Does 3,500 calories equal 1 pound of fat? Is it possible not to eat a lot of calories and still not lose bodyfat?

Yep, 3,500 calories does amount to a pound of fat. So when you eat 3,500 fewer calories than the body needs, you should lose fat and get more defined, assuming you spend some time working out. But there’re other factors to consider.

How to burn 3500 calories When reducing calories, do so mildly – say 200-500 fewer a day than you’re consuming now. Such small decreases help sidestep metabolic adaptations that occur with dieting.

When you make large reductions in calories, your body’s calorie-burning engine, also known as its metabolism, can shift into a lower gear, negating fat loss. With gradual calorie decreases, downshifting is less likely to occur.

You should also take one day a week to ease up on your diet and go back to a higher calorie intake. In this case, eat 200-500 fewer calories than normal for a week, followed by a single day in which you add 200-500 calories back to your diet.

This is another effective way to prevent the body from slowing its metabolism. Calories count, but having a metabolism that remains active is equally, if not more, vital in the grand scheme of dieting and fat loss. [via]