The Weight of Numbers

It is that time of year when people become very weight conscious. That means people can get pretty stressed out and overwhelmed by the thoughts and efforts to lose weight. Losing weight does not have to be a mentally heavy situation. ;)
It can be a task that is approached stress free, one day at a time. It's all about playing with numbers. 

So, let's play with some numbers to show you what I am talking about:

It takes 3500 calories to make a pound. So, if a person could cut 3500 calories out of their diet in a week, they could lose one pound per week. Cutting 3500 calories a week is simply cutting back on 500 calories a day! A person could lose 52 pounds a year by cutting back 500 calories a day from their normal caloric intake. If, they had 52 pounds to lose.

Let's make this easier though. If a person cut back on 1750 calories a week, or 250 calories a day, they could lose 26 pounds in a year! 26 pounds in one year by almost doing nothing - simply reducing their intake by 250 calories a day! Who wouldn't want to easily lose 26 pounds per year? IF, they have 26 pounds to lose.

Let's make this even easier. Let's say a person cuts their caloric intake by 100 calories per day. Only 100 calories, thats on 8 ounce glass of orange juice less per day. If a person were to do this every day for a year, they would create a caloric deficit of 36,500 calories in a year. That is a loss of 10 pounds in a year. I know that is only 10 pounds, but it was 10 pounds by basically doing nothing - no effort expended to lose 10 pounds. If this were continued for 3 years, 30 pounds could be lost. In theory...

What is the point? Weight loss is a game of numbers. And, it can be a game that can be easily won if patience, persistency, and consistency are applied. I know we live in a "i want it now" society, but if weight loss is approached in the way I've layed it out above, a person could easily create a lifestyle of good choices and habits rather than a month of torture and frustration. This is all about success versus self sabotage.

To be honest though, my idea supposes a few things must be known and working:

1. a person would have to have weight to lose
2. a person would have to know how much calories they take in per day so they could know how to effectively take in less calories
3. the person's body would have to be operating well, that is to say, no medical/hormonal issues that would be inhibitng a proper running metabolism

The whole point is that weight loss doesn't have to be hard, or overwhelming. It can be lost a little at a time every week. If a person only loses .25 pounds per week, they still lose 13 pounds in year. Do you see this? Even if your scale registers 0 (.25 pounds may not register), you could still lose 13 pounds in a year. Weight loss is a game of consistent patience and application. It is a game of numbers. It doesn't have to be hard, it just has to be consistent - a lifestyle.

I know my idea is too ideal and over simple. But I am only trying to provide a paradigm shift in your thinking. Weight loss truly can be a game of numbers AND it doesn't have to be an impossible game. You can win. It may be a lot easier than you think.