Physicist diet

I’ll let you in on the real secret to dieting and weight maintenance.

The first law of thermodynamics

Conservation of energy states the internal energy E as equal to the difference of the heat transfer Q into a system and the work W done by the system.

ΔE = Q - W

In a health context this means the energy you intake (in calories) minus the energy you burn (in calories) results in either weight gain, loss or maintenance.

• If you intake more calories then you burn you will gain weight
  
• If you intake less calories then you burn you will lose weight
  
• If you intake as many calories as you burn you will maintain your weight
  

A pound of fat

There are 3,500 calories in a pound of human fat. Meaning, that if you can find your Basal Metabolic Rate (the base amount of calories you would burn in a day if you are at complete rest) and intake 500 less calories a day, you could lose a pound of fat every week. This 500 calorie deficit can also be created by maintaining your diet and adding exercise that would burn 500 extra calories a day or a combination of both.

While this is a bit of an over simplification, this is the basis for all weight management and dieting