By Sandra Elliott

So, what are calories any way?

Well, calories are simply units of measure. They are not actually things in and of themselves; they are name-tags for other things, just like how an inch really is not anything, but it measures the distance between two points.

So what do calories measure?

Easy: they measure energy.

Yup, the evil calorie the bane of the dieters existence is really just a 3-syllable name-tag for energy.

And it is important to highlight this, because the body itself, despite its vast intelligence (much of which medical science cannot yet understand), does not really do a very intelligent job of distinguishing good energy from bad.

Actually, to be blunt, the body does not care about where the energy comes from. Let us explore this a little more, because it is very important to the overall understanding of how to boost your metabolism, particularly when we look at food choices.

In our choice-laden grocery stores and supermarkets, with dozens of varieties of foods, and perhaps even hundreds, there seems to be a fairly clear awareness of what is good food, and what is bad or junk food.

For example, we do not need a book to remind us that, all else being equal, a plum is a good food, whereas a tub of thick and creamy double-chocolate ice cream is a bad food.

Not bad tasting, of course; but for obvious reasons, if you are looking for a healthy way to lose weight, eating a vat of ice cream a day, is not a great idea. So what does this have to do with calories and energy?

It is this: while you and I can evaluate our food choices and decide that something (like a plum) is a healthy source of energy, and something else (like a tub of ice cream) is an unhealthy source of energy, the body cannot and does not evaluate.

It sounds strange and amazing, but the body really does not care. To the body, energy is energy. It takes whatever it gets, and does not really know that some foods are healthier than others. It is kind of like a garbage disposal: it takes what you put down it, whether it should go down or not.

So let us apply this to the body, and to weight gain. When the body receives a calorie which, as we know, is merely a name-tag for energy it must do something with that energy.

In other words, putting all other nutrients and minerals aside, if a plum delivers 100 calories to the body, it has to accept those 100 calories. The same goes for 500 calories from a (small) tub of ice cream: those 500 calories have to be dealt with.

Now, the body does two things to that energy: it either metabolizes it via anabolism, or it metabolizes it via catabolism. That is, it will either convert the energy (calories) into cells/tissue (anabolism), or it will use that energy (calories) to break down cells (catabolism).

Now the link between calories/energy, metabolism, and weight loss becomes clearer.

When there is an excess of energy, and the body cant use this energy to deal with any needs at the time, it will be forced to create cells with that extra energy. It has to.

It does not necessarily want to, but after figuring out that the energy cannot be used to do anything (such as help you exercise or digest some food), it has to turn it into cells through anabolism.

And those extra cells? Yup, you guessed it: they add up to extra weight!

In a nutshell (and nuts have lots of calories by the way, so watch out and eat them in small portions), the whole calorie/metabolism/weight gain thing is really just about excess energy. When there are too many calories in the body that is, when theres too much energy from food then the body transforms those calories into stuff.

And that stuff, most of the time, is fat. Sometimes, of course, those extra calories are transformed into muscle; and this is usually a good thing for those watching their weight or trying to maintain an optimal body fat ratio.

In fact, because muscles require calories to maintain, people with strong muscle tone burn calories without actually doing anything; their metabolism burns it for them.

This is the primary reason why exercising and building lean muscle is often part of an overall program to boost your metabolism; because the more lean muscle you have, the more places excess calories can go before they are turned into fat.

So, now you understand calories, you do not have to be scared of them just be aware of how your body treats them. Balance those calories and there will be no reason why Food Lovers Fat Loss cannot be a reality for you.

About the Author: Sandra specialises in helping women to lose weight and has written the inspirational Sandras Secrets. To get your free copy just visit: http://www.easywaystoloseweightforwomen.com or visit her blog at http://www.easywaystoloseweightforwomen.blogspot.com

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Submitted by: Chris Chew

For most people in the developed world, wanting to increase weight is probably the last thing on their mind. However, for a group of people who are naturally thin, or what is known as hard gainers, putting on extra pounds of weight can be a monumental task because of their natural high metabolic rate and their genetic predisposition.

If you are a hard gainer and is thin by nature, I fully empathize with your frustration of putting on more flesh and muscles on your skinny body frame. However, it is not impossible to pack on the pounds and put on handsome muscular mass. The issue is how you are going about doing it.

Many thin people see gaining weight as hard work which is not completely untrue but with a dogged determination and effort you will be able to gain natural weight and keep it permanently. However, you must know what to eat and what to do the correct way or otherwise your efforts may prove to be futile and leaving you even more dismayed.

The ideal weight gain diet should be chock full of good calories from carbs, good fat and protein. You should also start a workout regimen to build muscle mass. Look, if you think that putting on weight is all about putting on only body fat, then think again.

Extra body fat is not only unhealthy, it is not pleasing to the eye either and so you won’t want to put on fat. Instead, you should aim to increase your body weight with muscle mass. I am not talking about being getting the body of professional bodybuilders, but the fit and healthy looking type like the bodies of professional swimmers or fitness personal trainers. This will not only make you healthier, you will also look very attractive as well.

First, you will need to have a weight gain diet plan. This plan should consist of high calorie foods. When I say high calorie, I am not talking about sugar or unhealthy fats. I am talking about food like protein and healthy fat from cold water fish such as tuna and low glycemic carbs like in brown breads.

Eat more food at every meal. Although it is common sense, some people take the wrong approach by stuffing themselves with whatever food they can find. That should not be the case. Eat healthy food more frequently. The recommended approach is to eat 6 reasonable size meals a day instead of only 3 huge ones.

This is because you need to feed your muscles constantly throughout the day for them to grow effectively. Eating this way also regulates your metabolism.

Then embark on a weight training program. The training program should include most workouts with compound exercises and especially those with full range of motion. Compound exercises are exercises that involve the movements of 2 or more joints. This is because compound exercises work out more body parts than a single joint exercise like the dumbbell bicep curls which most people mindlessly do in the gym.

Your exercise routine should include massive mass building exercises like squats, deadlifts, chin ups, pull ups, barbell rows just to name a few. However, because these exercises work out many muscle parts at the same time, you may need heavier weights than usual and thus if the moves are executed incorrectly, you may subject yourself to injuries. So learn the right form before executing them.

With a good weight gaining diet plan and muscle building program, you will begin to see your body grow handsomely and the scales inching up pound by pound as the weeks go by.

About the Author: Chris Chew is a fitness and health consultant. Read his free articles at

How To Gain And Increase Weight

and

Swimmer’s Body Exercises And Workouts

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