Finding Balance

Everyday on the news we hear about the trouble on wall street and the numerous companies asking for a bailout and declaring bankruptcy. I don’t have a degree in finance and nobody has ever asked me for financial advice but I do know a little about finding balance. Doesn’t matter if its money, life, or our bodies; knowing the difference from input and output is the key to success. In business the goal is to have more money coming in than going out. It really is not as difficult as the big shot finance guys make it look. And when it comes to our bodies, it is the same way.

With the body it is really simple. It is calorie balance. Caloric output vs. caloric input. If the goal is to lose weight we must take in fewer calories than we expend. Gaining weight occurs when we take in more energy than we use. That is it. It really is that easy. No rocket science. No fancy spread sheets. Just simply two things to look at:- the amount of calories taken in and the amount of calories used. If you are gaining weight then your input is more than your output. Losing weight simply means that output is greater than input. If your weight is holding steady then you are in energy balance.

Body composition (fat mass vs. muscle mass) is slightly more involved but is still very simple to understand. Body composition is improved by increasing muscle and/or decreasing fat. The same principles apply to body composition as with total body weight with the main exception being where the gains and losses occur. If the goal is to lose fat then we have 3 options: increase exercise, decrease the amount of food we eat, or improve the quality of food that we ingest. Gaining muscle is a little tougher with our choices being to increase the amount of food we eat or improve the quality of food we eat while increasing the demand on our muscles. This is why gaining muscle is so hard. We must increase work as well as give our muscles more quality food.

There are 3 simple ways to lose weight and decrease body fat. 1. Improve the quality of food you eat. 2. Decrease the amount of food you eat. 3. Increase the amount of work that you do. Thats it.

Contrary to what we hear on the news everyday, it is not hard to figure out balance. Our bodies, just like out budgets need to be balanced. Keep it simple. Input vs. output. Everyday we have a choice.

BE BETTER

-Tiller