It has been reckoned that a Mr Average doing a sedentary job needs something in the region of 2,400 calories a day (more if physical labour is involved) and on a health farm as a dramatic crash diet they may suggest 500 calories a day as a sure-fire, but supervised, way to weight loss. Less drastically they may also recommend a less severe diet of 1,000 or 1,500 calories for one week which is kinder to the metabolism and not such a debilitating shock to the system. These sets of diets must be supervised.

To burn up one pound of weight it has been calculated you need to burn 3,500 calories above your daily requirement. The following table is generally used to indicate the approximate numbers of calories a man will burn up during motion or sport.

If most men make a point of eating less, skipping second helpings and avoiding fatty foods they will lose weight gradually. There are three diets listed here, one a crash diet based on calorie counting and two with only rules to follow that are ideal for the man who because of his way of life cannot guarantee to be able to follow a strict regimen of meals. These two, the No-Sugar No-Flour diet and the Good and the Bad diet will help shed weight not dramatically quickly, but gradually.

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