Your Body Bank is Always Keeping Track!

With so much "diet" information out there, it's easy to forget that weight management is really a matter of simple mathematics.  Think of a bank account: Your balance depends on the amount of deposits (money in) versus the amount of withdrawals (money out). In much the same way, your body weight is maintained when the amount you eat (calories in) equals the energy you burn off (calories out).

Believe it or not, your body is always burning calories. On average, you use about 1,800 to 2,500 calories per day just to carry out normal body functions--like breathing, digesting, even sleeping.  That's called your basic metabolic rate. But if you take in more calories than you use, the excess gets stored as fat.  And if you use more calories than you take in, your body burns off excess fat reserves.  So the question is, what is your own Body Trend?  Are you steadily losing, gradually gaining, or staying in one place?

Each pound of fat equals roughly 3,500 calories--the equivalent of 35 oatmeal cookies, 15 servings of French fries, or just 7 fast-food chicken sandwiches.  Simply put, if you eat 3,500 extra calories without burning them off, you'll gain a pound; cut back or burn off those same 3,500 calories, and you'll be one pound lighter.

When you understand this calories in/calories out equation, it's easy to see why programs that "promise" you'll drop 10 pounds per week are misleading. Losing 10 pounds of actual fat entails burning off 70,000 calories--so you'd have to cut back 5,000 calories, or go running for three solid hours each and every day to meet that goal!

A more reasonable target? Aim to lose about 2 to 3 pounds a week (7,000 to 10,500 calories).  With just a few simple lifestyle changes, it's easy to do--and good for your health:

• Cut back on daily calories; 1000 fewer calories each day translates to a 2-pound weight loss in a week's time.
• Take up exercise. A brisk half-hour walk burns about 100 calories--do it daily, and that's another pound every four weeks (walking is also great for your heart!)
• Build muscle to increase your metabolic rate. What's the connection?  Lean muscle burns more calories than fat tissue; by adding muscle mass, you'll automatically boost the number of calories your body burns (even at rest).

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