For the Health of It in May

Balancing the energy you eat and drink with the energy your body uses when exercising can seem simple. So, let’s talk about it a bit. Remember that a calorie is just a measure of energy and that those calories are used as fuel energy for your body. But do you really know how long you need to work off that slice of cake? Well, a slice of chocolate cake would be about 65 minutes of pushups. But that is cake right?….

What about something healthier, like 2 slices of peanut butter toast? Well that would take about 21 minutes of doing jumping jacks to use up that energy. That is why calories are important. Too gain one pound of weight means taking in an extra 3500 calories. Which also means to lose one pound of weight you have to eat less and exercise more to equal 3500 calories.

So when looking at your body weight remember it took time to put that weight on and it will take time to take that weight off. Be proud of yourself for each pound you take off that means you used up 3500 calories! This monthly health tip is brought to you by the Warm Springs Diabetes Program.