Your body is the best computer system in the world. It’s able to calculate every calorie you eat and burn off. You can’t sneak a snack without it knowing it. You can’t miss a workout without consequences. If you remember that your body is either burning or storing the food calories you eat, you can take control of your weight loss…or gain.

So, what’s a calorie? It’s energy. It’s the fuel your body needs to run like a virus-free, computing machine.

For every calorie you eat, you must have a plan on how to work it off. If you eat too many calories the excess will end up as fat on your thighs, butt and other unwanted places. If you eat as many as you burn off, you’ll be maintaining your current weight. Now, if you burn more calories than you take in daily through regular exercise consisting of resistance training as well as cardiovascular training and a healthy, balanced and nutritional eating plan, you’ll be on the path toward burning fat and building muscle, instead of just losing weight, which can result in the loss of lean muscle resulting in less strength and energy but fewer numbers on the scale which is only one of several factors in overall health.

Weight management depends upon the energy-balance equation; the amount of energy you put into your body (food calories) versus the amount of energy you expend through regular, physical activity.

So, how do you know how many calories your body needs to reach or maintain a certain weight? Use This “How Many Calories Do You Need?” tool: