There’s no secret to achieving the weight you want. It is as simple as balancing the calories you burn. When that doesn’t happen, you gain weight. Remember that everything you eat contains calories, and everything you do uses calories. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds and are active, you need approximately 2,250 calories per day to maintain that weight, versus 1,950 calories if you are sedentary.

It helps to know that one pound of body fat equals 3,500 calories. That means that to lose one pound per week, you need to reduce your total calories by 500 per day. You can do this by eating 250 fewer calories a day, and burning an extra 250 calories through physical activity (e.g., walking 2.5 miles).

To plan physical activity for weight loss, you’ll want a ballpark idea of how many calories are burned in different activities. The table below shows how many calories a 150-pound person would burn by doing any of these activities for a half hour. If you weigh less, you burn fewer calories; if you weigh more, you burn more. Mix and match them to reach 1,000 or more calories burned per week. And remember, any activity is better than nothing.

Source: Adapted from the American Cancer Society and March Into May, CDC

Healthy Weight Pyramid. This tool from Mayo Clinic quickly calculates the calories you should be eating to lose or maintain weight. It also recommends how to eat daily from each food group.

www.fitday.com.  Create a free, online food diary with the help of Fit Day’s database of calorie, carbs, fat and protein counts for thousands of foods. You can record your weight loss and exercise goals and Fit Day will track your progress.

Shape Up America. This not-for-profit organization is committed to raising awareness of obesity as a health issue and to providing responsible information on healthy weight management. The site includes a variety of calculators for weight management and a portion size tutorial.

HealthierUS. The HealthierUS initiative is a national effort to improve people's lives, prevent and reduce the costs of disease, and promote community health and wellness. On HealthierUS.gov you will learn how to: make physical activity a part of your day, eat more healthy foods, protect yourself and your family from illness, and avoid risks to your health and the health of your loved ones.

www.nutrition.gov. Nutrition.gov provides easy access to food and nutrition information from across a variety of federal government agencies. It serves as a gateway to reliable information on nutrition, healthy eating, dietary supplements, physical activity, and food safety for consumers. Since dietary needs change throughout a person's lifespan, specialized nutrition information is provided about infants, children, teens, adult women and men, and seniors.

Produce Power. Pack more fruits and vegetables into your diet by following this simple, self-guided, 5-week program.

Anthem Healthy Lifestyles. Register or log into MyAnthem > Select 360° Health > Select Healthy Lifestyles.