The Oaks At Ojai
Calorie Counting? What’s the Fuss? Anyone over 25 has heard the cliché: calories count. We’ve told everyone we’re going to lose ten pounds by swimsuit season, ski season, open season on fly fishing or any other season of the year. We talk about calories often, but what do they really mean and what’s all the fuss about? Here’s the scoop. Like a teaspoon or a meter, a calorie is a unit of measure. This measurement is for heat or energy contained in the chemicals in food and in the substances which the body stores as fuel. The fuel is glycogen and body fat.
Even when you’re sleeping you’re using calories. When you’re active, say riding a bike or hiking, the substances degrade in a series of reactions that release energy and transform it into movement and heat. It might sound complex, but trust me, you’ve been doing it since you were born and it’s quite easy. Problems occur when we humans expend less energy than the amount of calories we’re taking into our bodies and using. The result? Increased body fat. After about age 30, it often feels like everything we eat turns to fat. Actually, it’s because we tend to become less active. That doesn’t need to be so and if you’re determined to lose three or thirty pounds, then exercise needs to be in that equation, too, because you’ll use more calories when you kick up your activities.
Depending on the intensity, you can burn a few or many calories. For instance, for a 150 pound woman, sleeping burns 55 calories per hour, about the amount of calories in one slice of bread without butter or jam. Walking at 3 miles an hour, a comfortable pace for most of us, burns 280 calories an hour about, the equivalent to a turkey sandwich, hold the mayo. Spinning or cycling at the gym burns nearly 650 calories an hour, about what you’d consume with a take-out hamburger and some fries. If you weigh less, you’ll burn less calories, weigh more, you burn more. While we can get caught up in the calorie “thing,” the trick I believe to becoming stronger, have more energy and increased endurance is to understand that exercise alone isn’t the ticket to weight loss. We must combine increased activity with a sensible eating plan, one that fits our life and goals. Since all activities burn calories, get the most from your day by staying as active as possible.
Here’s the scoop on how many calories are burned in various activities (again based on the weight of a 150-pound woman): office work: 140 calories per hour; housework: 160 calories (or more) per hour; light gardening: 250 calories per hour; water aerobics: 400 calories per hour.
Recently, I’ve seen the “diet drinks” that promise you’ll shed 10 pounds in a weekend. That scares me because it’s simply not possible, unless you want to lose bodily fluids over excess and unwanted fat. If you’re tempted to try a diet drink, consult with a nutritionist or your medical provider. Steer clear of “miracle weight loss plans,” and other hyped up “secrets” you read about online and in magazines. As Grandmother often said, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” I think she was talking about ultra-quick weight loss plans.
As you focus on exercise to burn calories take a good look at the calories you’re eating. Make some simple changes and you may not have to diet ever again. Choose lower fat, higher nutritional choices. That means have a big apple rather than a candy bar (you’ll save about 300 calories). Do that a few days each week while walking for just a few hours and you’ll lose one or two pounds in seven days, without resorting to any “sensational” magic formulas. It takes some planning and a bit of information but you can become and stay fit for life.
