Calories Counting Secret

Calories Counting begins by multiplying your current weight by 15 (that's roughly the number of calories per pound of body weight needed to maintain your current weight if you are "moderately active").

Moderately active for calories counting means getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day in the form of exercise (walking at a brisk pace, climbing stairs, or active, physical gardening).

For example, a woman 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds, needs to lose about 12 pounds to put her in a healthy weight range. If you multiply 150 by 15, you will get 2,250, which is the number of calories per day that she needs in order to maintain her current weight (weight-maintenance calories). To lose weight, she will need to get below that total.

Regardless of your weight and other risk factors, people who are active versus people who are not have a tremendous advantage in terms of cardiovascular disease. There's no pill that's anywhere near as effective as exercise.

The best exercise is the one that you will keep doing and, for most people, that is going to be walking. It's easy, simple and you don't need expensive equipment or club memberships.