What is a calorie? A calorie is a measurement unit of the energy in food. All foods have carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. There is alcohol in some beverages. So here’s the breakdown of calorie content in food:

* Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram.

* Proteins have 4 calories per gram.

* Alcohol has 7 calories per gram.

* Fat has 9 calories per gram.

One pound of body weight equals 3,600 calories. So in order to lose one pound of body weight, you must eat 3,600 calories less than you burn in a given period of time. In order to gain a pound, you must eat 3,600 more calories than you burn in a given period of time.

Low-calorie diets restrict the number of calories consumed each day. Some low-calorie diets restrict calories to a greater degree than others in order to promote more rapid weight loss.

The human body can withstand a very, very low-calorie (even no-calorie) diet for a short period of time. And a very low-calorie diet will affect an immediate weight loss, but the speed of weight loss will not continue.

The human body is all about survival. If the body is denied the number of calories needed to function correctly, it will burn some of the energy that has been stored (fat) to compensate at first. But as time goes by, the body simply begins to conserve energy consumption. The result is that weight loss will continue, but at a much slower pace.

The MOST effective low-calorie weight loss diet is one that does not severely cut calories and one that provides the nutrients that the body requires. Eating fewer calories while expending more calories is a much more effective method of weight loss than cutting calorie consumption only.