Well, a calorie is simply a form of heat measurement. It is the amount of energy that is required to raise one milliliter of water by one degree Celsius. Calorie measures the amount of heat or energy that is released when you burn the food you have consumed.
Calories are actually burnt through a very complicated process that oxidizes food to its basic components. Take for example, if you burn sugar, the sugar will be transformed into carbon dioxide in a chemical reaction. However in the human body, the food burnt is converted to forms of energy.
So therefore when you consume food, the food is stored as body fat or glycogen (glycogen is mostly stored in liver and muscles) to be burnt for energy. Your body's preference is to burn glycogen first and then body fat when you expand energy such as when you are performing an exercise routine.
The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn. This is because muscle cells are metabolically active where fat cells are not because fat cells do not have much function and they are not active. Fat cells just sits there making you look ugly and may cause health complications.
Different food category carries different amount of calories. For example, there are about 4 calories in a gram of protein or carbohydrate. However, each gram of fat contains 9 calories and so the more fat you eat, the more calories your body will store and you will have a harder time burning them off if you want to lose weight. Empty calories like alcohol should be avoided if you want to lose weight because each gram of alcohol contains 7 calories.
Some people raise their metabolic rate (calorie burning rate) by eating several small meals a day instead of usual three big meals. By eating more frequently, your insulin level is also regulated and less insulin will then be converted to body fat.
So how can you burn more calories and also raise your metabolism in order to be a natural calorie burner? The answer is to build more muscles, eat frequent small meals and embark on an exercise regimen to expand energy and thus burning more calories in the process. By doing so, you will be losing weight naturally in a healthy way.
Through the years I've battled weight loss and I've become very good at figuring out the fastest way to burn calories. I've put together a routine that I've used with great success and I wanted to share it with all of you. The diet is a little boring, I'll warn you in advance, but it works and it's good for you. If you can get over the "everything has to taste like candy" issue that most people have with dieting, you should have no problem at all.
The Calorie Burning Diet
In the mornings I start the day off with a very sensible meal consisting of oatmeal and egg whites. When I say oatmeal I don't mean the sugar loaded oatmeal packets, I mean the old fashioned plain oatmeal that comes in the tall round container. It's a little boring tasting but it has a lot of benefits. Oatmeal takes a long time to burn off, unlike most sugary cereals, so you get a slow supply of energy throughout the day.
For lunch I make a sandwich using turkey, chicken or lean ham (not cooked ham) on whole wheat bread and as much mustard as you like. For the bread look for real stone ground whole wheat, not the wheat bread that looks like split top white. Most split top breads contain partially hydrogenated oil, which is terrible for you, and all of the nutrients are bleached away in the bread making process. On the side I bring a small bag of low salt pretzels and a low fat yogurt.
For dinner you can be more creative, in fact I would encourage it. Try to keep the fat content low, so avoid things like mayonnaise, high fat salad dressings (usually the creamer ones), and anything fried. I've made a lot of pastas with grilled chicken, tacos made with ground turkey, and lean steaks. The more creative you are with your meal selections the less you will feel as though you are being "punished" with your diet, and are much more likely to stick with it.
I would try to snack as little as you can of course but if you are hungry give celery a try. While the myth about celery containing negative calories (that you burn more chewing than celery has) is not true, it's still really a low calorie treat, is very portable and will fill you up more than you think. Again it's not going to taste like a candy bar but the ultimate goal is learning how to burn calories and if you can do that all of your weight loss goals will come true.
Both Chris Chew & Jeff Williamson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Chris Chew has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Online College and Cosmetic Surgery. Chris Chew is a fitness personal trainer and author of "Burn Fat Build Muscles Fast". More free articles at and. Chris Chew's top article generates over 823000 views. to your Favourites.
Jeff Williamson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Start Online Business, Nutrition and Fitness. Antidiets.com is dedicated to helping you learn and lose fat quickly, with as little effort as possible. If you are looking to ways to. Jeff Williamson's top article generates over 33100 views. to your Favourites.