Dieting Club: 50 - 100 Lbs Community

Ok, this is something I have been saying for a while but actually writting it down every now and then seems to help keep it all in perspective when it comes to food.

Think back to those high school days in a physical science class and you may remember that Calories are actually a measure of energy. At first a calorie (with a little c) was the amount of energy (heat) it took to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree celcius. Now it is used as a measurment for energy from food, with one big difference. A Calorie (with a big C) is actually a kilocalorie or 1000 calories (with a little c.) It is the amount of energy that can be found in food (i.e. the amount of heat a food would put off while burning to raise how ever many 1000 kilograms of water by 1 degree celcius) is what we see on the nutrition lables. If I haven't lost you yet, please hang on, and if I have lost you, keep reading and it might click.

So, where is the origin of all of this energy? The sun. The rays of the sun are eaten up by plants that are then either eaten by omnivores or herbivores (either animals who eat plants exclusively or those that eat plants and animals) which then in their digestion turn what energy they can from that plant into energy for themselves. If the animal does not use all of the energy they take in from the plants then they store it like little batteries as fat. If you are an herbivore, or vegetarian as humans call themselves when they are herbivorous, you can still store fat from the plants you take in although since the kilocalorie content of your food is not as dense as other forms of food it takes more to have leftover to be fat. Now if you are an omnivore like many humans are you take in not only the light kilocalorie pack of plants, you also take in the kilocalories packed much more densely (because it has already been processed once from plant to animal) and therefore really need less of the animal based kilocalories to meet your regular energy need. Since the human body wants to survive and therefore will pack in as much energy as it can and not want to let go of it, it can be easy to overly consume the animal based energy source and possibly even shun the plant based forms because it takes so much more of them to have enough energy to store. That is why everything tastes better cooked in butter (or other animal based fats that are easier for the body to break down and transfer into it's own fats or energy stores, not that fat makes you fat though, too much fat is what can make you fat as too much of any energy source can make you fat.)

Now, lets just think about this for a minute. Calories are energy, too many Calories for a days work will be stored for later work, they are stored as fat on animal bodies, so fat is energy. FAT IS ENERGY! Every ounce of fat you have on your body is like a battery waiting to be used. Sure, if it doesn't have to be used it will want to sit there waiting until it is needed as a survival tool and because of that your body will make you think it has no energy so it doesn't have to use what is has stored up. You will be hungry, you will want to take a nap instead of exercising or even doing daily chores, but it is just your body telling your mind it knows what is best for you without having all the information about how bad it is to hold on to that energy for too long without using it. There are some days your body will love using up these energy stores, like a kid sitting around playing a video game, it's exciting and fun. The more you use these stores the easier it is for your body to use all energy you give it through the Calories in food.

Look at yourself and don't think about how ugly that fat is, look at it and think "Man, my body has so much energy, I might as well use it while I can!" and stay motivated on your journey. My body is covered with batteries and I am ready to use them.