Ready to Ride
the 500 Slide?

The 500 slide is hard, but simple. You can lose weight consistently, week over week. It just takes reducing your calorie count by 500 per day.

It will be up to you how this is accomplished. Some people just eat less, consuming 500 fewer calories. Some walk or exercise to burn 500. Some do a mixture or change it up each day. The right solution is unique to you. In the end, all diet and exercise plans come down to this simple idea of 500 fewer calories per day.

First, you need to determine how many calories your body burns each day without any extra exercise. This is your basal metabolic rate* plus your minimal activity like getting up, walking around at work, sitting at a desk etc. Many people think they need 2000 calories per day, but this is a misleading average. Your daily calorie level is determined by a combination of age, height, weight, and more. Start by using the calculator linked below to get your personalized daily calorie limit, using basal metabolic rate + sedentary activity.

Visit the calculator site below:
1. Daily Calorie Calculator
2. Choose your age, gender, height, and weight
3. For activity, choose "sedentary: little or no exercise"
4. Record the calculated level for "Maintain weight"

Got your level? Great! Now, science tells us if you net this many calories per day, you will maintain current weight. Interestingly, a pound of fat is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories. So if you want to lose around a pound a week you just reduce your calories by 3500 a week or 500 a day.

Let's pretend your daily calorie level from the calculator is 1850. Subtract 500 to get 1350. That's your new daily calorie level for a gentle slide down in weight loss. Do your best to eat only 1350 calories and/or counteract any overage with exercise.

How you accomplish this is up to you. Some people live intermittent fasting. Others swear by the paleo, mediterranean, or other diets. Some people walk miles, and others lift weights or jog. Find whatever balance works for you. Just keep the simple goal in mind every day.

Welcome to the 500 slide. Eating less and moving more isn't always easy. You'll need to start tracking calories eaten and burned. But the goal is simple. Limit yourself to your calculated daily limit minus 500 and you will succeed.

If you have questions or comments, email us below. We'll also add you to our email list for future updates.

* References
[1] Biohacking Lite - Andrej Karpathy blog
[2] Basal Metabolic Rate
[3] Calorie Calculator