Losing weight

Losing weight is simple. We make it complicated.*  Our emotions, lack of patience and lack of discipline make it more complex than it needs to be.  There are also differences in each person’s body that can make things complex. But the science is pretty simple. I have previously stated, I lost weight by counting calories.

Thermodynamics
WARNING!!WARNING!!SCIENCE ALERT, SCIENCE ALERT!!!! This Blog is about to get very nerdy and technical.  Proceed at your own risk.  Not really, I will do my best to make this as painless as possible.

What is a calorie? We talk about it all the time, but what is it? In order to discuss this a little further I would like to discuss the topic of thermodynamics.  Thermodynamics is the study of energy. Calories are a measuring unit of energy. In the same way you would measure distance in feet, we measure energy in calories. A single food calorie is the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one liter of water one degree Celsius. The human body requires and burns a lot of calories.  As a warm blooded animal we use a lot of energy just maintaining our body temperature.

The first law of thermodynamics is very simple. Energy cannot be created or destroyed it can only change forms.  One scientific definition of energy is the ability to do work. (there is no simple definition of energy. When you start talking about quantum mechanics is gets real complicated real fast so let’s just go with a simple explanation). Your body does different types of work. It moves muscles, lifts things, walks from point A to point B and maintains your body temperature. Your brain cells and nerves do work even when you are sleeping.  It’s all work and it all uses energy (Calories). The energy your body uses comes from the food you eat.

What’s the point of all this? The energy you eat (calories) does not just magically disappear because of the latest diet drug or herbal supplement. You either burn it off by working it off or it goes into storage (fat). If you eat more calories than you burn your body will store it as fat. If you burn more calories than you eat your body uses that storage.

Eat less, exercise more is the key. Of course things are always more complex. We also need moderation and common sense. From a calorie perspective women should not go below 1200 calories per day and men should not go below 1500. There are several reasons for this.

• There are many essential nutrients we will not be able to get if we eat less than 1200 calories. This could lead to short and long term illnesses.
• There is a risk you will slow down your metabolism
• You will lose too much lean tissue. When you lose a pound of weight, it is generally about 75% fat and 25% lean tissue. (It increases to 50:50 if you deprive your body too much).  Lean tissue is muscle and you don’t want to lose it because more lean tissue means a higher metabolism. It’s a big reason exercise is important. It increases metabolism in the short and long term and it keeps you healthy.  When you lose weight without exercise and then go back to your previous way of eating you will not only gain it all back but also gain more because your lean tissue is less which means the calories you burn will be less.
• Keep it balanced. Eat a good balance of carbs, fats and proteins. Any extreme is bad. Especially no/low carb diets since they seem to be all the rage. Debunking the low carb myths is too long to get into it here. (I will cover it in another Blog post)

The Next post will be how fast should I be losing weight

*Disclaimer – I understand there are medical conditions that can make losing weight complicated. But don’t assume you a have low metabolism because it is difficult to lose weight. It is difficult for everyone to lose weight. If you are not sure, see your doctor.  If you follow my advice and start not feeling well, see your doctor. It is a bad idea to assume anything about your health.