 to 3,752 calories. Note that these calculations are majorly based on research that has been performed a long time ago.

The 500-Calorie Deficient Myth

There’s a common myth that if you consume less than 500 calories every day, or less than 3,500 calories in a week, you’ll lose a pound every week. This means when you follow through with this method for a year, you’ll lose 52 pounds at the end of the year. This is not based on facts.

For people who are overweight or obese, this estimate seems to work for a short time. But to consider its long-term effect, this might be impossible to achieve.

Body differs, and people respond to changes in body composition and diet differently. The body makes up for the reduction in calorie intake by allowing you to burn a lesser amount of calories. Your body does the same amount of work just like before while using lesser calories.

So, whether you reduce your calorie intake or not, it doesn’t stop the body from burning calories.

How to Predict Weight Loss

With the improvement in technology, there are now applications and online tools that can be used to predict weight loss.

The Single Subject Weight Change Predictor is a weight-loss tool that can be used to predict weight loss. It was developed by the Pennington Biomedical Research Center and allows you to calculate weight loss based on diet and exercise.

Another tool for predicting weight loss is the Body Weight Planner. This great tool was developed by the National Institute of Health and provides calorie levels for weight loss and maintenance.

What Does Weight Loss Entail?

Weight loss is more than getting rid of body fats, it also involves losing muscle mass. Fortunately, there are ways to limit the loss of muscle mass.

1. Regular Intake of Protein

Your body will likely find it hard to break down muscles for energy when you consume high-proteinous foods regularly.

2. Weight Lifting

Research has shown that resistance training, such as lifting weights, can help to prevent the loss of muscle mass when losing weight.