Okay so if you made a hole in the balloon the same size as the one that the water is going in, then the water goes in, and then water goes out at the same rate leaving the balloon the same size, are you with me?

So if you turn the tap harder, the balloon cannot get rid of the water as fast as its going in, so it gets bigger again. And if you turn the tap down to a trickle the balloon is going to get smaller, right?

Okay, your body is the balloon. And food is the water. If you put in more energy than you are using, your body is going to be fat.
Food is energy. You can measure it in Kjoules or Kcal (commonly refered to as Calories).

This is the very basis for ALL weight loss. You can do any diet you want, with any gimmicky name. But unless your energy in is less than energy out you will not loose weight. Understanding this means you can make up your own diets, or even eat whatever you want … SO LONG AS YOU KEEP THE CALORIES IN LESS THAN THE CALORIES OUT!

The average body uses about 2000 calories a day just being alive. Thats without exercise. Just sitting on your ass all day. If you’re over weight then you are going to use a lot more – maybe up to 3000-4000 for the fairly obese!
This is called your BMR. You can work out your BMR with this following formula

Metric BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 9.6 x weight in kilos ) + ( 1.8 x height in cm ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 13.7 x weight in kilos ) + ( 5 x height in cm ) – ( 6.8 x age in years )

Imperial(US) BMR Formula

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) – ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) – ( 6.8 x age in year )

1. If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
2. If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
3. If you are moderatetely active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
4. If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
5. If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9

Once you have worked this out you are ready to start, and go to the next page.

Excuse me? What does this have to do with why my pants won’t fit?

A calorie is also the unit of measurement of energy produced by food when it is oxidized, or used, in the body. Calories are like fuel for our bodies. We need them for our bodies to run. But if we pump more fuel into our bodies than we need for the amount of activity we do, the excess fuel just sits there. Your body will store this excess, unused fuel. It may store it as muscle, if you perform enough physical, muscle-building exercises such as weightlifting, or it may store it as fat.

You need to maintain a balance between the amount of calories you take in (food) and the amount of calories you use (exercise). You “burn” your body’s fuel – calories – when you perform physical activities, and you also burn calories just by sitting still, breathing and living each day.

If you perform enough physical activity, you may increase the amount of calories (or energy units) you burn each day and raise the amount of calories (or energy units) you need each day. So a person who is physically active can eat more calories each day without gaining weight, because this person uses the fuel he or she pumps in, instead of storing it as fat.

Each person is different when it comes to the amount of calories he or she needs each day. The amount of calories a person needs for fuel varies according to age, height, gender, amount of physical activity and other factors.