Burning Calories
Caloric Expenditure
In order for the
body to produce the energy required to function it
needs fuel, which comes in the form of calories. There
are two kinds of calories the body burns: 1) sugar,
calories that have been converted to glycogen; and 2)
fat, calories that have been converted from excess and
unused glycogen into fat. The body burns glycogen
first because it is easily accessible; any left-over
are converted by your insulin into fat calories and are stored away
in the body for a rainy day.
In order for the
body to produce the energy required to function it
needs fuel, which comes in the form of calories. There
are two kinds of calories the body burns: 1) sugar,
calories that have been converted to glycogen; and 2)
fat, calories that have been converted from excess and
unused glycogen into fat. The body burns glycogen
first because it is easily accessible; any left-over's
are converted by your insulin into fat calories and are stored away
in the body for a rainy day.
Lets look at the application, to lose a pound of fat, one must
create a caloric deficit of approximately 3,500 calories
(37,600 kJ per kilogram of fat); therefore, if a person
creates a deficit of 500 calories per day, the person will
lose approximately 1 pound of fat per week (5,400 kJ per day
to lose a kilogram a week).
You can
determine the amount of calories a person burns for
any given activity by knowing three factors: 1) your
body weight in kilograms, 2) how much oxygen the body
uses during a given activity
(this is expressed as V02/ml/kg/min. but
we’re trying to keep this as simple as possible),
and 3) the amount of time engaged in the activity.
Once you can determine these three things you can know
exactly what it will take to lose any given amount of
weight. By using the following work sheet you can
determine exactly what your game plan needs to be.
Just click on the hyperlink and follow the simple
steps outlined; it is rather simple and
self-explanatory.
Caloric
Computation Worksheet
Body
Fat is an Issue
Just because a
person is at the right weight, doesn’t necessarily
mean they are at a healthy weight; sometimes their
body fat can be dangerously high. Although probably
the most accurate way to measure body fat is with an
underwater weight test, the following worksheet can
give you a good indication of your body’s fat
content. Click on the hyperlink below and again follow
the simple instructions in the calculator, then
compare your results with those provided in the Body
Fat Chart to see where you fit.
BODY
FAT CALCULATOR
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