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BURNING FAT AND CALORIES

A calorie is a measurement of the heat required to raise the temperature of 1g of water one degree centigrade from 14 to 15, or the amount required to heat a kilocalorie e.g. 1000g of water to 1 degree centigrade. Each gram of protein and carbohydrate produces about 4 calories and each gram of fat produces about 9 calories.

Counting calories may lead to unintentional nutritional imbalances, which could manifest themselves as nutritional deficiencies. For example, an average daily requirement for energy of 1500 kcal can easily be met by consuming a bar of chocolate, a packet of crisps, a big Mac, a can of fizzy drink and an ice cream. Such a way of eating may well satisfy the projected calorie demand, but it may fall short of meeting the needs for all the essential nutrients. To have lasting weight lose, you need to consider your metabolism, which is the rate at which your body uses up energy. A person with an efficient or slow metabolism uses up little energy, whereas a person with a fast or inefficient metabolism uses up a lot of energy. Diets of below 1000 calories a day can slow the metabolism down by as much as 45%. Initially you might lose around 7lb of body fluid with up to 2lb of body fat a week. But as soon as you stop counting calories, the fluid and fat returns because your metabolic rate has slowed down, meaning you now need less food to maintain a stable weight. So in order to get your metabolism working well, you need to consider the following in your healthy eating plan:

  • A good intake of complex (or slow releasing) carbohydrates e.g. whole grains, beans, lentils, vegetables and fruit.
  • A low but balanced intake of protein
  • Cutting down on saturated fats (no more fried foods, instead bake, boil or steam fry) while not excluding nuts, seeds and fish (polyunsaturated fats which are essential for health).
  • With low calorie diet, you get hungry, but high fibre foods reduces your appetite as well as cleansing out your system, so you could include more vegetables, oats, lentils and beans.
  • Avoid sugar, sweetened foods, coffee and tea.

Your ability to burn fat depends on the presence of vitamins and minerals that help to control the breakdown of glucose, which gives us energy. A lack of these nutrients will result in less energy and a tendency to hold onto fat. The B vitamins, vitamin C and the mineral zinc and chromium are the most important.

Consider taking a daily 750mg of HCA (hydroxycitric acid) often found in supplements together with chromium. HCA slows down the production of fat and reduces appetite. It is extracted from the rind of the tamarind fruit (Garcinia cambogia), which has been used as a spice in the East for hundreds of years and is thought to be the richest source of HCA. HCA works by inhibiting the enzyme that converts sugar into fat. When the carbohydrate in a meal has been variously converted into fuel or glycogen, any excess is converted to fat by the enzyme ATP-citrate lyase. HCA blocks this enzyme and so increases the amount of glucose available, which sends signals to the brain to reduce the appetite.

Another point to consider is that the amount of calories you burn up depends on how fat or fit you are to start with. The more fat and unfit you are, the more benefit you will derive from small amounts of exercise. Take aerobic exercise at least twice a week, running, swimming, brisk walking, dancing etc.