Basic calorie facts

Calories equals energy

Calories are needed to drive your car, cook your food and move your body.

A calorie is the amount of energy, or heat, it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).

In food the energy measurement used is "kilocalories", also know as the "food calorie" or "large calorie".

Most of the body's energy, about 60-70%, is needed to support your metabolism. This includes such activities as making your heart beat and maintaining body temperature.

Rough estimate of daily calorie requirements

- Female: Body Weight x 13 = estimated cal/day

- Male: Body Weight x 14 = estimated cal/day

For moderately active people (3-4 fitness exercises per week):

- Female: Body Weight x 16 = estimated cal/day

- Male: Body Weight x 17 = estimated cal/day

For active people (more than 4 fitness exercises per week):

- Female: Body Weight x 19 = estimated cal/day

- Male: Body Weight x 20 = estimated cal/day

Additional calorie facts:

When you eat more calories than you spend you will gain weight. In theory, you could eat unhealthy snacks (e.g. fries) every day, as long as you would take into account your total number of calories. However, this is a very bad idea because not all calories are the same.

Most junk food, candy, sodas, syrup, desserts are packed with calories that have no nutritional value. Also there are lots of foods (for example white rice, white bread) that aren’t necessarily bad but at the same time are also not particularly nutritious.

Good calories are packed with the things that your body needs to become and stay healthy. It should contain minerals, vitamins, protein, complex carbohydrates and certain types of fats.

Foods - compilation of three building blocks

1) Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram)

2) Fats (9 calories per gram),

3) Proteins (4 calories per gram).

If you know the number of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in any given food, you will know how many calories, or how much energy, that food contains.

Although all fats contain 9 (food)calories per gram, it is important to reduce your intake of animal fats and replace them with vegetable fats/oils.

3500 calories = Gaining one pound of weight