According to a current posting on Livestrong.com, a web site I highly recommend, “A pound of weight is equivalent to 3,500 calories, so to lose pounds you must create a calorie deficit. Physical exercise, particularly cardiovascular work that makes your heart beat faster and that utilizes the large muscles of the body, is recommended to help you create a greater daily calorie burn. An hour of swimming for a 160-lb. person burns about 500 calories, per the Mayo Clinic.”

However, it is important to maintain and even increase muscle since muscle burns fat, so weight lifting is critical along with adequate nutrition and rest. If you’re really interested in looking good fast for the Summer, try two-a-days involving 40 mins. of lifting in the morning, and swimming or running in the afternoon or evening. You’ll be amazed at how fast the weight will melt off if you lay off of the refined sugar and white flour in your diet at the same time!