If you cut 250 calories from your daily intake and burn 250 calories in exercise and activity on a daily basis you should lose 1 lb in a week.

With WiiFit Plus you can set a "calorie budget" and it will tell you how many calories you have left to burn after you finish each activity. You can't set an exact number but you choose a food from the list it gives you and tells you how many calories that food equals so I chose one that was 255 calories (as close to 250 as I could get ). I don't take those numbers as gospel. I trust it's calorie counter about as much as I trust a pedometer to tell me how many steps I have really taken.

It usually takes me a total of 1 hour 10 or 15 minutes to burn those 255 calories (sometimes a little more) depending on how strenous the activities I am doing are.

Between that and tracking my food on fitday, I hope to see some good results when I weigh in for Team Lean on Monday.

This is generally my strategy.

Of course, if you are already exercising and burning 250 calories extra is "normal" for you to maintain on... then you have to slash 500 calories in food.

And that is "harder" or "sadder" or something.

On the other hand... To slash "only" 250 calories actually is "harder" to count (IMO)... or requires more accurate counting and/or measuring. If a person eats 5 meals and snacks a day and underestimates by just 50 calories every time they eat (which is like one once too much of chicken breast... we are talking a couple of bites of food) then they won't have that 250 calorie deficit.

So, in some ways it is easier to shoot for a 400-500 calorie food deficit, I think... because even REALLY, REALLY good calorie counters underestimate by 10%... or about 200 calories a day.

Yep. Surely you can find a food that has that many calories that you can do without just for the day. And a good game of hoops or dodgeball with the neighborhood kids should burn 250 without even thinking about it as gasp "exercise"

Then do it again tomorrow just for that one day but choose a different food and maybe take the dog for an extra long walk with the family.

Every day mix it up and do something different "just for the day".

I don't even think of the Wii as "exercise". I enjoy the games and I also do some of the yoga and strength training. You can even switch back to the tv when doing the free step and watch your favorite program while stepping.
And sometimes I don't even turn on the Wii, I just use the balance board as a stepper while I am watching tv (of course then I can't count the calories but that is ok)

It's funny how when you break it down like that 250/250 that it seems so doable.

Jill