Losing a pound means burning 3,500 calories

This is a hard concept to swallow: to lose one pound of weight, you must burn 3,500 calories. Now, given that an hour on the treadmill will burn about 500 calories for most of us, it seems crazy that it takes seven times that amount to lose a pound.

But then, do the math: one hour-long session with the treadmill per day (for seven days, which is a stretch, I know) and you have the caloric burn equivalent of having lost a pound.

It's pretty easy to see that losing a pound a week is a pretty reasonable goal, as opposed to the idiotic television commercials that promise 10 times that while still being able to eat high-calorie foods. Just remember: 3,500 calories equals one pound.