Still Trying To Find The Magic Pill?

Who doesn't want to be fit with little or no effort? Well, as much as we'd all love to have one, there's no magic pill for weight loss. If all of the diet pills, shakes, and supplements that claim to work really did, everyone would be thin. And even then, we'd still maintain a steady diet of ice cream, chips, pizza, and candy. Let's not kid ourselves, people.

Successful weight loss still comes down to a simple formula. You have to burn more calories than you take in. Calories are a measure of the amount of energy provided by the food you eat — the more calories you eat, the more energy you are giving your body. If you give your body more energy than it can use — well, that's stored as fat.

Let's break it down. A pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories. If you want to lose one pound in a week, you have to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories a week, or 500 calories a day. To lose two pounds in a week, you have to create a calorie deficit of 7,000 calories a week, or 1,000 calories a day, and so on. Get the idea?

There are two ways to create a calorie deficit — eat less and exercise. If you want to meet your weight-loss goals, start by comparing your calorie intake against your exercise expenditure. It's not a magic pill, but it's very simple. Find a way to cut and burn more calories and the weight will come off!