All over the world people struggle with weight loss and calorie tracking. Many try and try, and still cannot make sense of the relation between calorie loss and overall weight loss. In fact, a huge percentage of people keep going through the same old routine of beginning a workout, hoping to see some difference in their overall appearance with enough exercise and ignoring the exact number of calories lost. This approach will only end up with the person finally giving up because losing inches takes a wider time frame.

The chances of continuing and achieving results through workout regimen increases when you set goals in terms of calories, not in terms of inches reduced. Tracking calories actually bears result, because every day workout is sure to reduce some amount of calories. But for that to happen, you need to track calories appropriately, which in turn needs explaining as to how and why it’s done.

What are calories?

Many feel that calories are a measure of food consumed, which is completely wrong.

Calorie is actually the measure of energy stored within food or drink. Our bodies need energy to perform its daily functions like working, walking, cleaning and even breathing. This energy is received by the body through everything that we eat and drink. To maintain a stable weight, the energy we put into our bodies must be the same as the energy we use by normal bodily functions and physical activity. If the body receives more energy than it spends, then it stores the excess energy in the form of body fat. If this process continues, then the body keeps storing fat and we put on weight.

Therefore, balancing energy consumption with energy usage is the formula for maintaining body weight. The more physical activity we do, the more energy we burn, and the more weight we lose. Consult your personal fitness trainer in Dubai to understand this process better.

Checking calorie content in food:

If you are on the weight loss path, then tracking calories consumed is just as important as tracking calories burnt, which means checking the calorie content in every food you have. Checking the calorie content of each food before having it ensures that you keep your food intake in check.

The calorie content of many shop-bought foods is stated on the packaging as part of the nutrition label. Most of the times, the calories in a food product is listed as kcals, short for ‘kilocalories’, or in kJ, short for ‘kilojoules’.

A kilocalorie is just another word for calorie. If a product says ‘1000 kcal’, it means the product actually contains 1000 calories.

Kilojoules are the metric measurement of calories. To find the energy content in kilojoules, multiply the calorie figure by 4.2.

The labels usually list the calorie content of the product per 100 grams of food or per 100 milliliters of the drink. So you can easily keep score of your calorie intake. Many a times food products may list calories per portion, or serving. You have to keep in mind that their idea of the ideal amount of food in one portion may be different from yours. So you have to adjust the portions and amount accordingly.

Tools for calorie counting:

There is a wide range of free online or downloadable calorie counters available, that can help you measure every calorie you consume and burn.

Burning the excess:

Calories are burnt when you do physical work. But the rate at which they do so depends on a number of factors, such as the size and age of the person, and the kind of exertion that activity has. The more vigorous the activity, the more calories you lose. That is the reason why fitness professionals in Dubai advocate vigorous exercise and cardio for people who have gained weight significantly. To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than consumed, and continue it over a period of time.

The best way to do is to combine increased physical activity such as exercise with diet changes.

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