Your body has a continual need for calories just to exist, according to the Mayo Clinic. Between 60 percent and 75 percent of the calories you consume are immediately burned up to maintain bodily functions such as breathing, cell development and repair, circulation and digestion.
Usable Calories
Any calories you consume above your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, are used to fuel your activities. Muscles, blood circulation and respiration use most of the calories for movement. The brain uses more calories than any other organ to function, according to the Franklin Institute.
Extra Calories
The calories that are not used for energy are absorbed and stored in the body as fat. It's the accumulation of excess calories that leads to weight gain.
Counting Calories
There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound. If you only burn 2,000 calories per day but consume 2,500 calories, you will gain about 1 pound per week because the extra 500 calories are absorbed and stored.
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