I’m just confused on how losing weight actually works. So if I cut myself down to 1500 calories a day, I would have to burn like 2000 calories to lose weight? That just seems like a lot of exercising to me, especially because I’m juggling a job and highschool still. Could you guys explain it to me in a better sense?
In: Biology
Yes, doing enough exercise to burn 2000 calories IS a lot of work! Thank goodness, your body is willing to help out. Virtually everything you do burns calories. Breathing. Blinking. Sitting. Standing. Sleeping, even!
Once you determine approximately how many calories your body burns per day (even with you “doing” absolutely nothing), you’ll know how many extra calories you’ll need to expend in order to lose weight.
How do you find this out? Glad you asked! It is called your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). It is alternately called your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). It factors in your age, gender, height and current weight. There are many calculators online where you can plug in that info to get your result.
Let’s say your BMR comes out to around 1600. If you eat less than that, you should eventually lose weight. Activities you do during the day will increase how much weight you lose.
Hope that helps!
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