What are Calories and Why Count Them?

You have probably heard of calories and seen them on food labels, but do you really know what they are, or why you should count them?

What Calories Are

A Calorie is the unit of measure that we use to determine how much energy we take in when we eat. However, when it pertains to food, it is actually called a kiloCalorie. Measuring Calories gives everyone an idea of how much energy a food has. There are measurements that Calories are based on. Usually, one gram of protein will have four Calories, one carbohydrate gram will also have four Calories, every gram of fat will have nine Calories, and a gram of alcohol will typically have seven Calories.

If you simply know the amount of fat, carbohydrates, protein, and alcohol that is in the food or drink you are going to consume, then you will know how many Calories are in it too. Counting your Calories will lead to a healthier you.

How Calories are Burned

Metabolism is the process that the body uses to burn Calories. By using enzymes, the body will take the carbohydrates, fat, and protein and break them down into matter that can easily be taken into the blood for your cells to use. Then it will be used for energy, or it will be stored to be used later. Any Calories that get stored will usually be put away as fat.

The Number of Calories You Need

On food labels, the Calorie intake is, most of the time, based on a 2,000 Calorie count for each day. This is, however, only an average, and the amount of Calories for each person is different. Your metabolism rate, how active you are, your gender, and many other things are considered when you decide on the amount of Calories you need per day. Women usually have a lower Calorie need, because they have lower proportions of muscle than they do fat. If you would like to find out the daily value of Calories you need, then you can use the Daily Intake Calculator.

The body needs energy, even while it is resting. The Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the energy amount needed for this. It is used to keep your heart going, keep a regular temperature, and just keep the rest of your body operating correctly. Your BMR is usually based off your weight.

Calories: The Same or Not?

It doesn’t matter where a Calorie comes from, because they are all the same. Where the Calorie comes from, however, is important in terms of the nutrition you get. For example, getting Calories from eating a serving of low-fat yogurt as a snack is much better for you than eating a serving of potato chips as a snack.

Counting Your Calories

Knowing how many Calories that you consume each day is something that is good to know. However, not everybody has to count their Calories. Counting Calories is just a good way to help you lose weight or to just stay healthy.

What Counting Calories Is

Counting Calories is simply that. It’s a way of keeping track of the Calorie intake of the foods and drinks that you have every day. You can record it by keeping a journal, by putting it into the computer, or by going on-line. On the Internet, there are website that you can sign up with that will let you keep track of everything that you eat and drink each day. This will calculate all of the Calories for you.

There are also meal plans that you can prepare or buy that are based on your Calorie intake. There are many websites on-line where you can get great recipes too.

Does Counting Calories Really Matter?

Some people think that counting Calories does matter, and some people think that it’s the macro-nutrients alone that matter. Macro-nutrients are things like fat, carbohydrates, and protein.

Calories mean everything if you are measuring energy intake and output. If you are measuring your health and nutrition, then it’s the macro-nutrients that matter. However, if you are on a 1500 calorie diet, you are not going to live off of fatty foods or diet drinks. So, to some extent, the macro-nutrients matter too.

So, to answer to the question if counting calories matters, it all depends. Counting Calories is especially important if you are trying to lose weight, and macro-nutrients will have an effect on the amount of weight you lose depending on your personal physical characteristics. You should always get used to counting the Calories you take in first, and then you can worry more about your nutrients.

What If I Don’t Like to Count Calories?

Many people don’t like to count their Calories, and doing this is not something for everyone. Eating food that you once enjoyed can be turned into something painful and sometimes even stressful. You do, however, need to have an idea of the amount of food that will help you to lose weight, because eating until you are full is not always the best thing.

So instead of making Calorie counting something that you do all of the time, you could count your Calories for just a week or so, to get an idea of the portions of food that work for you to lose weight. However, going by sight is not a good idea if you are not good at determining portion sizes.

How to Calorie Count

One way that you can count Calories is to do it yourself. You will have to record the amount of Calories that you plan to eat or have already eaten every day. Your daily Calorie intake to lose weight will also need to be determined. This process does take time so not everyone is able to go this route.

The other way is to sign up with a diet plan. There are programs on the Internet that will keep track of your Calorie intake for you. They can also give you the amount of Calories that you need to have each day to make losing weight a success. Sometimes they will
even give you Calorie-based planned meals. This way will save you time, and that is why a lot of people tend to use this method of counting Calories.