A beautiful equation
When I was in college, I was struck by the beauty and simplicity of Euler’s equation: 
which, for the special condition x=pi, reduces to an even more divine form: ei pi = -1
Never have two transcendental numbers (e, pi), an imaginary number (i) and a negative integer come together in such perfect harmony.
Don’t worry, I have not suddently changed this into a wonders-of-mathematics blog (although, that is a rather interesting idea… but I digress). In today’s world of fitness, though, there is another interesting equation that most people are ignoring or are just plain ignorant of.
Although not as elegant as Euler’s formula, its beauty is that it holds true whether you are Arnold Schwarzenegger or a new born baby.
(What you eat) - (What you burn) = (What you store)
Wow, maybe I was wrong about it’s elegance!
It does not matter what type of food you eat and what quantities of carbs, proteins, fats, vitamins or minerals it contains. At the end of the day the fact of the matter is that if you burn more calories than than you consume, you will lose weight and if not, then you will gain weight. (Sometimes, the most obvious things need reiterating!). Yes, this means you can lose weight by eating less calories than your burn rate of only cakes, doughnuts and ice-cream and you can also gain weight by eating more calories than your burn rate of only carrots and broccoli! Of course, the first diet may make you lose weight but end up clogging your arteries and raising you cholesterol and tryglyceride levels, while the second will be a weight gain that does a little less immediate harm.
Depending on various factors like your height, weight, lifestyle and whether you are a man or woman, it is possible to approximate your total calorie requirements using this calculator. This will give you a good idea about how many calories you need to either lose/maintain/gain weight.
But how can you know can many calories you are eating? You mix so many ingredients everyday day into so many different meals. Keep watching this space for more information!
So, once again,
(What you eat) - (What you burn) = (What you store)
Consider this the Golden Rule of Fitness Mantra. This is a fact that will hold true no matter what else you read, what else you eat or what else you do in the gym.
Technorati Tags: health, fitness, calorie, weight loss
Related Posts:
- 5 links to calorie-conscious fitness
- American Heart Association makes diet and lifestyle recommendations
- What is a calorie?
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Comments
[...] In the first post I described the Fitness Mantra and showed you a way to find out approximately how many calories you need based on your specific situation and in the second post I explained how it’s possible to determine pretty accurately how many calories you actually are consuming. [...]
[...] Helps you lose weight: Eating almonds as part of a right-calorie diet (I hate using the term low-calorie diet, because you need the right number of calories for your body type and requirement), can significantly help you lose weight (as reported by International Journal of Obesity). [...]
[...] The American Heart Association has released diet and lifestyle recommendations aimed at increasing the level of health and fitness in the country with, of course, particular emphasis on the reduction and oprevention of cardiovascular disease. These guidelines were arrived at after analysing data from almost 90 studies Alice Lichtenstein, a Tufts University nutrition expert who chaired the guidelines panel in this study recommends balancing calories consumed with calories burned through exercise as the most important aspect of a healthy lifestyle (sounds familiar?!). She goes on to say: “The previous recommendations stressed a healthy dietary pattern; the new ones broaden that concept to include the importance of a healthy lifestyle pattern. The two go together — they should be inseparable.” “Total fat reduction alone is not the only answer. It is important what kind of fat you eat,” said Linda Van Horn, a Northwestern University dietitian who helped draft the guidelines. [...]
[...] Linkfitnessmantra11:10 pmAdd comment You have read a lot about calories here. While understanding theGolden Rule of calorie balance, it became clear that any excess calories consumed over the the amount required by your body will ultimately be stored as energy in the form of fat. You also looked at different ways to find out how many calories you really need and a site that shows you the calorific values of common foods. [...]
[...] Last week I wrote about the Golden Rule of Fitness Mantra and how it’s possible to estimate the daily calorific needs depending on your specifiic situation. [...]