3500 calories to a pound -- the 50-year-old myth that refuses to die

"In fact, the 3,500-calories rule is largely accurate if you're burning a pound of flesh in a chemistry lab. However, the human body isn't a lab, where you can isolate and analyze one factor at a time. Rather, the body is an organic whole, and has many reactions to changes in calories, carbohydrates, fats, proteins, metabolism, exercise, and hormones."

This is a very interesting read!  You Might Need To Rethink How Many Calories Are in a Pound  My dietitian talks often about how adaptation and changes in metabolism over time make it impossible to make hard-and-fast predictions, and this article does a great job of putting that into lay terms.

I spent a lot of time reading articles and books like this and trying to find a better way to lose weight than calorie counting.  For me the only thing that works is eliminating 500 calories a day to lose a pound a week.  Sometimes I lose more than one pound, I have never lost less than one pound. 

For me the weight loss number is 900 calories and it always takes off at least a pound a week.

I also count carbs, protein, fat, fiber and water intake.  I track and weigh my food and I weigh myself daily.  Trying to lose and maintain weight loss while ignoring calories is what helped me to become heavy enough for weight loss surgery.

Counting calories is what keeps me at goal.

Oh I absolutely agree! I count calories and macros and plan to indefinitely; it's the only thing that makes me actually pay attention to what I'm eating. But the amount of calories that will result in loss can vary greatly between individuals and for the same individual over time depending on weight, body composition, and activity level. For those who are eating 700 calories a day and haven't lost anything in a month, I think this is great info to help them realize they're not really crazy, and metabolism isn't a one-size-fits-all equation.

Short term, anything can happen. Losing fat and losing weight are very different things. And even one month is still very short term.

Over the long haul, everyone eating 700 calories a day who is carrying excess fat is going to lose weight. Everyone. And if you aren't losing weight, I would bet my house that you are eating more than 700 calories. Probably twice that much.

As has been said, while not a 'one size fits all' formula I still find  it was most helpful rule of thumb in organizing my initial weight loss and now for maintaining my weight. While my maintenance calorie number is higher than the 3500 calorie level would dictate, I typically drop a pound a week by reducing calories by 3500 a week (500 daily). 

And no matter what wisdom is added in the future about how metabolism influences weight, I still believe that we will have to control our calories to control our weight. And yes, while there is the exceptional person who is not losing at 700 calories a day, the vast majority of people who claim this are eating significantly more calories over time. I think as humans, particularly ones with flawed thinking around food, we easily forget about the days we over eat and only remember the few when we ate less than our bodies need to maintain the current number.

Also, it takes time to gain a pound because we usually don't over eat by 3500+ calories daily. So we aren't necessarily getting away unscathed when we see the scale stay the same a day or two after over eating. That's why weighing, measuring and recording our food is so helpful. It keeps us honest over the course of time. 

Great read! thanks for sharing!

It seems from reading the replies that people are mistaking what is meant, and I just want to clarify in case they are so they are not mislead. 

The article is talking about a 500 calorie a day DEFICIT, as in, deficit to your BODY. This does not necessarily mean simply cutting out 500 calories a day, but rather, that your body is burning 500 calories more than you're consuming a day. 

Ex: Maybe you burned 1600 today but only consumed 1100. THERE is your 500 deficit. 

It wasn't saying if you're currently eating 1000 to cut back to 500.