We have all heard of those new diets, Atkins, low carb, high protein etc. Some of us have tried them with good results. There's no doubt about that they work.
They all have one thing in common though - they give us the impression that we no longer have to think about, or bother about, calories.
Nothing could be more far from the truth, unfortunatly. Calories still do count! What these new diets basically do is that they make you feel more satisfied on fewer calories. There are no mystical ingredients or unknown secrets that can change the law of energy balance. In other words, nothing will ever change the fact that if your metabolic system doesn't consume more energy than you take in, you will gain weight. If your metabolic system consumes more energy than you take in, you will lose weight. Period. The universe is made that way.
What are calories then? Are they some small evil molecules hiding in the food, just waiting to invade your body and make your life a fatty hell? No, of coarse they're not.
A calorie is just a word that defines a certain amount of energy, nothing else.
One calorie is the energy it takes to heat one gram of water one degree celcius. Mostly on food packages, the amount of calories are presented as kcal, which means kilo calories i.e. 1000 calories. So, one kcal is the energy it takes to heat one kilo, or one liter, of water one degree celcius. When a fitness chart or table says you burn for example 250 calories per half hour when jogging, it means 250 kilocalories.
Since calories are energy units, they apply to all kinds of energy, not only food. For example lighting a 60W lightbulb obviously takes some energy. The energy it takes to light it for 1,5 hour equals the calories you'll get when eating 1 piece of cheesecake! If you could fill your car up with BigMacs, you could travel almost 0.5 mile on one BigMac!
Does this knowledge make us any happier? Perhaps not but it can give us an idea on how different excercises will burn calories. Calories are consumed by performing work, in physical meaning. The amount of calories consumed equals power multiplied with distance, power x distance.
What does it mean? It means that the higher the power applied to an exercise and the longer the distance this power is in effect, the more calories are burned.
You can easily see that this explains why low intensity training like walking can be very effective, provided the distance is of significant length. You can also see that if you apply more power i.e. higher intensity, you will burn more calories compared to walking slowly the same distance.
Many people avoid to start excercising because last time they made an attempt they started at a high intensity level. The result is horrorful memories of short-of- breath, nearly- fainting, close- to- death feelings. The assumption that high intensity is the only way to burn calories is probably the reason most of us never develop a habit of regular exercise.
Next time you decide to improve your fitness level, remember the formula power x distance. Start by walking in a pleasant pace in let say half an hour three times a week. Increase the time (distance) by a quarter of an hour for the next three weeks.
After four weeks you will feel better, look better and healthier and you will also discover that you have automatically increased your walking speed. Without even notice. What does that mean? It means that you have automatically increased the power factor in the formula wich in turn means more calories burned!
The next step in your training program is your own choise. You can either increase distance or pump up your walking speed. If you have the time, why not both?
More fitness tips articles at: http://www.3crow.com/truefitnesstips/
tidy up service Northbrook ..One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
The South Beach Diet works, for most people. Its low... Read More
Are you ashamed of your weight? Do you have a... Read More
Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest ... Read More
The Psychology of Weight Loss ? Your Approach!We have missed... Read More
Generally, weight loss surgery such as the gastric bypass will... Read More
In our never ending search for the illusive "Fountain of... Read More
We are a large people. 65% of us are overweight,... Read More
Most people are unsure about how to begin a fat... Read More
Ready for a hardcore diet to get lean in a... Read More
Your health is your responsibility. As a human being, you... Read More
If you're always on a diet you probably spend half... Read More
There's recently been a LOT in the weight loss news... Read More
Reducing childhood obesity in the U.S. needs to be a... Read More
AND SAVE MONEY IN THE PROCESS. The secret is simple... Read More
Got milk? New research suggests you should if you want... Read More
Yes, you read it right?no diets!The first step in this... Read More
It's the American Dream: "If I could just lose a... Read More
Running For Weight Loss??.Slow DownYou may be out running your... Read More
The people of earlier times depended on the rich resource... Read More
It seems everyone is looking for that magic bullet -... Read More
Are you trying to lose weight?If you are, STOP!Funny thing... Read More
Believe it or not, losing a little or a lot... Read More
Now I know you're always asking yourself questions.You know the... Read More
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle... Read More
reliable home cleaners Buffalo Grove ..Weight loss is a hot topic among people today, especially... Read More
Have you ever wished for a diet where you ate... Read More
Changing our eating behaviour is one of the critical lifestyle... Read More
When losing weight, most of us don't have the time... Read More
Debunking The Ab MythAb training has been done to death... Read More
Weight training combines building muscle tone and working the cardiovascular... Read More
So many people are talking about how slow their metabolism... Read More
There are many books and internet articles written about weight... Read More
Name a diet...any diet. It doesn't work. Try to name... Read More
Cellulite - Reduce The Appearance --------------------------------- Sallie Elizabeth has always... Read More
Welcome to bodybuilding weightloss exercise tips!This is the engine room... Read More
It's agreed that if you raise the amount of calories... Read More
In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More
Dieting and weight loss is almost certainly the most lucrative... Read More
How would you like Julia Roberts to coach you on... Read More
To say that dieting rarely leads to sustainable weight loss... Read More
Are you dieting your way to bone loss?Are you aware... Read More
Almost everyone has attempted to follow diets and weight loss... Read More
Losing weight is a tough and demanding task for most... Read More
Both men and women around the world are becoming fatter... Read More
Weight loss is an issue that affects men and women... Read More
How's the practicing going? Are you spending time each day... Read More
In the last 12 months or so, low carbohydrate diets... Read More
The Government of the Australian state of Victoria has started... Read More
When we hear all the success stories of the gastric... Read More
Weight Loss |