Our bodies use three main components to create energy/calories. Those three components are:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
What is a calorie? In order to understand how the system works we have to know what a calorie is. A calorie is a unit of energy or heat. Think of it as a small pellet or coal used to stoke the fire of our internal engine. Everything that we eat is eventually turned into calories and our bodies burn these calories for energy. The heat produced by burning this pellet is called a calorie. The more active we are the more calories we will burn.
What are Carbohydrates? Carbohydrates are sugars, but not sugar like the kind you use for coffee. They are molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and they are produced by plants and animals. They are the body's main source for energy. There are complex and simple carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates are broken down or metabolized by the body more quickly than complex carbohydrates. Plants such as fruits and vegetables are the most abundant source of carbohydrates. The carbs found in plants are simple carbohydrates and are metabolized (turned into calories and burned for energy) by the body very quickly. The carbs found in foods like bread, pasta, and meat are complex and are metabolized more slowly.
Proteins are made of amino acids. They are the building blocks for muscle tissue and are found in meat, fish, dairy, and some vegetables. Like carbs, they are metabolized into calories. However, they are harder to metabolize than complex carbs.
Fats are oils. They are turned into calories and metabolized slower than complex carbs or proteins. Since they are so hard to metabolize, our bodies use them as a last resort source for calories. As such they are usually stored in our muscle tissue for the times when other sources of calories aren't available.
Whenever we eat, our bodies turn all of these three things into calories. Any calories that aren't metabolized during the course of our day are turned into fat and stored in our muscle tissue for later use. In a nutshell that is how we gain weight. It doesn't matter if you eat only meat or you are a vegetarian. If you consume more calories than you can use during your normal day, you will gain weight. To illustrate how our bodies metabolize food let's say that you eat a steak first then an apple. Your body will breakdown and metabolize the apple first and more quickly because it is a simple carbohydrate. The stake will take longer since it is mainly protein and fat. Whatever you don't need for energy will be turned into fat and stored in your muscle tissue for later.
So how do we lose weight? It is a lot more simple when you understand how your body works. All we need to do to lose weight is to lower our calorie intake and consume more fruits and vegetables--mainly carbs--than meat which is mainly protein and fat. Unfortunately it is not that easy for some of us because we have built up a lot of fat over the years. We would basically have to starve ourselves in order to lose weight by only watching what we eat. Therefore, anyone in this situation needs to force their body to turn the fat that is stored in their muscle tissue into calories. Once the fat is turned into calories it will be burned of as energy. The only way to force the body to burn fat off as calories is to increase your body's energy requirements. The best way to do this is by running.
Running is the number one way to burn calories. You exert more energy running than by doing anything else. Running burns more calories than bodybuilding, swimming, or any other activity. Some people prefer to run early in the morning on an empty stomach. In theory this is a good idea because if there is nothing in your stomach to produce the calories needed for energy your body will turn to the fat stored in your tissue to create the calories needed. However, if you are not an experienced runner please be careful. You may start to feel light headed and could pass out if you exert too much energy. Some people say that it hurts to run because their knees are bad or their ankles or other parts of their bodies hurt. I've heard this excuse many times. If this is your situation don't worry. You don't have to start off by immediately running a mile every morning. You have to take your time and let your body get used to the stress. Over time you will not feel the pain any more because your body will become stronger. Start off by walking instead of running if this is your situation. Walk for a few minutes everyday for a week to break your body in. After your first week, start jogging if you can for 5 minutes a day. If you are overweight you may need to walk for 2 weeks or more before jogging so that your body gets used to the work. Once you are comfortable with jogging for 5 minutes a day, increase your time to 10 minutes but you can decrease the number of days to 2 or 3. Keep training 2 to 3 times a week and steadily increase you time until you reach about 20 to 30 minutes. Twenty to thirty minutes is a long time to jog and you will drop a lot of weight quickly. Once you are comfortable jogging, it is time to start incorporating running into your routine. You don't have to run at a constant speed for 30 minutes though. You should vary your speed so that you don't overexert yourself. You are not training for the Olympics here. You are only trying to lose weight. One last thing, if your knees or another part of you legs hurts while running try using running cushions in your shoes or an elliptical machine(picture below) at a gym if you have a gym membership.
Good luck. Train hard and keep visiting for more info. Also post comments and questions by clicking the comment button below any post.
