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Calories can be likened to money. Spend more than you earn and your bank balance will go into the red. Eat just a little more every day than what you burn and your fat balance will increase over a period of time. And remember that neither your genetics nor your food environment can alter this equation which is but a simple mathematical truth. So what it means is just this - Energy eaten - energy burned = energy stored.

All extra energy is converted into fat and stored by the body. However, if you start muscle building exercises this fat will get converted into muscle. Eat less calories every day and exercise regularly to burn that extra fat and see the difference. You may not notice it immediately, but it does help in the long run and you will certainly reap rich benefits in your twilight years.

Calories are burnt through the process called `metabolism` - something which is required to maintain our physical activity levels, to help in the digestion of whatever we eat, for proper functioning of all the organs and for tissue repair when necessary. What is burned as calories for these activities is called the `basal metabolic rate` and this will happen even if you spend the whole day just sleeping.

As women tend to have lower resting metabolic rates, their bodies require less calories to function. So if you eat more than what you need, obviously, it is all going to get converted into fat and stored in all those inconveniently obvious places on your body. You can work wonders on your body if you take the time to do muscle building exercises every day as this will increase your muscle mass. Ever felt envious of those lucky souls who eat heartily and yet seem to never put on weight? The secret is their fast metabolic rate (which is also hereditary) because of which they burn the calories at a faster rate.

Oh! What I would do for those genes!