Just what is a calorie?

I'm pretty sure most of us know the term "calorie" -- or do we? Many of us know that we "burn" them when we exercise, but just what exactly is a calorie? Well, technically a calorie is measurement of the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1°C.

In terms of calorie burning, people who eat (like, all of us) use calories to measure the amount of energy we need to expend -- to lose weight (in most cases). We all need calories to survive, but the different types and the universe of foods and beverages in the caloric world could fill many small libraries (and it already does).

Calories are de-mystified and explained in great detail over at The Diet Channel here and it's worth your time to know the specifics of a calorie along with how this heat unit measurement relates to weight loss. Information is power, yes?