Do the Math

Even though I just suggested you don't embrace the idea that you "should" exercise to lose weight, I think it's important to know how it works. This is basic information that may be common knowledge, but I had to look it up.

A pound = 3500 calories, so if, for example, you wanted to lose a pound in a week, you'd have to burn 3500 calories or reduce your intake by 3500 calories, or some combination of the two. That's 500 calories a day. That's about 5 miles (about one hour) of running. (Running burns about 100 calories in 10 minutes; biking 80, brisk walking 50, regular walking 30.) Most of us are not going to start running 5 miles every day, but that's okay, because a pound a week is too ambitious. Try this idea instead: if you add 2000 steps (about one mile) to your daily routine, you'll burn 100 extra calories a day which is over 35,000 calories in a year which adds up to ten pounds.

I've also heard that weight training, while not burning as many calories as cardio, increases your average daily metabolic rate. Muscles burn more calories than fat, three times more according to one source I found on line. I also found a source that denied the whole idea, so who knows, but I like the idea that as I'm turning fat into muscle, I'm speeding up my metabolism.