The body also uses energy to keep vital organs functioning. The energy is allocated especially for heart, brain and lungs. The skeletal muscles are always working (except when sleeping), to maintain body position.

The human body uses 1 watt per kilogram of body mass just to stay alive (this effort is named the basel metabolic rate). So, a woman of 55 kilograms who does not move, uses 55 watts continuously, representing about 1100 calories per day.

EXERCISES
To make a diet more effective, a person must complement it with exercises. Aerobic exercises are very useful, for dieting and for good health as well. To be useful, the exercises must be performed 3 – 4 times a week and must maintain a target heart rate of more than 50% of one’s maximum heart rate for 30 minutes.

When speaking of exercises, 8 rules apply referring to diet:

1. The diet must contain all the needed macro and micro-nutrients
2. The person must plan a meal or a nutritive supplement at every 3 – 4 hours (4 – 6 meals a day)
3. Drink a sufficient quantity of water
4. Drink cocktails containing carbohydrates and proteins, after training
5. Never skip breakfast, who should be rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals
6. Exclude as much as possible sugar, alcohol or other similar products
7. The diet should not be very strict (but be careful with products that can’t be refused: chocolate, cookies, etc.)
8. Before going to bed, eat something with less calories as possible, to assure a constant and extended flux of aminoacids in blood

Rather small modifications in someone’s lifestyle, modifications that are not time-consuming, can have a significant positive impact on dieting. Usually, these modifications refer to daily activities, like walking rather than driving, climbing stairs instead of taking elevators, etc.