There are many reasons to exercise — to build strength, to increase flexibility, and to improve mood. For many, however, the main reason to “get moving†is to burn calories. We all know in order to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume.
Sometimes it’s confusing to figure out just how many calories you burn throughout the course of a single day. Consider the following:
1. Your Weight and Calories Burned
The more you weigh the more calories you will burn while performing a specific exercise. For example, a 160 pound person will burn an average of 438 calories during a hike, while a 200 pound person will burn an estimated 546 calories during the same time period.
2. Exercise Isn’t the Only Thing That Burns Calories
Formal exercise is great, but it is not the only movement that burns calories. Daily tasks, such as household cleaning and yard work, also burn calories – sometimes at a surprising rate. Even vacuuming takes energy. A 145 pound person will burn 165 calories per hour while doing this form of “exercise.â€
3. Muscles Burn More Calories
People who have more muscle mass burn more calories than those who do not. As a person ages, fat increases and muscle decreases, leading to less calories being burned throughout the day.
4. Even While Asleep We Burn Calories
The Mayo Clinic also offers this surprising fact about the amount of calories each person burns: “Digesting, absorbing, transporting and storing the food you consume also takes calories. This accounts for about 10 percent of the calories used each day.†This leads to the conclusion that even biological functions, including sleep, burn a decent amount of calories.
5. Alcohol Consumption and Calorie Burn
The University of Rochester explains that alcohol consumption can negatively affect calories burned. Simply put, alcohol reduces the amount of fat the body burns for energy. This occurs because:
1. A small portion of the alcohol consumed is converted into fat.
2. The liver then converts the rest (the majority) of the alcohol into acetate.
3. The acetate is then released into the bloodstream, and replaces fat as a source of fuel.
Together with the high caloric value of alcohol, the result is that body is forced to store an excessive amount of unburned fat calories, often in what we know as a “beer belly”.
To lose one pound, a person must burn 3,500 more calories than you take in. This means that you need to cut 500 calories per day to lose about one pound per week. A combination of eating right and exercise can help you to accomplish your weight loss goals.
As the information above suggests, you can speed the weight loss process by:
1. Building movement into your day — clean, garden, and even dance. It all burns calories!
2. Building your muscle mass. Even at rest, muscles burn calories.
3. Limiting your intake of alcohol to make sure your body burns fat instead of acetate for energy.
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