Calories and Why We Need Them

People are always on about how much work it takes to burn off calories, but very seldom do people actually consider how many calories it takes just to stay alive.

Now, I'm not a biologist by any stretch of the imagination, but I do know a thing or two about the conservation of energy. I also observe that the human body has a number of moving parts that are always moving. Your heart is always beating. Your lungs are always breathing. People talk about walking for 30 minutes to burn off this or that, but no one considers pumping 5 litres of blood through your entire body for 1440 minutes a day. And let's not forget breathing. Think about how often you breathe. Only all the time. I mean, try replicating that outside of your body. You will get fucking tired, my friend. But guess what? Your body does that all day every day for your entire life.

My point is the function of eating is to fuel the body's necessary functions. When you eat a hamburger and think "fuck, I have to run for 3 hours to burn off that hamburger," then you haven't done anything at all. Your net calorie gain is zero, which means none of that hamburger has contributed to the energy needed to keep you alive. You've wasted a hamburger!