Calorie Counting
Calorie - a unit of energy
A calorie is a unit of energy. Very simply: food gives you energy and energy is measured in calories.
1. One gram of Carbohydrate is 4 calories.
2. One gram of Protein is 4 calories;.
3. One gram of Fat is 9 calories.
How to count calories
There are many resources on the web, which make counting calories a much easier job. Here, for example, is UK food database, which has many products listed http://www.food-database.co.uk with their nutritional values. Most products now have calorie-values on the label. Make sure you really read the label as some of them have traps of showing calorie values as "per serving".
Calorie counting example
Let's say I like pasta.
The portion size is 60 grams.
Calories per 100 grams = 346.
So my calorie intake if I have a 60 gram portion will be:
346 / 100 x 60 = 207 calories
If for example I have prawn crackers.
There's 100 grams in a packet of crackers. Calorific value is 215 calories per portion. Now I need to check the portion size. It is 40 grams. Therefore there are 2.5 portions in one packet (100 / 40). Now we can find total number of calories in a packet: 215 calories (per portion) multiply by number of portions (2.5). 215 x 2.5 = 537.5 calories.
You should be very careful with calorific values stated on the packet because often they are per portion rather than packet size.
How does all this help me to lose weight?
Now, this is a very good question! You lose weight when you consume fewer calories than you use. So the maths is very simple: if you eat 2000 calories per day and use 1500, you will GAIN weight. If you eat 1700 and use 1700, you will MAINTAIN your weight. If you eat 1400 and use 1700, you will lose weight. Counting your calories is really important!
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