Calories

Well all dieters dread calories but do you understand them? Calories are a measurement of energy gained from food. Now we need calories to fuel our bodies in order to function. The important thing is excess calories, if you take in more calories than you need your body stores them for future need. It stores them in fat cells and it takes 3500 extra calories to create 1 pound of fat. Many factors are involved in how many calories you need for daily use; some are size, activity, illness, and metabolism. We are all unique individuals so we need to become familiar with ourselves. I have found a website  (www.livestrong.com/myplate/)  that has very helpful tracking tools. It asks you some questions such as height, weight, activity level, and how much you would like to lose a week. It then computes your daily calorie needs. Now you must adjust as you track your results because no two individuals are the same. If you only need 2000 daily calories to maintain your weight or 14,000 for the week. If at the end of the week you only take in 1500 a day or 10,500 a week you lose a pound. If you take in more when you hit 3500 over needed calories, then you gain a pound. So increase activity and decrease calorie intake and you will lose pounds.