Essential Knowledge for Weight Loss: Unveiling the Secrets of Energy Conservation Behind Weight Gain and Loss

Chapter 1 Essential Knowledge for Weight Loss

The reason for starting the first chapter with weight loss knowledge is to help everyone arm themselves with knowledge, transform that knowledge into action, and turn weight loss from a conscious act into an unconscious habit.

The weight loss knowledge here is based on scientific theories that have been tested in practice. It is not only effective, but also ensures the easiest weight loss process and the healthiest results.

Numerous cases have demonstrated that if behaviors during weight loss violate these theories, the weight loss process will be arduous and the results less than satisfactory.

The secret to weight loss

Why do we gain weight? Can overweight people lose weight?

Everyone knows the law of conservation of energy.

Energy cannot be created or destroyed out of thin air; it can only be transformed from one form to another or transferred from one object to another. During the transformation or transfer, its total amount remains unchanged.

This law is taught in middle school, but did you know that changes in our body weight follow the scientific law of conservation of energy, and that the determining factor for our body's weight is the "energy difference"?

Gaining weight is the process of energy storage: when energy intake exceeds energy expenditure, the excess energy is stored as fat in the body's adipose tissue-subcutaneous fat cells, visceral fat cells, muscles, or blood, leading to increased body fat and weight gain. Losing weight is the process of energy release: when energy intake is less than energy expenditure, the fat stored in the body's adipose tissue is broken down to provide energy for metabolism and meet the body's needs, resulting in less body fat and weight loss.

Maintaining a constant weight is a process of energy balance: when energy intake equals energy expenditure, body fat remains constant, and weight remains constant. 99% of children and 95% of adults become obese gradually through overeating, which means that obesity is caused by accumulated excess energy. These people can achieve weight loss by combining diet and exercise to ensure that energy intake is less than energy expenditure, allowing body fat to burn and release energy.

Therefore, it can be seen that the determining factor for a person's weight is the "energy difference"-the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure.

So what is energy intake, and what is energy expenditure?

Energy intake: All the food we eat, drink, and consume contains energy, except for water and salt.

To put it simply, ingesting any food other than water and salt is like recharging the human body.

Please note that water and salt do not contain energy, so please stop saying "I gain weight even from drinking water." If you don't eat any food and only drink water for a week, see if your weight will drop-it definitely will! Of course, if you only drink water for a week and don't eat anything else, you will feel unbearably hungry, which will lead to muscle loss and even illness. This will make it impossible for you to continue losing weight by only drinking water, so you will have to return to your original diet and then continue to gain weight.

This is why some people mistakenly believe that "you can gain weight just by drinking water."

Water has no energy; the water mentioned here only includes non-beverage liquids such as boiled water, tea, mineral water, and purified water.

Energy expenditure consists of the following four parts: basal metabolism, physical activity, thermic effect of food, and growth and development (children, pregnant women, lactating women, and those recovering from illness).

(1) Basal metabolism: refers to the energy required by a person to maintain life in a resting state. Simply put, it is the minimum energy required to supply the heartbeat, breathing and other organ activities in a resting state.

To give an analogy, the energy consumption of the human body's basal metabolism is similar to the power consumption of a mobile phone even when it is in standby mode.

(2) Thermic effect of food: This is the extra energy expenditure required to eat food.

Many people have experienced this: when you're cold, eating something can warm you up. This is the thermic effect of food. This energy can only be used to raise body temperature and cannot be used to do work.

Consuming carbohydrates can increase energy expenditure by 5% to 6%, consuming fat by 4% to 5%, and consuming protein by 30% to 40%. A typical mixed diet increases basal metabolism by about 10%.

(3) Physical activity: Any movement the body makes while not at rest, such as doing housework, walking the dog, walking, or riding a bicycle, is considered physical activity.

(4) Growth and development: Children, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and people recovering from illness all need extra energy.

Mothers should be very familiar with this: seven- or eight-year-old boys eat more than their mothers.

Why? Because children are not only very active, but they also need energy for growth and development, so they need more energy.

The extra energy required by people recovering from illness refers to the fact that due to weight loss caused by illness, the body needs more energy to regain weight during the recovery period after the illness is treated.

The "secret to weight" revealed in this chapter is actually the simplest professional scientific knowledge known to professionals.

Because of its specialized nature, it is generally unknown to the public, which is why it seems mysterious.

In conclusion, changes in human body weight follow the law of conservation of energy; being fat or thin is determined by the "energy difference," which is scientific and cannot be violated by anyone.

Those who want to lose weight must deliberately create an energy deficit, that is, make their energy intake less than their energy expenditure, and weight loss will be an inevitable result.