Copyright 2k+ Jim Bolding

It's just simple math. You consume more calories than you expend in your daily activities. You have an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure.

But what about that friend that eats like a horse, never exercises and still stays slim? (We all have one!) It could be a combination of factors, but most likely it's heredity.

Heredity is associated not only with obesity but also with thinness. Metabolic processes are inherited only from the biologic mother. If your biologic mother is fat or thin then there is a 75% chance you will be like her.

That skinny friend has probably inherited a metabolism that burns energy faster than yours and mine does.

There's another type of heredity. I call it environmental.

If you grew up having to "eat everything on your plate" then you're probably a victim of environmental heredity. And if you were victimized by environmental heredity you could have another problem. If you consumed more calories than you needed during critical periods in your life you probably have an increased number of fat cells. Not just increased fat cell size.

These critical periods are:

*Between 12 and 18 months of age

*Between 12 and 16 years of age

*Adulthood when a person gains in excess of 60% of their ideal body weight

*For women, during pregnancy Once a fat cell is formed you generally cannot get rid of it. However, some studies have shown that fat cells can be destroyed if you can maintain a lower body weight for a prolonged period of time.

You can do battle with environmental heredity. There's not a thing you can do about your biological heredity. But you can still win your weight loss war. It's tougher, but the math is the same. Input minus output. Decrease input (calories) and increase output (exercise). You can do it.

Never Give Up!!!

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Jim Bolding is editor of Diet And Fitness News at