Weight Update

Staying true to my promise, I'm here to update you on my weight loss goals. However, I'm a firm believer in sticking to the same scale. So since Weight Watchers pegged me at 179, I'd like to believe my new scale is correct when it says 172, but I'll have to wait until Thursday to give you the right number when I weigh in.

In the meantime, here's another interesting obesity fact.

3500 calories is roughly the energy equivalent of 1 pound of fat. Therefore, if you were to consume, on average, 100 less calories a day for a whole year you'd lose 10 pounds. 100 calories per day X 365 days in a year=36500 calories. There are 3500 calories in 1 pound of fat so 36500/3500=10.4 pounds. So you can see the significant impact of making a very small change in your diet. For example, if you're someone who drinks a can of Coke or Pepsi every day, cutting that out would put you down 150 calories, or 15 pounds in a year, assuming you changed nothing else in your diet.

So, next time you see that tasty cookie at Timmie's, realize that if you added one of those to your work week coffee stop for a whole year you'd gain 16 pounds. Surely a Fruit Explosion Muffin would be a better choice, right? Wrong! 360 calories. 130 more than the chocolate chunk cookie. It would put 26 pounds on your frame in a year of 50 work weeks. While we're on the topic, how about your extra large double-double? 280 calories my friend. I know some people that get one every day. 28 pounds in a year. Ouch. I find this more useful than calories because it gives you a number you can envision. And the mental picture you get is not pretty!

Next time you go to pick something up, divide the caloric value by 10, and think about yourself that many pounds heavier a year down the road. It'll make you wonder whether you really need it.