If you’ve decided to lose weight, you’ve noticed that there are a vast number of available resources which claim to be able to help you achieve your goal. Understanding the basic concepts related to body weight and how it is determined will help you make an educated decision about which method you use. Calorie control will figure into most weight loss methods in some way. Knowing what a calorie really is, and the effects of calorie intake on the human body will help you to better understand why different methods work, and how.

A calorie is not actually a tangible thing. It is technically a form of measurement, in particular a measure of energy. Your body uses energy not only to complete tasks, but to fuel all of its functions. These include healthy organ function and repairing and building muscle mass. The surplus energy which has not been expended on these needs is then used to build fat. Simply put, when you provide your body with more energy than it can use on activities and maintenance, you gain fat. This is the key to the relationship between the numbers of calories you consume and the amount of weight you gain or lose.