How many calories are stored as body fat?

Answer 1

It depends upon the individual, their weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), metabolic rate, calories expended per day, and calories consumed per day; and even the type of calories consumed. Consumption of complex carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are all necessary for the body to utilize calories efficiently, and calories not utilized are converted to body fat. Sugars give energy immediately, but if the energy provided is not used, sugars are the first thing converted into fat.

A good diet for weight loss will be composed of foods with a low glycemic load (not the same as the glycemic index; watermelon has a high glycemic index, but a low glycemic load), vegetables that are loaded with vitamins, whole grains and legumes, and small amounts of monounsaturated fats (olive oil, nuts, etc.) and proteins. So, if you typically expend 1,900 calories per day, a reasonable diet would restrict your calories to 1,500 calories per day, allowing you to lose about 1 lb. per week without additional exercise. There are 3,500 calories in a pound. Exercise increases the metabolic rate, making sure that calories are burned efficiently.

However, calorie deficit diets must be kept short; do not use them as a long term plan. If you follow a calorie deficit plan for too long, your metabolism with slow down and it's very difficult and discouraging to successfully speed it up again.

Here are some very useful links:
http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc
http://www.mendosa.com/gilists.htm
http://www.mendosa.com/common_foods.htm