With the many different types of diet programs that go on, it’s hard to keep up with exactly what is going on with your body. When asked about how they plan on losing weight, people often mumble some generic response about cutting calories and exercising. Then they offer you the blank stare, and hope you’ll leave your questions with that.
But what are these mysterious “Calories” that people always speak about, but never really understand? The purpose of this article is to explain to you what calories are, as well as give you a few helpful pointers so that your diet can be tailored to your needs.
Put simply, Calories are nothing more than a unit of energy. Reading something like “50 Calories” on the back of your snack or drink simply tells you that you are receiving fifty calories out of your recommended daily value. It’s much more intricate than that but breaking it down to the chemical reactions and exothermic reactions caused by your body digesting food would make this a very long article.
Another thing you often hear talk of are negative calories. But what does that mean exactly?
Foods that have “Negative Calories” are not missing something that all other foods have. Rather, these things require your body to burn more energy just to digest it, than it yields back once it’s in your system. The term “Grapefruit diet,” originated because Grapefruit has negative calories.
The thing you should take away that is more important than anything else are the words “Daily Value.” Daily Value is a reflection of how many calories your body requires in a day to maintain its state as it is currently in. The number of calories that your body burns at rest is called your “Metabolic Rate.” This is something you really need to pay attention to. It is assumed that your average persons metabolic rate hovers around 2000 calories a day. However in reality this is rarely the case.
Metabolic rate is defined both by your genetics and by your environment. Due to genetics, some people burn calories at a higher rate than others. This causes them difficulty in gaining any weight, where as those who have a low metabolic rate have problems losing weight. This is where you hear people talking about how they have a fast or slow metabolism.
Environmental factors that affect your metabolism vary from climate, age, and lifestyle. As you get older, your metabolism will begin to slow down. This can be regulated somewhat by exercise and other factors, but it will happen. Additionally, smokers generally maintain a slightly higher metabolic rate than non smokers. However those quitting smoking have a significantly slower metabolism than average. These, and many other factors all tie into how your body is fueled.
Most professional Gyms and Fitness clubs have a coordinator that you can help you calculate your exact metabolic rate. This is the key to correctly dieting. Living healthy does not involve cutting certain food groups completely out, but rather maintaining the proper balance. If you’re constantly eating and not exercising your body will store the excess energy as fat. In order to lose this, you need to cut your caloric intake to the point where your body is forced to draw on the fat reserves to continue to fuel your activities. The more active you are the more you’ll burn. Additionally, exercising right will increase your metabolism, allowing you to eat more and still maintain your level of fitness.
There are many weight loss products that have been “Scientifically Engineered” to cut your weight. In some cases, they cause your heart rate to speed up, thereby increasing the amount of calories you are burning in any given activity. Others simply dry you out, causing you to lose the water that your body has stored up.
These things are the easy way but not necessarily the best way. Products like these can increase your risk of heart attack or cause you to suffer a heat injury. Both of these are potentially deadly. The resources you need to lose weight naturally are all around, you have the knowledge you need, all you need to do is take that first step and you’ll be on your way to a better you.
