Calories Burning
First what is meant by calories in the medical domain?
The food that we eat is absorbed in the digestive system, which retrieves the fat, nutrients, and is stored. This retrieved material or storage gives us the energy for our body to function. This stored energy is measured in terms of calories. In scientific language, one calorie is the energy required to raise water of 1 gram to 1 degree centigrade.
In the measurement of calories in food, it is 1,000 calories, as described above, retrieved from food , to the same energy required to heat one kilogram of water to 1 degree centigrade. In other words, when it comes to energy from food it is commonly “Kilocalorie”.
All foods do not provide the same amount of calories. Leafy vegetables may have less calories, than, say an ice-cream.
A protein, or carbohydrate and a fat calorie are the same, despite claims to the contrary in some self help books.
Every person’s caloric profile is arrived by co-relating age, weight, height etc. Subsequently the desired level of weight is again ascertained by the same formula as to what the ideal calorific profile should be.
Diet refers to the food that you eat. And Dieting means taking less calories for weight reduction. Based on the system described above, your dietary intake is regulated by providing you a balanced diet, that will deliver the adequate calories, and at the same time, the maximum amount of nutrients.
Food molecules are broken down by the body and release the energy stored within them. This energy is needed for all functions of the body. Anything that you do requires energy.
Increase in your physical activity will mean that the body needs more fuel. The decrease in physical activity would result in weight gain, as the energy is not released, but stored in the body.
Thus, to burn off excessive calories the strategy adopted is two pronged: one, reduce increase of fatty foodstuffs, and secondly, do moderate and high physical activity to arrive at your recommended calorific value.
Eat meat, preferably, fish and poultry, instead of red meat or, processed meats. Restrict their intake to once in the day. Choose to eat only 4 eggs in a week. Fresh fruits are better for desserts than the normal stuff such as cookies. Reduce your salt, by whatever name they may have, intake. Cut down on most salts, including table salt, monosodium glutamate.
Exercising helps the body to use up energy, and reduce fats stored in it. You don’t have to do weight training unless it is required because of your body requirement. For example, take a walk for say half an hour. Walk instead of riding to the nearby block. Slowly increase your speed of walking over the same length. Instead of picking up the phone in the office, unless you in a rush, walk down to the person on the same floor, or walk down to where he is. Obviously, it is not suggested that you walk from say, the 24th floor to the 4th floor! Similarly walk up as much as you can. Avoid escalators.
If you are feeling tired initially, it is because of lack of exercise. But if you feel fatigue even later, you must go back to your Physician or dietician and take their opinion. The best way to go about burning excessive calories is to do it in consultation with your Physician or dietician.
