Calories, Metabolism and Weight Loss Diets

Calories are units that measure the amount of energy in food and the amount of energy the human body expends. Metabolism is the process by which your body converts food into energy and refers to the speed at which you burn calories.

If you eat more calories than you burn off throughout the day the result will be that the calories are stored as fat.

Approximately 3,500 calories equals one pound of body fat. So, the general rule is that by reducing calorie intake or burning calories with exercise at 500 calories a day, one pound a week of body fat will be lost.

Recommended daily calorie intake can vary for different individuals depending on age, height, weight and metabolism.

A good estimate is to allow for around 15 calories per pound of body weight.

For example, a person who weighs 160 pounds may consume around 2,400 calories each day to maintain his or her weight (15 calories/pound x 160 pounds = 2,400 calories).

For long term weight loss, aim to lose one to two pounds a week.

A diet high in fibre can help to fill you without adding too many calories.

Eat slowly - it takes 20 minutes for the brain to start signalling feelings of fullness so the slower you eat, the fewer calories you consume.

Crash dieting can have a detrimental effect on your basic metabolic rate, your body will go into 'starvation mode' to protect its fat stores by using up muscle tissue.

Most dieters do not keep up the starvation routine for long. They return to their old eating habits and the weight eventually piles back on. Because they lost both fat and muscle during the diet, they now have a lot more fat and a lot less muscle than they did before the diet. The amount of calorie intake needed to maintain a loss in weight will have lessened because their metabolism has slowed down.

For any weight loss plan to work, it should include a well-balanced diet - a reduction of calorie intake - any type of physical activity to burn calories and some modification to existing lifestyles.


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