Health & Longevity through Good Nutrition [CALORIES]
At rest, your body burns only about 12 calories per pound of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 150
pounds, your body uses only about 150 X 12 = 1,800 calories per day.
This is the amount of calories per day that would maintain your current weight.
If you were to eat more than 1,800 calories
per day, the surplus turns into fat. It takes about 3,600 excess calories to
make a pound of fat. If, for example, you were to eat 2000 calories per day,
you would be getting an extra 200 calories per day that is going to turn into
fat. All else being equal, in 18 days you would gain one pound (18 x 200 =
3,600).
The extra calories are influenced by the food calories coming in, or calories (burned by exercise)
going out. Theoretically, if you eat 3,600 calories more than your body
needs, you will put on about 1 pound. If you use up 3,600 calories more than
you eat, you will lose about 1 pound in weight.
I say THEORETICALLY because there are many FACTORS
that influence which foods are used to burn calories.
You can look at your weight as the water level in a sink.
Two things can make this water level
(your weight) go up or down. If you turn on
the faucet (consume more calories) then the water level
(your weight) will go up.
If you open up the drain (burn more calories through exercise)
then the water level
(your weight) will go down. This sounds
simple but it is often very hard to acheive our goal.
The problem with starting a healthy life style is that at first it
can seen overwelming (TOO BIG A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB!) Next, we will look at your BMI. Once we know that,
we can determine your ideal healthy weight and formulate a
Healthy Living Program
to help acheive our goal.
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