The number of calories you need to burn to lose 10 pounds is 35,000. This is because one pound is equal to about 3,500 calories. This may seem like an overwhelming and unachievable number, but it is within your reach. Just create a plan and stick to it.

Healthy Weight Loss Goal

Experts recommend that a healthy weight loss goal is about two pounds per week. While some people can lose more than that each week, avoid weight loss methods that promote losing 10 pounds in a single week. Give yourself about 5 to 6 weeks to lose the 10 pounds.

When people lose large amounts of weight quickly through extreme methods, their skin often droops and they do not look healthy. Extremely fast weight loss is often a result of calorie deprivation, resulting in malnutrition. These types of methods are unsustainable in the long term. Give yourself the luxury of gradual weight loss, which will keep your body in optimal shape.

If you set your weight loss goal at two pounds per week, that is equal to burning about 7,000 calories weekly. The good news is that you do not have to actually burn off all of those calories. If you consciously adjust your caloric intake on a daily basis, you can more easily meet your weekly goal.

Food Journal

Start by keeping a food journal. Write down everything you eat and record the number of calories for each food item. Determine how many calories you need on a daily basis using a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculator. This is a measure of how many calories your body needs to perform its basic daily functions such as breathing, circulation and metabolism. You want to eat enough to meet this basic caloric requirement.

Keeping a food journal will help you to spot the foods and beverages that you can eliminate from your diet. For example, you may be surprised to see just how many calories you consume from beverages alone. Soft drinks, sweetened coffee and sugary juices can be replaced with water or healthier, lower calorie drinks. Sweets and salty snacks can be eliminated, reduced, or replaced with low-calorie treats. You may find that you can cut 500 calories per day by cutting out high calorie beverages and snacks. This alone would decrease your weekly caloric intake by 3,500 calories, or 1 pound.

Exercise Journal

Also remember that the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn. Add exercise to your daily routine. Some workout machines will tell you how many calories you have burned. Online exercise calculators will give you good estimates as well. After each exercise session, write down the total number of calories burned. Just the act of tracking the calories motivates some people to exercise longer and cut out high calorie foods.

Through daily aerobic exercise and lower caloric intake, you can burn off 35,000 calories in about 5 or 6 weeks. You have to be diligent. Tools like food journals, BMR calculators and exercise calorie counters can help you track your efforts and meet your goals. FitDay can even help you track your progress.