How many calories add up to a pound?

Answer 1

psh calories are heat, pound is weight they do not add up

but if you burn 3,500 calories of heat, you will approximately burn 1 pound of fat

Answer 2

calorie is a unit of energy, a pound is a unit of measure, you are comparing apples and oranges here.
Generally, in order to lose a pound a week you must cut comsumption of calories by 3500, but that does not mean that 3500 calories is equivalent to a pound of fat. It isn't. The calories burned is dependant in large part upon the types of foods eaten, and the amount of energy expended in the activities of daily living. It is a complex issue.

Answer 3

People want to lose "pounds." Here is something to consider. Bare with it if it becomes confusing and be comforted in the fact that simple directions follow even if you do not understand some of what you read immediately below.

One pound of FAT = 3500 calories

One pound of LEAN MUSCLE = roughly 2500-3000 calories (varies due to hydration).

See? Potentially, you could burn 2500 calories and lose a pound of muscle, or you could burn 3500 calories to lose a pound of fat, or you could burn the two in different proportions, meaning you could burn anywhere in the range of 2500-3500 calories and lose a "pound."

Surely you want to burn fat and hold onto as much muscle as you can. The best defense to ensure this, generally speaking, is to eat protein with every meal. Why? To spare your body from losing muscle, which IS protein. If your body needs amino acids for energy (muscle is made up of protein and protein is made up of amino acids) it will eat the protein that you feed it rather than breaking down your muscles for energy. Therefore, you stand a better chance of maintaining your muscle.


A safe place to start is to first determine the amount of calories that you currently burn. The first step is to go to a calculator on a website (search for "calorie counter" on Google). That will give you a rough estimate. Next, subtract 500 calories from that to put you on pace to lose one pound of fat per week (-500 calories times 7 days equals -3500 calories per week = one pound of fat loss.) Remember, eat protein with every meal. Generally speaking, you should eat roughly 20-35 grams to be safe. If you find that you are losing more than one pound per week, that means that you are losing muscle. If this is the case, you can take another step that will ensure that you will minimize muscle loss.

To ensure you are burning fat and not muscle as you restrict your calories, you should exercise since your body is adaptive. This means that to keep muscle, you have to give your body a reason to do so such as working out. If you work the muscle, your body basically says, "We have to hold onto the muscle to do all of this work, so we can't burn it for energy. We'll have to use the fat, as it is less important to our survival." Hence, you get lean and reach the image you have in your mind; your goal.

Trust me! In most cases the end result of "losing weight" doesn't look good. You can disguise it in clothes and other out of shape people may think you look "great," but nothing beats a fit body. It doesn't have to be an extreme physique, like in the magazines, but a little exercise goes a long way with proper dieting. And you will realize countless benefits, in addition to enhanced good looks!

Good Luck

Answer 4

1lb fat = 3,400 calories. There are about 4 calories in 1g of protein or carbs and 10 calories in 1g of fat. But it's not all about reducing your calories! You need to fuel your body to lose weight by eating good high quality calories! xx

Answer 5

3500 calories=1 lbs.

Answer 6

I believe it's around 3500.

Answer 7

calories dont add up to pounds,.....and if they did it would be different to different peeps.

Answer 8

3,500 to lose a pound
3,500 to gain a pound

Answer 9

3500

Answer 10

3500