If you have just embarked on the mission to lose weight you may be asking yourself the common question: “how many calories do I burn walking?” First of all, to understand how to burn calories you must understand how the body uses calories. Food molecules in our body store energy in the form of protein, fat and carbohydrates. These molecules are split into smaller pieces by enzymes in our body. As a result the molecules release energy in the form of heat. The energy is reserved by our body to benefit other chemical reactions in our body.

How Many Calories Do I Burn Walking As Exercise?

Excess calories are stored as molecules in our body and converted into fat by proteins and carbohydrates. Fat then transfers to parts of our body where we usually try to get rid of it. Most noteworthy places we gain fat are our waistline and belly. In order to burn the 100 calories of 1 Oreo cookie, you need to walk for roughly 1 mile. Our size is one factor which determines how efficiently we burn calories. Hence heavier people burn more calories per mile yet lighter people burn less. You need to walk an estimated 1 mile in order to burn an equivalent of 100 calories.

About Calories & Weight Loss

Weight loss by adjusting calorie intake varies according to the individual. Factors include the size, weight, activity and metabolism of the person. Let’s say 2000 calories is less than what you need to maintain your body weight. Therefore you will lose weight on a 2000 calorie diet. Physiological regulatory functions within our body encourage us to eat more. Consequently this is why people find difficult time sustaining a diet of less than 2000 calories. Our body is better at signaling us to eat more calories than it is at signaling us to eat less.

An unfortunate aspect of getting older is a drop in metabolism. The reason why is because your body doesn’t need as much calories as before. For this reason people gain weight easier with age. Older people eat the same amount of food but less efficient at burning it.

Burning calories from performing physical activity will depend on a few factors. Especially relevant factors to efficiency of calorie burn are our age, size and body type. Monitor your calorie intake with a common household scale. Weigh yourself at regular intervals to measure your weight loss. Scale measurement at home is one good way to know “how many calories do i burn walking?”

Over time if you discover that you are gaining weight, you are eating too much. If you are losing weight you are not eating enough. However if your weight stays roughly the same over time, then congratulations! You have reached just the right place in your diet structure. Also, do not add enzyme supplements into your diet unless recommended by your doctor. Natural digestive enzymes in our body do a good enough job in burning calories away.

America’s Calorie Problem

America has an abundance of food. Food is now sold in bookstores, drug stores, and clothing stores. United States citizens have gone from eating an average of 3200 calories daily to 4000 calories. Unfortunately, the latter is twice the daily amount of calories recommended by the U.S. FDA. Research shows that if food is closer and in larger portions, people probably risk eating more than they need to. Increased calorie consumption is the result of eating in abundance and recklessly.

Muffins used to be 2 ounces, now they are around 6 to 7 ounces with twice the amount of calories. The average American consumes over 400 calories by eating sugar, which is a lot. Sugar has a healthy place in the human diet, however, this amount of daily calories from sugar is too much. If you live in America, be a smarter food consumer by arming yourself with the facts of healthy nutrition. In addition, read the nutrition labels on everything you eat to make your diet safer.

In conclusion, know your body type plus pay attention and count your calories whenever possible. Maintain a regiment of regular physical activity in order to burn calories and lose weight. Once you are aware of how the human body uses calories it is easier to burn them. Finally you will be informed about the question “how many calories do I burn walking?”