The human body is an amazing and fascinating machine, capable of so many things, we cannot even imagine half of them. And yet, that knowledge is available, but we still do not get it how our bodies work. And one of the main misconceptions is that we have control over how we burn calories. Some of that is because the fitness industry is not there to make you look good, the majority of people and companies are there to sell you things. And stuff you do not need. Like gadgets and smart devices that claim to measure calories burned while you enjoy a chat spending your free time on the stair-master.
Or even to claim that you can ”burn” that burger you ate with just 30 min of cardio. Let me start with the biggest mistake here: You Do Not Burn Fat. It is a very clever trick of theirs, using the term ”burn” since we associate burning with high temperature and because we increase our body temperature while jogging, we start sweating and somehow we believe that this is what makes love-handles go away. In reality when fat storage is used to supply the body with energy, 84% of the waste product is CO2 and that goes out when we breathe. And the simple truth is that you have little to no control over how our bodies spend the energy they have.

I am not going to confuse you with all the terms we learn before we graduate as personal trainers. My goal is not to demonstrate you my knowledge, but to pass it to you. So here we are, answering the question where do calories go. And at the end of this article, you will have a better understanding how your body functions, what you can control at the exit and what you should control at the entrance.
The total daily energy expenditure breaks down into four major segments.

The biggest chunk of it is the so called Base Metabolic Rate. Somewhere between 60% to 70% goes into ”just keeping the lights on”. In other words, if you sleep or lie down in the bed for 24 hours, your body will keep spending energy – to keep you heart beating, to breathe, to keep your digestion going on, your metabolism, all the processes and organs to function, to keep the body temperature at the normal levels. It varies, because of body composition. If you are on the chubbier side and have less muscle, then it is more 60% as body fat does not require much of energy to maintain. If you are on the athletic side, lean muscle mass is a consumer of energy, so it will be more like 70%

Second to that is the so-called Non-Exercise Activity. Here we include all the normal physical activity during the day – going to the loo, taking a shower, typing on a keyboard, talking on the phone, cooking, cleaning and tidying the house, whatever you can imagine during your day that is not sleeping or napping. It takes somewhere between 10% and 15% of all the calories spent during the day.

Third segment is the Thermic Effect of Food. Yes, in order to metabolise the food intake, the body spends some energy breaking it down to molecules it can use. Quite normal, even the electric power plants need electricity to function. Here the variation is due to the type of food you are consuming. If your nutrition is mainly processed foods with not that much of a protein and you skip or avoid raw vegetables and fruits, then you are on the 5% side. If your nutrition comes from whole foods, you incorporate sufficient amount of protein in your diet and you do eat your fruits and veggies, then it is around 10%. But that does not mean that you should deduct any percentage from what is written on the label of your food of choice 🙂
Up to this point, the majority of energy expenditure is beyond our control. We cannot stop breathing or intentionally lower our heart rate or make our blood to stop flowing or our guts to stop moving or the kidneys to stop working. We do have limited control (up to 10%) and that comes from the food choices we make, our physical activity during the day and our body composition.

And here comes the last portion of the total 100% – The Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or … in my view literally any physical activity that gives you joy. Gym, running, cycling, climbing, jogging, swimming, football, long walks in the park, you name it. Not like the other sections, you do have a control over this, the total control. Sadly, as I said in the beginning, in total numbers that will equate to not more than 200-300 calories per day regardless of what your smartphone or watch says. And again, no, do not look at the display of the treadmill, you did not just burn 1200 calories for 30 min incline walking.
The good news is that knowing all of the above, empowers you to make smart choices and even with small changes in lifestyle to achieve tremendous results. More protein and more whole foods means more energy spent breaking it down. More fruits and vegetables means more fibres (some of them insoluble) which means the body will spend more energy to try breaking it down before realising it cannot and passing it down the line. More non-exercise activities (walking being the most important one) and less couch (yes, less screens and less sitting too) will add up to everything else and at the end of the equation you will have control over nearly 30% of your energy expenditure. And like in business, 30% control means you are practically the boss. The boss of your own body, you are now in control.
Because knowing what you can change and what you cannot will inevitably direct your efforts in the meaningful direction. Now you know. Thank you for spending this five minutes reading with me.