From the Cooper Institute of Health

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 66 percent of American adults are overweight, and almost half of those qualify as obese. A ballpark definition of obesity is someone that’s 30 pounds or more over their ideal weight. The reality is that additional weight usually does not happen in just a year or two; more often than not it’s added over 10 to 15 years.

Think about it, if you gain 3 pounds per year for 10 straight years, then before you know it, you’re 30 pounds overweight and technically obese. What does it take to gain 3 pounds in a year, which is approximately one belt loop? About 10,500 calories. Now 10,500 calories sounds like a lot, but if you divide that amount by 365 days in a year, that works out to eating just 29 extra calories per day — the amount of calories in about three wheat thins.

So if you want to lose weight, it’s really a matter of math. Food provides energy. The way we measure that energy is with calories. When we eat, we add calories and when we’re physically active we subtract calories. That means if we eat more than we burn, we gain weight. If we burn more than we eat, we lose weight. It’s the principle of Energy Balance.

Check this out: one pound equals 3,500 calories. So if you were to consume 500 extra calories per day, you would gain one pound (500 x 7 days = 3500) in just one week! The opposite is also true. If you were to consume 500 fewer calories than you burn, per day, then you could lose one pound per week.

Research indicates that most of us underestimate how much we eat, and overestimate how much we move. Logging your meals and activity is very helpful. There are plenty of tools available to help you log your food intake and activity habits. The research is solid: studies all show that the best way to lose weight and keep it off is by reducing the calories you consume and increasing the calories you burn; it’s absolutely critical if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

The Cooper Institute of Health is one of the most widely recognized and respected sources of information on health and weight loss in the world. They offer Podfitness training programs that are customized for you, and downloaded to your MP3 player.