The diets on the market would not work if they didn't make you lose weight. The truth is, these diets must eventually be explained to everybody that the number one formula these diets must live by is eating less calories than you burn. If you don't follow this formula, then all these carbohydrate reducing, fat loss, low glycemic eating programs won't do anything towards you. This is why many experts are going back to the basic retreat of calories counting.
There is a science to this so called calorie counting algorithm, if you forgot what you learned back in high school, it wont take long to refresh your memory. This will also help you make better decisions about the foods you eat, and how to maximize your calorie resources.
First off what is a calorie?
A calorie is a measurement of certain potential energy in what we eat, we call this food. One calorie can raise the temperature of a single gram of water by one degree Celsius. In a way you can compare calories to gasoline. Gasoline is needed to fuel are cars, and make them "active". Calories fuel our body, and make us "active".
Now that we know what a calorie is, how exactly does are body convert these calories into energy?
The enzymes in are body located in the digestive system break down certain chemical bonds that store food molecules as one. The digestive system then discharges the energy in the bonds, which activates it for use.
What does you body do with the energy?
Like mentioned earlier as gas fuels a car, the calorie fuels everything in your body. It can range from breathing, meditating, growing nails, hair, or running a marathon. When you don't use the calories you consume however, these calories get transported to the liver. The liver restores your glycogen. This is your body's reserve fuel, and is easily accessible. When the liver is full of glycogen, it is then passed to the muscles, for temporary storage. This type of storage will help get you through your exercises. The liver and muscles together carry about 350 calories worth of energy. Think of these calorie storages as accounts, when you consume more, you can save your calories in here until they are converted to fat and spread out through the body.
How many calories do you have to lose in order to lose a full pound of body weight?
The answer is about 3500 calories; you can either eat fewer calories, and burn these off that way, or do some exercises for quicker results. Remember though even if your working out everyday, the calorie rule still applies. If you consume more calories then you burn off, you are going to gain weight. That's the science.
If you want to know how many calories you need to maintain your weight throughout the day, look for a calorie calculator somewhere on the internet; you can also take a BMI test to see what your body mass should be. It has to do a lot with your weight and height.
What is the best way to keep track of your calories?
All you need to do is get a journal, and write down what the calorie amount is for each serving. Write down everything you eat, and add up the calories. If you want to take it into the extreme, you can photograph your meals, and set up some sort of diary or blog about your eating habits. This technique may increase your motivation, and help you understand what you are doing right and wrong. It also gives you a great illustrative view of what your eating throughout the day.
Remember it's all about the calorie count. If you're a male your average calorie amount is about 2,500 calories. If you are a female then your average amount is about 2,000 calories. If you stay somewhere on the line of this calorie count then you will be in the average zone.
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