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Article from "Payroll Network" newsletter dated March 30, 2011.  www.payrollnetwork.com

Are you a dieter? Have you said to yourself "I am barely eating and I'm not losing weight?" The answer may be that you are not eating enough calories to lose weight, and that you may not be active enough to stimulate your metabolism. Your energy balance may not be in line with your goals. Each of us needs a certain number of calories for our bodies to function properly and each of us must burn enough calories through activity to stimulate our metabolisms. "Energy balance" is calculated by measuring calories consumed vs. calories burned. Different energy balances dictate weight loss (negative caloric balance), weight gain (positive caloric balance) and/or weight maintenance (neutral caloric balance).

CALORIES BURNED:

The daily amount of calories burned (the calorie expenditure side of the energy balance equation) includes three (3) factors: Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR), Activities of Daily Living (ADL's), and Exercise. 

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/healthy-weight-basics/balance.htm

RMR is the required amount of energy that you need to sustain life (breathing, heart rate, brain activity, etc.) while at rest and while awake and makes up 60% - 80% of the amount of calories consumed for the equation. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy you need to sustain life while you're sleeping and is a key part of your RMR. For most people, RMR is typically 10% higher than BMR.

Your ADL's are the next highest percentage of your daily caloric expenditure. The ADL percentage is based on your lifestyle, whether it's sedentary or more active.   The ADL percentage is added to RMR to further calculate your daily calorie needs. 

Lastly, exercise accounts for the smallest percent of caloric expenditure due to its variability throughout your lifetime.

CALORIES CONSUMED:

All of the calories we consume in the day come from Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat.   These nutrients provide a specific amount of calories per gram; Carbohydrates = 4 cals/gram, Protein = 4 cals/gram and Fat = 9 cals/gram. Each of these macronutrients is important in our nutrition because of their function in the body. 

Carbohydrates provide immediate energy needed by the body and account for most of the vitamins and all of the fiber the body needs to function properly.   Proteins provide the essential amino acids that are needed to repair tissue, transport key minerals and vitamins as well as fats and oxygen, and are part of antibodies needed to fight infections. Fats are the most energy dense macronutrient and are consumed in animal and plant forms. Fats are crucial in maintaining our cellular structure and insulate our nervous system.

Each macronutrient has a specific consumption allotment based on the USDA and FDA Dietary Guidelines. These recommendations can be found at the www.MyPyramid.gov website.

Doing the Math – Tipping Your Energy Balance Just Enough!!! 

Remember RMR mentioned earlier? If you are interested in losing weight, you should ideally find out your resting metabolic rate to set a goal for daily calorie intake. You will know how many calories your body needs to maintain its vital capacity and determine an appropriate daily reduction in calories for your weight loss goal. 

Muscle mass is what drives our RMR. The more lean mass you have per pound of body weight the more efficient (or faster) your metabolism. The body needs enough energy each day to function properly and low calorie diets may not provide enough calories to feed your RMR. When this happens, the body goes into its starvation mode, slowing down your metabolism. When the body does not get enough calories, it recruits needed energy from its own tissue, primarily muscle, thus slowing down your metabolism even further.

The best approach to weight loss is to burn calories through activity. An active lifestyle is a great first step in your effort to lose weight as it immediately increases daily caloric expenditure and, over time, increases your metabolism. The continuous cycle of burning calories and pumping up the metabolism through activity stimulates the body not only to burn calories but also to mobilize and use stored calories (fat) as fuel.

Each day look for ways to increase your caloric expenditure. Traditional exercise is a great way to burn extra calories, however taking the stairs a few more times, getting off the subway or bus one stop earlier and walking to your destination will increase the calories burned throughout the day. Just 15-minutes of activity each day will burn an additional 150 calories. Over a month this is enough to lose 1.5 lbs.