Losing calories?!
Question: Is it true that you burn calories throughout the whole day? If so, how does it work?
Answers: Is it true that you burn calories throughout the whole day? If so, how does it work?
Totally true. Think of you as a car, and calories are like gasoline. The whole time you're alive, your engine is running, while you sit around and sleep, your engine is idling on neutral. You use a little fuel, but not much. Just like with a car, everything you do requires fuel-digestion, sweating, shivering, everything (for a car it's the ac, windshield wipers, etc.) The harder your engine works, the more fuel it uses. The more active you are the more calories you burn.
But even sedentary, you burn calories by breathing, your heart beating, etc, just not enough to to maintain your weight without starving yourself.
yea its true! it takes calories to do anything.. to lift your arm, to swallow, to blink your eyes, for your heart to pump blood etc. and because of that you're always losing calories. even if you just stayed in bed all day, you're losing like 1500 calories doing nothing.
it is true, because your body needs energy for everything it does - breathing, heartbeat, etc. your metabolism controls how many calories are required.
Calories are a measure of stored energy. Your body needs energy to function. Even when you're sleeping, your body is doing work...you're respirating, your heart is beating, etc. Your overall level of burning calories without doing exercise (i.e., extra work) is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). Your BMR varies depending on your age, weight, and individual differences. If you're a 5'2" , 30 year old female who weighs 130 lbs, you're BMR is about 1400. If you don't do any extra exercise, you'll have to consume about 1400 calories/day to maintain your weight. If you consume less, you'll lose weight, if you consume more, you'll gain.
calories simply means energy is being used. while basal metabolism is largely regulated by the hypothalamus, vertebrates themselves must use calories (metabolism of glucose) just to keep cells alive.
cells are interesting little objects. they have membrane lined spaces inside of other membrane lined spaces. some chemicals have a tendency to diffuse from one membrane lined space into another, with catastrophic effects in large concentration. molecular sized pumps made from proteins line these membranes and do nothing but consume energy and pump substances back and forth to maintain the cell's chemical integrity.
there's also protein synthesis, cell division and repair of tissues (anabolism), plus the maintenance of the immune system, which keeps bacteria and fungi from consuming the body.
the nervous system consumes huge amounts of energy, because not only is it maintaining itself, it's also undergoing constant electrical activity (thinking, dreaming, regulating bodily processes).
muscles also burn energy, as they undergo constant contractions and generate heat. the liver, the kidneys and the endocrine system are all involved in chemical processing and waste elimination, as is the digestive system.
and then there are the circulatory and respiratory systems which continuously exchange gases and circulate nutrients, all relying on muscle power.
how many calories are consumed is largely dependent on two factors: lean body mass and basal metabolism.
i could give you a far more in depth explanation, but it took me eight years to learn it.