50 Ways to Burn 500 Calories or More to Lose One Pound This Week

By Samantha Bandasack for DietsInReview.com

Health experts say if you watch the amount of calories you intake then losing weight will be easier for you. But what exactly does that look like? In you cut or burn 500 calories each day you stand to lose one pound a week, as there are 3,500 calories in a pound. Creating a 500 calorie deficit each day can help you lose one pound in a week.

Cutting calories from your diet does not mean starving yourself; that's not healthy anyway. It does mean being a bit more conscientious about what you're eating, how much you're eating, and even how much you're moving.

Along with our resident nutrition expert, Mary Hartley, RD, we've found 50 ways that you can trim the fat, so to speak, off of your calorie deficit. These tips should help you cut back up to 500 calories from your diet each day, and sometimes more with exercise, making all of those simple changes add up to a much healthier, longer life.

Where to Cut Calories When You Eat

1. Eat meals that start and end; i.e. don't graze over a buffet
2. Pass on the second helpings
3. Down a bottle of water before eating
4. Keep dressings/topping/marinades as low calorie as possible; served on the side
5. Cut down on sugary treats; those with artificial sweeteners are no better for you
6. Buy thinner sliced bread
7. Choose grilled meat and fish over breaded and fried
8. Watch the fat content in dairy; don't use whole milk, full-fat yogurt, etc.
9. Eat fruit for dessert; these 3 Must-Try Frozen Banana Ice Cream Flavors taste like real ice cream
10. Fill 1/2 your plate with vegetables

11. Spread all-fruit jam on your toast rather than butter
12. Instead of eating 5 chocolate-chip cookies, savor the taste of 2
13. Reduce the size of your steak to 3 ounces
14. Snack on baked potato chips instead of regular chips
15. Switch from fruit punch to sparkling water flavored with juice
16. Eat a turkey sandwich instead of a mayo-laden chicken or tuna salad sandwich
17. Replace mayo with avocado or guacamole
18. Agree with your dining party to skip the desserts
19. Drink coffee without sugar and cream
20. Add spice to your food to boost your metabolism

21. Eat off of smaller plates
22. Get rid of anything cheesy on your meals
23. When dining out, put 1/2 of your meal in a to-go-box as soon as you are served
24. Ditch the whipped topping on anything
25. Don't drink alcohol
26. Eat a topless burger; that is, get rid of at least the top bun and consider the second
27. Wait 15 minutes after you finished with a meal before getting more; You may think you need a second plate of food, but your brain hasn't registered with your stomach that you are full.
28. Drink water throughout the day
29. Don't skip breakfast; eating those calories will prevent higher calorie binges
30. Brown bag your lunch at work

Where to Burn More Calories

Depending on how much you weigh and how intense your workout is the calories you burn will vary.

31. Running (8 minute mile / 7.5 mph): 589 calories per hour
32. Rowing, vigorously (>6 mph): 566 calories per hour
33. Elliptical trainer (vigorously): 566 calories per hour
34. Handball: 566 calories per hour
35. In-line Skating: 566 calories per hour
36. Squash: 566 calories per hour
37. Stationary bicycling (vigorously): 495 calories per hour
38. Bicycling, vigorously (14-15.9 mph): 471 calories per hour
39. Step aerobics (10-12 inch step): 471 calories per hour
40. Racquetball (competitive): 471 calories per hour

41. Hot yoga for 90 minutes: 477 calories
42. Flow yoga: 594 calories per hour; Try Our Lazy Girl's Guide to Yoga
43. Zumba (high intensity): 474 calories per hour
44. Sex: 150 calories per half hour
45. Walking your dog (2.5 mph normal speed): 165 calories per hour
46. Vacuuming: 200 calories per hour
47. Mopping: 250 calories per hour
48. Swimming laps: 423 calories per hour
49: Mowing the lawn (not a riding lawn mower): 259 calories per hour
50. Cycling class: 480 calories per hour

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