VERY confused... PLEASE PLEASE HELP!

Hi everyone,

I am a bit confused. Recently I have been eating out or eating more than I usually do. However, I burn the calories that I eat.. so does that mean I will or will not gain weight??

I am confused... is burning your calories the same thing as burning fat? Like if a food was very fattening but I burned off the calories for it.. does it mean I will gain?

Someone please help me.

Yes you are confused.  

Your body uses up energy to live, breathe, move around, play football etc.  Your body takes in that energy in the form of food.  That energy is measured in 'calories' (like distance is measured in 'kilometres' and weight is measured in 'grammes').   

Foods are not 'fattening' in isolation - that is incorrect.  However, if you repeatedly take in more energy than you use up your body will store the extra energy as fat and you'll gain weight.   If you take in less energy than you use up on a regular basis you will use up some of your fat stores and lose weight.  

So if you need 2200 calories of energy a day and you take in 2200 calories of food you would neither gain nor lose weight.  Doesn't really matter what that food is or where you ate it.

thank you so much! That really helped!

I should add that the energy in your food is only one part of the equation.  For good health it's important to get a wide variety of fresh wholefoods (especially vegetables, fruit and grains), regular meals and a good balance of different foods on your plate.  It's also important to enjoy what you eat, savour and appreciate it..... nutritious foods as well as 'fun' foods.

I saw from your post about cereals that you seem nervous about 'carbs' and 'fat'. This excellent website might help you understand how to get a healthy diet and why carbohydrates and fats are essential as part of the mix.  http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/agesandstages/teens /

thank you so much. I also have another question that i just remembered. Excerciing burns my calories but if one day I do not excercise.. will my metabolism be sufficient enough to burn those calories that I ate or will I gain weight or will it be stored as fat?

I think I can answer this...Gi, correct if I am wrong.

You don't need to exercise everyday. That is where your metabolism comes in to play. Also, you are constantly burning calories in EVERY activity from grooming (257 calories/hr.) to sleeping (115calories/hour). You just need to make sure you have a caloric deficit each day to continue to lose weight.

That's right.  If you're active on a regular basis you will have a higher metabolism than someone that does nothing at all.  So on days when you don't exercise your energy needs will only drop by a relatively small amount. 

Body-weight is not constant..... it goes up and down about 2lbs around a set-point all the time, largely because of hydration levels.  You seem a little anxious about gaining weight.....   Short-term it's difficult to eat so much that you gain actual fat.  Takes sustained overeating over a long period to achieve fat storage.  Ask anyone who is trying to deliberately gain weight just how difficult it can be.

thanks agan you guys! yall have been really helpful!