A lot of us gain weight over the years. We were skinny and active as kids, but as life catches up, we lose the fitness battle, and one day, when we look at a photo of ourselves, we realise we have gotten, well, bigger!
The reason for that moment of shock or realisation is that we don’t gain that weight overnight. Not even over a week or two. Sure, you went on vacation, ate yourself silly and came back 3 kg heavier. That’s conscious gluttony and weight change is as obvious as pouring water into a jar and weighing it. We’re not talking about that. We’re talking about the weight that slowly creeps in without you even noticing it, and one day, it just hits you.
How does this happen? What is that slippery slope?
Firstly, 1 kilo of fat is the equivalent of 7700 kcal (calories). What this means is that 1 kilo of fat stored can provide your body with 7700 calories worth of energy. This is the equivalent of about 70 miles of walking or 7 to 10 hours of very intense activity. This also means that for you to gain a kilo of fat, you need to add these 7700 calories to your body, in addition to the number of calories required to keep your body in its current form.
So in order to gain a kilo of fat in 1 week, you should eat 1100 calories over and above what your body needs. Let’s say your body needs the hypothetical 2000 calories per day. Then if you eat 3100 calories per day for a week you will gain 1 kilo. This rarely happens. But let’s zoom out a little.
To gain that 1 kilo in 2 weeks, you need to eat 550 extra calories per day. That’s almost a whole sandwich or 1 bowl of biryani. Still, it’s a lot of additional food to eat and something you’d catch yourself doing.
To gain that 1 kilo in a month, you only need to eat about 275 extra calories per day. Now, we’re getting close to what a lot of us unknowingly do occasionally — eat a candy bar randomly or a scoop of ice cream or push in that last slice of pizza.
Now, to gain that 1 kilo in 2 months you only need to eat 135 extra calories (rounding off) per day. Now, this is getting tricky. Let me explain the 135 calories. These are all estimates, but the equivalent of 135 calories is merely a slice of bread or a cup of milk or a tablespoon of oil or about 15 almonds. The same can be achieved by eating an additional 275 calories every other day i.e. 4 days a week. This is so small that a lot of us tend to overeat by this amount and not even realise it.
And guess what these sneaky 135 calories account to per year? About 46,000 calories which accounts for 6 kilos of fat! Sure, the numbers can never be perfect and it's not only about calories. But, all things considered, even with a 33 per cent standard deviation, you’re sure to gain 4 to 8 kilos a year by eating ‘a little extra’ everyday.
Summing up, fat gain is a long and slow process. But it’s under your control and can be tamed simply by controlling that urge to eat ‘a little extra’.
