We are pleased to announce that on March 4, 2025, an updated Rich Text Editor will be introduced in the MyFitnessPal Community. To learn more about the upcoming changes, please click here. We look forward to sharing this new feature with you!

3500???

mamadon
mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
edited February 4 in Health and Weight Loss
This has confused me for a while. So, 3500 =1 pound. Is that in a day? A week? A month?

Replies

  • SunKissed1989
    SunKissed1989 Posts: 1,314 Member
    3500 calories = 1lb...that means that reducing your daily calorie intake by 500 calories a day over a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories), you should, in theory, lose a pound a week.

    Hope that makes sense :smile:
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    Timeline has nothing to do with it.

    3500 cals is equal to 1 lb of fat. It doesn't mean that by eating 3500 cals in a day you're going to gain 1 lb...it means that by eating 3500 EXTRA cals in any given period of time (day, month, year....millenia) you COULD gain as much as 1 lb.
  • yeabby
    yeabby Posts: 643 Member
    It's accumulated 3500 calories that aren't burned = a pound. You could potentially do this in a day, week, month....
  • jamesgiard
    jamesgiard Posts: 4
    I generally just use that number to justify going over a couple days in a week, or at least as to not beat myself up over it. But also I'm just maintaining at this point, don't think I'm encouraging cheating.
  • salladeve
    salladeve Posts: 1,053 Member
    In theory only. In my experience this does not always hold true.
  • FromHereOnOut
    FromHereOnOut Posts: 3,237 Member
    of FAT
  • tiggerhammon
    tiggerhammon Posts: 2,211 Member
    3500 calories = 1lb...that means that reducing your daily calorie intake by 500 calories a day over a week (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories), you should, in theory, lose a pound a week.

    Hope that makes sense :smile:

    This. I am currently trying to lose 2lbs per week so I cut 1000 calories a day. ( negative 1000 calories x 7 days each week = negative 7000 calories. 7000 ÷ 3500 = 2.
    It's working pretty good this far. Except that one time a month. Don't think it would matter if I stopped eating altogether. I gain.

    Redundancy for emphasis.
  • Crazy4Healthy
    Crazy4Healthy Posts: 626 Member
    Just to clarify one thing... 3,500 = 1 lb, this is not necessarily FAT, it is 1 lb. Be careful to eat enough protein (weight training also helps) to help maintain your lean muscle in the process. That 1 lb can also come from muscle, not just fat.

    Make sure you are weighing your foods for the best accuracy in counting your calories
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    This has confused me for a while. So, 3500 =1 pound. Is that in a day? A week? A month?

    That means a pound of fat has 3500 cals in it. So if you want to lose 1lb of fat a week, take 500 cals away from your daily needs, and your body will have to cough up 3500 cals of stored fat out of its piggy bank.
  • mamadon
    mamadon Posts: 1,422 Member
    Thanks all!:smile:
This discussion has been closed.

Categories