Punjab, Feb. 16 -- Losing weight essentially boils down to a calorie deficit - burning more calories than you consume, although there are supplements that canhelp speed things up. To understand how to best achieve sustainable weight loss, it helps to understand how calories and your body's energy expenditure work.

What is a Calorie?

A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. When we talk about calories in terms of weight loss, we are referring to kilocalories or whatiscommonly called Calories (capital C). A Calorie represents the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius.

Calories are found in all foods and beverages. Things like protein, fat, carbohydrates, fiber,and even alcohol...