Energy Balance is defined by a Stable Body Weight

After reading yesterdays comments I’m getting the impression that many people assume we can burn more calories in a day that we really do.

For most of the population our BMR/RMR accounts for almost all of their calories burned in a given day.

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate; the amount of calories you burn lying down doing nothing)…and I guess more accurately our RMR (Resting Metabolic Rate; which is the calories you burn sitting around vs lying around)

If you don’t partake in purposeful exercise (a workout) and don’t have a physically active job (most people don’t) then you’re just not burning that many calories in a day.

So if you’re RMR is 1900, and you don’t workout or have an active job, you probably only burn around 2000 calories per day.

If you do an average workout like most gym warriors for an hour or so 3-4 days per week, you’re only burning an extra 300-400 calories on those days…that still doesn’t help with the days that you’re not working out.

I think people just grossly overestimate how many calories they think they’re burning (to justify eating more)

The bottom line is this. If you’re goal is weight loss, and you’re not currently losing weight, then you’re eating too much.

John

The Claim: Certain foods cause you to burn more calories digesting them than others

Answer: FACT

Protein actually has a slightly higher thermic effect than carbs or fat. In other words it takes a bit more energy to digest and metabolize protein. But this effect is minimal and will never help you actually lose body fat.

The thermic effect of protein might add up to at most 10% of the food eaten. In other words, it would be eating 1000 calories in order to burn 100. This is a pointless road to travel if your goal is fat loss.

Just eat less total calories to burn fat, and don’t bother concerning yourself with the composition of those calories.

John