Weight Loss vs Weight Gain

Twelve pounds in ten days; yes, Harold was naughty to the max, but it was his vacation. Sad but so, the party is over and it's time to float back down to Mother Earth. Harold's floating down a bit heavier than before his vacation, but he's serious about getting the excess off.

He gained 12 pounds in 10 days, so he should be able to lose 12 pounds in 10 days, right? When succulent pit-roasted pigs fly.

Why?

Harold ate approximately 42,000 calories OVER his daily calorie requirement in order to gain those 12 rotten pounds of Hawaiian flab. He'll need to expend that many calories in order to lose those 12 pounds.

As a note, we are assuming that these pounds are 'fat-stored pounds' rather than 'water-stored pounds'. In simple terms, Harold actually ate those 42,000 calories - not just sodium-laden foods that generally confuse the old scale.

Harold's normal weight is 150 pounds. If he walks 3 ½ miles per hour, he'll burn about 180 calories for a 2-mile walk. If he runs, he'll only burn about 20 calories more.

Even if Harold walked for 8 solid hours, he'd only burn about 1 pound. If he also decreased his daily calorie requirement by 500 calories, he'd lose about 1 pound for the week.

So, as we can see - it takes a lot of effort to work off excess weight. Yet, it was so easy to gain. Why?

Mixed drinks are extremely high in calories - 500 calories or more per drink is not uncommon. Drink 7 of those suckers, and it translates to 1 evil pound.

Can Harold lose the excess weight? YES - of course he can! A more realistic goal is 1 ½ to 2 pounds per week. Exercise, combined with smart eating, will have Harold back to his normal weight in about 6 weeks.

It's very easy to put on weight, but it's nearly impossible to lose weight as fast as you can gain weight. Sometimes, life just isn't fair, is it?

By the way, Harold did succeed and he's sworn off of roasted pig. The coconut rum cake's just a bit harder to kick…

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