Six-pack abs are considered by many to be the epitome of health and physical appeal. Getting that muscular, defined look for your belly requires a combination of a healthy, low-calorie diet, cardio exercise and strength training, focusing on the abdominal muscles.

Running a marathon requires a dedicated approach to training, including a running, strength training and nutrition plan. While most runners place an emphasis on the specific running workouts, your nutrition lays the foundation for an effective and safe training program.

It is important to have an idea of the number of calories you need per day to maintain your current weight. Conversely, if you are attempting to lose or gain weight, you can take the number of calories you need each day to maintain weight and subtract 500 to lose 1 lb. per week or add 500 to gain 1 lb. per week.

Your body undergoes many changes when you adopt a calorie-restricted diet. It uses its stores of energy to sustain you, which helps you lose weight. However, if you experience long-term feelings of fatigue while following a low-calorie diet, you need to change your intake or the types of food you consume.

Lifting weights supports increases in lean muscle mass and provides a method of calorie expenditure. Specific factors determine your recommended daily calorie intake for weightlifting which include training intensity, age, gender and body composition.

When you're 22 years old, eating right might not seem as important as finishing your degree or transitioning into the workforce. Regardless of how busy you are, however, you must make it a priority to fill your diet with fruits, vegetables, low-fat protein and whole grains.

Incorporating exercise into your regimen is an important component to a successful weight loss program. While yoga burns some calories and provides numerous health benefits, it’s not considered efficient if you're looking to burn a significant number of calories.

Walking three mph, for six hours, each day is a lot of cardiovascular exercise and far exceeds the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommended accumulation of more than 250 minutes of moderate physical activity to induce weight loss.

Found in a dizzying array of processed foods and beverages, artificial sweeteners simulate the sweet taste of sugar without all the calories found in table sugar and other calorie-laden sweeteners, such as high-fructose corn syrup.

Simply put, calories are energy. Consume more energy than your body needs and excess calories are stored as fat. Fat storage was an important part of human survival--allowing people to survive when food was scarce.

How many calories you consume at each meal depends on your eating habits and calorie needs for the day. Certain diet plans advocate eating multiple mini meals with a low number of calories to keep your metabolism burning, while others have you eating small meals to be followed up with one very large meal.

The amount of calories you need to consume is dependent on various factors, such as age, gender, height, activity level and whether you want to gain or lose weight. It's important to know how many calories you should consume per day so that you plan your meals and activities accordingly.