Why it's tough to lose weight--

For some reason I had calories on the brain yesterday. I guess it started at lunch when I noticed the nutritional information printed on the wrappers of my hamburgers (250 calories apiece, 80 of those from fat--32%, so not too bad overall).

Then, at the gym I tossed in some cardio after my weight workout: the bike told me I'd burned about 200 calories over 30 minutes. Obviously, I wasn't setting any speed records on that stint, but still it got me thinking about how just how efficient the body is at using and storing energy. Each little McDonald's hamburger contains enough energy to run the body at exercise for more than half an hour. Or, at rest, when you burn as little as 50 calories an hour, for five hours.

Now, think about this: I weigh about 200 pounds. Say my body comp is 20% fat (hopefully a little on the high side), meaning I carry about 40 pounds of fat. One pound of bodyfat translates into 3,500 calories of energy. 3,500 x 40=140,000 calories of energy stored in my body.

To go back to the exercise bike--at my pokey pace of 400 calories per hour, I have enough stored bodyfat for 350 hours.