Losing Weight

Heart Healthy Tips

Reduce calories in and increase calories out.

Losing weight means changing the balance of calories in to calories out. If we eat more calories than we need, we gain weight. If we eat fewer calories than we use, we lose weight.

So start with good information: you need to know how many calories you should eat each day for your individual level of activity, and then you'll need to find ways to stay within your limits. Find out your personal daily calorie intake and fat needs. To lose weight, you must use up more calories than you take in. One pound equals 3,500 calories.  To successfully and healthfully lose weight—and keep it off—most people need to subtract about 500 calories per day from their diet to lose about 1 pound per week.

Educate yourself

Visit our Healthy Cooking website, and learn to use nutritious ingredients and follow a healthy preparation routine.
Use our Healthy Diet Goal guidelines to make smart choices to benefit your heart and your overall health.
Get tips on staying heart-smart and making healthy choices at the store.
Learn to eat healthy when you dine out.
Learning how to read and understand food labels can help you make healthier choices.

Increase calories burned

Regular physical activity has so many proven benefits, such as to help control weight and blood pressure and decrease the risk for heart disease and stroke. All healthy adults (ages 18 to 64) should get at least 2 hours and 30 minutes (150 minutes) of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., brisk walking) every week or 1 hour and 15 minutes (75 minutes) of vigorous intensity aerobic physical activity (e.g., jogging, running) every week.   Additionally, you need on 2 or more days a week muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest shoulders, and arms). Besides helping you lose weight, it also helps reduce your abdominal fat and preserve muscle during weight loss.

The amount of physical activity any individual person needs for weight loss can vary, but you will need to get both regular physical activity and a healthy eating plan to lose weight and keep it off.   A good plan may include 30 to 60  minutes of moderate intensity aerobic physical activity, like brisk walking, done nearly every day. Find something you can do and find ways to enjoy it. Take a brisk walk  or a jog with a friend or your dog. Enjoy a video that gets you moving.

Physical Activity and Calories The chart below shows the approximate calories spent per hour by a 100-, 150- and 200- pound person doing a particular activity.

Activity                                   100 lb     150 lb     200 lb

Bicycling, 6 mph                        160         240         312
Bicycling, 12 mph                      270         410         534
Jogging, 7 mph                         610         920         1,230
Jumping rope                            500         750         1,000
Running 5.5 mph                      440         660          962
Running, 10 mph                      850         1,280       1,664
Swimming, 25 yds/min              185         275          358
Swimming, 50 yds/min              325         500          650
Tennis, singles    2                    65          400          535
Walking, 2 mph                        160         240          312
Walking, 3 mph                        210         320          416
Walking, 4.5 mph                     295         440          572