In - Out = Balance

By Author: Carl Juneau
Total Articles: 3698
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The caloric balance is the difference between your intake and output of energy. Your IN is the food you eat. Food contains energy (that's why you die if you starve for weeks). The more you eat, the bigger your IN.

To keep things simple, your OUT is the energy you spend in physical activities (it's a little more complicated than that, you can read the full story in the report). Physical activities don't just mean sports or exercise, although these activities make you work harder and therefore require more energy. Anything you do that takes energy; anytime you're not sitting or lying down, you're probably spending some amount of energy.

At the end of the day, the BALANCE can be either:
1) Positive: IN > OUT = Extra energy is stocked by your body as fat for later use. In the long term, the fat accumulates and results obesity.
2) Negative: IN < OUT = Energy spent from physical activities is more than caloric intake from food. Good news - the missing energy is taken from your energy store - yep, fat tissue. If the balance stays negative for a long period of time, you lose some of that tissue and become ...
... leaner.
3) Neutral: IN = OUT = No change in energy (fat) stores, no change in body weight.

Balancing your intake and output is the most important concept in weight loss. As long as what goes in comes out (soon), you can eat with freedom and still maintain a healthy weight.

ACTION STEP 3
Read The Caloric Balance.
ACTION STEP 3 REVISITED
Keep track of your IN and OUT. Were they positive, negative or neutral?
For today, list what you've eaten so far and the physical activities you did.
Would you say the balance is positive or negative?