Energy&weightloss

All about Energy

By Heather Smith

If you’re to lose weight, you must use more energy (calories) than you eat. This sounds simple, but when you look deeper, it becomes more complex as there are many factors which influence what we eat and the energy our bodies use. Your age, muscle mass, how hungry you were before you ate, what you ate and even the microbes in your gut affect how your body uses energy. Your appetite While it is true that you can lose weight by only eating Mars bars, as long as you’re eating less calories than you’re burning off, you’re going to be starving most of the time. What you’re eating You can feel at least as satisfied by a real, whole food meal the same size as a processed food meal, for less than half the calories. Base metabolic rate This is how many calories your body needs to stand still. Your age, muscle mass, hormones, dieting history, genes and sleep quality will affect how much energy your body needs to just stand still. Non-Exercise activity Keeping active and generally ‘moving about’ consumes more energy than sitting still. Exercise How much you move, the intensity and type of exercise all affect what calories your body needs to complete the activity. How used your body is to the exercise is also a factor because our bodies become more efficient with practice. Sleep quality Plays a big part in how hungry we feel and how much we eat. This is not an exhaustive list, but illustrates how different people respond to different diets/calorie intakes. You can make many of these factors work in your favour. More on this in the New Year. www.fitbiztraining.co.uk

ANDREW M JENKINS & Associates

BSc(Hons) MRCPod HCPC Registered Chiropodist / Podiatrist

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