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Glossary

Nutrition and exercise

Food, energy and training terms used in our calculators.

Updated

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Calorie deficitNutrition and exerciseA calorie deficit means eating fewer calories than you burn, so your body draws on stored energy and weight goes down…

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Dietary fiberNutrition and exerciseDietary fiber is the part of plant foods your body cannot fully digest; it adds bulk, helps bowel regularity and can…

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ElectrolytesNutrition and exerciseElectrolytes are minerals such as sodium, potassium, chloride and magnesium that carry an electric charge and help…

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Glycemic index (GI)Nutrition and exerciseThe glycemic index ranks carbohydrate foods from 0 to 100 by how quickly they raise blood sugar compared with pure…

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HIIT (high-intensity interval training)Nutrition and exerciseHIIT is a way of exercising that alternates short bursts of very hard effort with periods of easier recovery, such as…

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Intermittent fastingNutrition and exerciseIntermittent fasting is an eating pattern that cycles between set eating windows and fasting periods, such as eating…

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Karvonen formulaNutrition and exerciseThe Karvonen formula sets heart-rate training zones using both your maximum heart rate and your resting heart rate.

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MacronutrientsNutrition and exerciseMacronutrients are the three nutrients that supply calories: protein and carbohydrate at about 4 calories per gram, and…MET (metabolic equivalent)Nutrition and exerciseA MET is a unit of exercise intensity; 1 MET is the energy you burn sitting quietly, and brisk walking is roughly 3 to…

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One-rep max (1RM)Nutrition and exerciseOne-rep max is the heaviest weight you can lift once with good form for a given exercise.

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Progressive overloadNutrition and exerciseProgressive overload is the training principle of gradually increasing the demand on your muscles, through more weight…Protein floorNutrition and exerciseA protein floor is the minimum daily protein you aim to eat, even on low-appetite days, to help protect muscle while…

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Resistance trainingNutrition and exerciseResistance training, also called strength training, is exercise that makes your muscles work against a force, such as…

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Sedentary behaviorNutrition and exerciseSedentary behavior is waking time spent sitting, reclining or lying down with very low energy use, such as watching TV…Soluble fiberNutrition and exerciseSoluble fiber is a type of dietary fiber that dissolves in water to form a gel in the gut, slowing digestion and…Step countNutrition and exerciseStep count is the number of steps you take in a day, tracked by a phone, watch or pedometer, and used as a simple…

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Thermic effect of foodNutrition and exerciseThe thermic effect of food is the energy your body spends digesting, absorbing and storing what you eat, roughly 10% of…

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Ultra-processed foodNutrition and exerciseUltra-processed foods are industrial products made mostly from refined ingredients and additives, such as many packaged…

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VO2 maxNutrition and exerciseVO2 max is the most oxygen your body can use during hard exercise, a key measure of cardio fitness, written in mL per…

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Zone 2 trainingNutrition and exerciseZone 2 training is steady, easy-to-moderate aerobic exercise done at an effort where you can still talk in full…