200 lbs

After eight years, I am on the threshold of saying goodbye to the 200's. I stood on the scale this morning and the dial was firmly on the 200 mark. Knowing my body the way I do, I will be under it in 4-5 days or so. I had a hard time really visualizing my lost 72 lbs, but I happened across a website that put it into perspective:

72 pounds is the average weight of a 10-year old boy.

How Much Fuel Is That?

To lose that amount of fat would mean to burn 252,000 calories or 1,054,368 KiloJoules! That is the equivalent of 8.13 gallons of gasoline. Humans, however, are far more efficient than cars, getting about 912 "miles to the gallon". If you could dump this many calories into the tank of a Honda Civic, you would be able to drive it about 276 miles before running out of gas!

Let's see how your goal would convert to other forms of fuel. 252,000 calories is equivalent to:

• 8.13 gallons of gasoline, or
• 90.04 pounds of coal, or
• 125.05 pounds of oven-dried wood, or
• 11.04 gallons of propane

This amount of energy would ...

• Brew about 703 pots of coffee, or
• Light a 60-watt light bulb for 4,881 hours ( 203 days = 0.63 years)

Cutting 252,000 calories is the same as saying "no" to:

• 182 pounds of ground beef, or
• 2,897 glasses of wine, or
• 780 Snickers bars, or
• 1,050 Clif Bars ( 1,400 Luna Bars), or
• 1,813 cans of Coke, or
• 1,482 pints of Guinness beer, or
• 512 Big Macs, or
• 489 Quarter Pounders with Cheese, or
• 360 Whoppers, or
• 764 Subway 6" Oven Roasted Chicken Breast sandwiches, or
• 1,482 Taco Bell crunchy tacos, or
• 1,072 slices of pepperoni pizza from Pizza Hut (!!)

What it Takes to Burn 252,000 Calories

To burn 252,000 calories, a 190 pound male would have to:

• Backpack for 417 hours (17 days) nonstop, or
• Walk for 966 hours (40 days) at 3 mph straight, or
• Walk 2,897 miles (1,810 kilometers), or
• Bike for 730 hours (30 days) at 10 mph, or
• Bike 7,304 miles (4,565 kilometers), or
• Play basketball nonstop for 402 hours 17 days), or
• Play billiards for 1,167 hours (49 days), or
• Go bowling for 973 hours (41 days), or
• Stay on the golf course for 730 hours (30 days), or
• Spend 325 hours (14 days) playing competitive football, or
• Jump rope for 307 hours (13 days) straight!

You would have to walk the length of England about 4.83 times to burn 252,000 calories.

How many pounds have you lost and what does it really mean? Check here!