Burn, Baby Burn
Why is it that one person can eat whatever they want whenever they want, yet another seems to put on a couple of kilos just LOOKING at a doughnut?
So ANY type of movement - walking across the room, typing on a keyboard, etc, increases your daily energy expenditure.
That's why exercise and intermittent movement is important to your overall weight, however there are other vital factors too.
By repeatedly eating sugar, our body uses up our nutrient stores. Instead, to support a balanced metabolism eat healthy whole foods on a consistent, daily basis. The more plant-based fibre, the better!
Good quality protein in every meal is key, as is how you chew your food, digest it, and the types of nutrients you absorb too.
It’s also crucial to keep your stress levels at bay, a toxic mind = a toxic body = weight gain.
As a part of this, getting the appropriate amount of shut-eye, between 6-8 hours, will ensure you get enough of the restorative delta sleep. Avoid blue light exposure at night, turn off the WiFi and electronics, and darken your room.
For more tips and tricks, read my article on how to balance your metabolism and boost your weight loss efforts.
The answer can be summed up in one word: Metabolism.
ALL your body's processes and functions, including digestion, circulation, breathing, and thinking are the result of your metabolism. Your metabolism uses up energy, and creates and releases energy too.
Most people think of energy in terms of what they need for exercise, working, taking care of their kids, but your body uses energy even when you're doing nothing.
The primary measure of basic bodily energy needs - what you need just to carry out bodily functions while you are not moving - is your basal metabolic rate, or BMR.
It's expressed in terms of calories per hour and it's determined as follows:
Women: Our BMR is calculated by multiplying our weight in kilograms by 0.9, eg. if you are 59 kg you times 59 X 0.9 = 53, you burn about 53 calories an hour being alive.
Men: The hourly BMR is their weight in kilograms, eg. if you are 89 kg you burn about 89 calories an hour being alive.
As you can probably surmise, any excess energy that you consume over your daily needs that is not burned up in other activities becomes and stays a part of YOU. (And you get larger as a result).