By Marina P. Kennedy, Community Contributor to Jersey Senior Weekly
If you want to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight and keep it off, here’s a healthy solution that’s easy to put into practice. When you are active, the body uses more energy in the form of calories and burning more calories than you consume leads to weight loss. This is according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Most often, that means cutting daily calories by 500 to 750 to lose 1 1/2 pounds (0.7 kilograms) a week. It’s easy to keep track once you know how many calories you expend and how many you take in with meals, drinks, and snacks.
The following listing of calories burned is based on Ainsworth BE, et al. 2011 compendium of physical activities: A second update of codes and MET values. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2011;43:1575 as posted on mayoclinic.org. Each of these measurements has been based on an hour of exercise for a person who weighs 160 pounds (73 kilograms). Note that the calories you burn differs depending on the type of exercise you do, how vigorous you are, your weight, and other factors. But this listing is very helpful to give you a good idea of the calories you expend. Your smart watch or fitness tracker can also help with calculations.
Aerobics, low-impact-365 calories
Aerobics, water-402 calories
Bicycling, less than 10 mph, leisure-292 calories
Dancing, ballroom-219 calories
Elliptical trainer, moderate effort-365 calories
Golfing, carrying clubs-314 calories
Hiking-438 calories
Running, 5mph-606 calories
Skiing, downhill-314 calories
Swimming laps, light or moderate-423 calories
Walking, 3.5 miles-314 calories
Now consider the foods you commonly eat and make a few matches with your daily activities! The calorie counts are for serving sizes. And when you eat out, many restaurants will list the calories for their menu items for your convenience. We have included a some of those below too.
4 ounces of vanilla ice cream-145 calories
1 plain bagel- 289 calories
1 slice of wheat or white bread-66 calories
3-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast roasted-142 calories
1 slice of cheddar cheese-113 calories
1 large scrambled egg-102 calories
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter-180 calories
1 cup cooked spaghetti with no salt-221 calories
4 ounces of spaghetti sauce ready to serve-92 calories
Medium baked potato including skin-161 calories
Cheesecake Factory Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake-1220 calories
Olive Garden Ravioli Carbonara-1390
McDonalds Big Mac-580 calories
Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich-420 calories
Wendy’s Medium Fries-360 calories
Panera-Southwest Caesar Salad with Chicken whole portion-630 calories
Being knowledgeable about a good diet and healthy exercise is what it’s all about for you and your family. Enjoy your fitness and food journeys!