Calorie Counting Chart

Did you know that it is easier to lose weight than to gain weight? Well, mathematically, it is. Energy from food that is not used by the body would most likely be stored as fat in the adipose tissues. Consider this hypothetical scenario: The meal you just had contains about 3,500 kcal of fat per pound. If you ate 3,500 kcal more than what your body actually needs, you will be putting on about 0.3 pounds from all that fat. Burn 3,500 kcal more, you would lose a surprising 0.7 pounds more than the prior figure, so that means 1 whole pound off the scale. Sounds impressive enough? There's more.

Counting calories, literally counting them figure by figure, is a thing of the past. Brought about by the endless advancements in technology, there are now such things as online Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculators and calorie counters. These make it even easier for you to do your math! The former determines your calorie needs based on your height, weight, age, and gender while the latter, on how many calories you actually are getting from the food you eat every day. This would give you a bird's eye view on whether or not you are eating more or eating less than what your body needs.

If losing weight is your ultimate goal, there is just one more part to the equation. You know that you have been eating more than what you should have so the question now is: how do you calculate the number of calories you are burning with the level of activity, or inactivity, your present lifestyle has? Furthermore, how many more calories should you be burning to shed those few extra pounds?

For this activity, we call in the help of J. Arthur Harris and Francis G. Benedict, who created, of course, the Harris-Benedict equation. For this formula, you would need to your BMR multiplied by an activity factor:

o 1.2 for sedentary, which means having little or no exercise;

o 1.55 for moderate activity, moderate exercise for 3-5 days in a week; and

o 1.725 for rigorous activity, which involves hard exercise for 6-7 days a week.

Through it all, though, the real key to an effective and long term weight loss program is having healthy eating habits and regular exercise. There are no short cuts to this one. It is not going to be easy but no one ever said that you could not have fun while you are at it! So experiment, mix, and match foods, improvise strenuous exercises, and personalize your own weight loss regimen!