3,500 calories

Pav;

It's easy to get "caught up" in the numbers but the "clarification" you (and many others) seek seems like it should be easy to find but in "real life" there are just too many variables to make "hard and fast" statements about almost everything diet and weight loss related.

That's not to say that seeking knowledge is either an impossible or "not worth the effort" task - it most certainly is not.

Problem is, there is so much "information", so many "facts" which are not "facts", so many "myths", (many of which get repeated ad infinitum to the point they become "accepted wisdom"), that separating the wheat from the chaf IS a daunting task.

The "3500 cals = a pound" example is one. While it's not the "best" example, it is true that what "everybody knows" about the 3500 number has been challenged by the results of a number of recent studies conducted under strict scientific method controls. Suffice it to say that the "consensus" of opinion, as of now is still to accept the number so let's do that.

That it "equals a pound" is less important to you (in relation to your weight loss/gain concerns) than the point that by reducing you Total Daily Calorie (average) by 3500 cals/week (average), SHOULD result in a weight loss average of approximately 1#/week, all else (average total calories (basal + exercise)), being equal.

What this means in real life is that if your current "average" (over a period of at least a few weeks) Total Daily Cals In (TDCI) is, for example, 2000, AND at 2000 you are neither gaining or losing weight, if you reduce the 2000 cals/day to 1500 (keeping average exercise levels the same), you "should" see an "average" weight loss of approximately 1#/week. (7 days X 500 cals = 3500).

The reverse is equally true, add 500/day = an "approximate" GAIN of 1#/week.

All of this, however, is contingent on the 2000 cals/day intake being demonstrated to be the point at which ZERO gain or loss takes place for YOU (and that you have a long enough period of time, AND an accurate enough count of ALL calories consumed - for a long enough period of time to be reliable.

It's almost impossible to look at a time frame of two days and obtain ANY reliable results of the effect whatever changes from the "average" up to that point, produced. Many times, folks will exceed their daily average intake and actually see a weight LOSS, or increase their exercise routine dramatically and see a weight GAIN in the ensuing couple of days (both, counter intuitive) but it happens all the time.

Counting (and tracking) every single calorie consumed, accurate DAILY weighing and recording, and a reliable tracking application (there are many "free" ones available) are what matters most.

Combine those with NOT obsessing over "day to day" changes, focusing on longer term "averages", and making the appropriate adjustments based on "trends" NOT what happens any given day.

Those, plus a reliable bathroom scale, basic kitchen measuring items, a good kitchen scale, and a commitment to accurate tracking are really ALL one needs to succeed.

or does 3,500 calories need to be eaten on top of the 2000 calories.

it's closest to this. except you don't need to eat 5500 calories in a day to gain. if you ate 300 cals above your maintenance requirement each day then in 11-12 days you'd expect to gain a pound. eat 300 below and you'll have the opposite effect