Daily resting metabolic rate Daily physical activity = DCE

In simpler terms, your caloric balance equation is: DCI(what you Intake from food) - DCE(your resting metabolic rate physical activity Expenses) = Caloric Balance In even simpler terms, IN - OUT = Balance.

POSITIVE - WEIGHT GAIN When your IN is greater than your OUT, you are gaining weight. IN greater than OUT = Weight Gain That is, when your daily intake of energy (from food) is greater than your daily expense of energy (from resting metabolic rate and physical activity), your weight is going up.

NEGATIVE = WEIGHT LOSS In contrast, if your total daily calorie expenditure is greater than the amount of calories you consume, your body will use up calories stored in your body, which leads to weight loss. OUT greater than IN = weight loss Thus, a negative caloric balance will result in weight loss.

NEUTRAL = NO LOSS, NO GAIN When your daily intake of calories are the same amount that you use for resting and physical activity, your weight does not fluctuate and remains the same. IN ≈ OUT = NO LOSS, NO GAIN Your intake of food is all used up perfectly (more or less), so there is no extra intake of calories nor is there a shortage. Your total balance equals 0 which means no weight gain.

Benefits of exercise The equations change a lot when you add exercise into the picture! See below:

Positive balance = Weight Gain, but Positive balance exercise = Weight Gain, but this gain is in MUSCLE MASS! Negative balance = Weight loss, but Negative balance exercise = Weight loss, but this is a loss of FAT MASS Neutral balance = No change in Weight, but Neutral balance exercise = No change in Weight, with some MUSCLE GAIN, AND some FAT LOSS.

Exercise increases the calories you burn up everyday, so if eat the same amount of calories but begin to exercise, your balance will become lower, since you are increasing your out but keeping your in the same.To maintain a neutral balance, you would have to eat a little more to make up for the extra calories you're burning up, and this is natural, as lots of people have a larger appetite once they begin working out.

No exercise Just as there are many benefits to exercising, there are some consequences to not exercising. Positive balance = weight gain in FAT MASS Negative balance = weight loss IN MUSCLE MASS

This is a very important point, and crucial to your understanding. Diets that promote huge and quick weight loss mainly do so by restricting caloric intake, and sometimes without having you exercise. This will help you lose weight, but along with fat you'll lose a good bit of muscle. This is not good, because, in the long run, a loss of muscle mass means a lower resting metabolic rate, which in turn reduces your daily caloric expense. If you follow these kinds of diets, your resting metabolic rate will be reduced greatly, which means that if you eat the same amount of food you did before the diet (the same caloric intake), you will actually gain weight because your lowered your metabolic resting rate. This leads to a more positive caloric balance, which means weight gain. How do you reverse that situation? First, you stop following diets that severely restrict caloric intake. You should not starve yourself to lose weight. Second, you exercise, since exercise will increase your resting metabolic rate over time, allowing you to eat some more without gaining weight, and also build muscle.