Calories in a Pound of Body Fat

How Many Calories are in a Pound of Fat? There are 3500 calories per pound of body fat. In order to lose just one pound of stored fat we need to burn off 3500 extra calories, which sounds simple, but is actually requires a healthy diet plan and regular exercise to attain.

How Does Knowing the Calories in a Pound of Fat Help You? 

During a calorie reduction diet some fuel from fat stores will be used as that's the role of excess body fat. The problem is that fat is not the best source of energy for the cells. Muscle cells need a constant supply of oxygen in order to burn fat continuously.

At rest enough oxygen can easily be supplied but resting hardly uses any calories at all, we may only burn 50 calories an hour. Remember that if you want to be able to burn off a pound of fat, that means that you need to take action to ensure that your body has burned off 3500 more calories than it has consumed. 

Of course, not all calories are used the same way, but on the whole, the idea is that you will be working to ensure that over a span of time, you’ve created a deficit large enough that you’ll have gone through a pound of your body’s stored energy reserves – body fat.

How to Create a Deficit for Healthy Weight Loss

Remember we need to burn 3500 extra calories per pound of fat so we must actively move to increase the total calories burned, now this is where things can get complicated!

Exercising obviously burns many more calories than being sedentary (see the Exercise Calorie Counter), but it can’t be the only thing we do to get those cells working to continue burning fat for energy. As important as exercising is to burning off more calories for every pound of fat, and as critical as it is to your health, it’s not the only factor that needs to be considered in order to reach a weight loss goal. 

Food is the most important factor to consider and understanding the nature of your food – not just how many calories are in a pound of fat – can give you a substantial advantage to making the right choices.

It’s not Just the Calories in a Pound of Body Fat, It’s the Carbs You Eat

To power your body, every cell needs fuel. This is true whether you’re sedentary or highly active. The three main categories of food are macronutrients: fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Foods containing any of these macronutrients contain calories, but they’re used differently by the body.  When it comes to the fastest burning fuel – and one that doesn’t require oxygen to use – carbohydrates are the top option for your cells. Carbs are the easy choice and will be used first by your body.

During this fast process, if the energy available isn’t used as fast as it is taken from the food, it is stored as body fat.  Protein and dietary fats are slower to digest, which means you have more time to burn them off before they are stored as a pound of body fat. This helps to explain – at a very basic level – why carbs are often not your top choice of food when you’re working to lose weight.

They don’t need to be cut out entirely. They’re fantastic for charging up a workout. That said, making sure your diet isn’t weighted too heavily in favor of carbohydrates can help you to ensure that you’re giving yourself your best opportunity to burn through every pound of body fat with those calorie torching workouts you’re keeping up.

Reduced Calorie Diet and Weight Loss

If daily calorie intake is cut by 500 less than the body requires it seems logical that fat stores will supply the additional energy requirements and by the end of the week, you’ll have burned off a pound. However, energy metabolism is complex and can be different between individuals.

Which fuel the body uses depends on many factors; fitness levels, present energy stores, motivation levels, type of exercise chosen, genetic predisposition and nutritional state are a few of the important factors. Remember that these figures are approximate, and every individual is different.