Energy Balance Made Slightly Easier

When it comes to getting healthier, one of the first things we always hear about is our diet. There is so much mis-information about diets and nutrition,
that I felt it would be important and beneficial to clear up some of the confusion.

First, let's just avoid any of the fad diets out there like Paleo, Keto, Atkins, South-Beach and any of the other hundreds of "new" ideas about how to lose weight. Some of them may work for some people, but not for the reasons most people think they do. So, let's take a look at what works for every single human being who has ever or will ever live.

The secret to weight loss, weight gain and weight maintenance is energy balance. What exactly does that mean? Let's take a look.

One word everyone hears about when it comes to nutrition and dieting is "Calories." But what exactly is a Calorie? A Calorie is simply a unit of measurement that is used to determine the amount of energy contained in the food we eat. Technically speaking, a Calorie is the amount of energy it takes to increase 1 Kg of water by 1 degree Celsius at sea level. That's really all it is.

All through the day, as we stand up, walk around, talk with our friends or family, pick up our children, climb stairs, etc. we are using Calories for energy. It is not limited to those activities, however. In fact, a significant portion of the Calories that you use for energy on any given day go to things you may not be thinking about; things like digesting food, breathing, pumping blood through your heart, etc. All of these things require energy.

We take in Calories when we eat or drink and use those Calories to provide necessary energy to function throughout our day. If you take in more Calories than you use, that is called a "Caloric Surplus." When you have a Caloric Surplus, you will gain weight. The larger the surplus, the faster you gain weight.

On the other hand, when you use more Calories than you take in, that's called a "Caloric Deficit." As you have probably already guessed, this situation will result in losing weight. As with the surplus, the speed at which you lose weight is related to the degree to which you are in a Caloric deficit. If you want to maintain your weight, you simply keep your Caloric intake equal to your Caloric usage.

There is, no doubt, much more that we will get into that will be important to know as we move forward. But I wanted to make sure to get this basic idea out of the way. I do hope that this was a helpful start to get you going in the right direction.