What You Need to Know About Calories
If you’re looking to understand the basic science behind calories, you’ve come to the right place. Whether you want to lose weight or gain it, understanding calories and the role they play in your body is essential.
We will look at what a calorie is and how the body uses them. We will also discuss how understanding calories can help with weight loss or gain goals.
What is a Calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy that we measure food in. It comes from the Latin word calor which means heat. All foods contain different amounts of energy (aka calories).
The amount of energy contained in food affects how much fuel our bodies have available for growth, movement, and other activities. Understanding the number of calories contained in different foods can help us manage our weight by eating just enough to meet our individual needs.
Types of Calories
There are three major types of nutrients that provide us with energy: protein, carbohydrates, and fats.
Each gram of protein provides us with 4 kcal (calories), each gram of carbohydrate with 4 kcal, and each gram of fat with 9 kcal. In order to maintain our current weight, we need to consume an equal number of calories that we expend through activity in a day; this balance between intake and output is referred to as energy balance.
When we consume more than we burn off, then this creates an energy surplus which leads to weight gain; when we consume less than we burn off, then this creates an energy deficit which leads to weight loss.
Weight Loss and Calories
If your goal is weight loss, then it is important that you create an energy deficit by eating fewer calories than you burn off every day - this can be done either by reducing calorie intake or increasing physical activity levels (or both!).
To get an estimate on how many calories you should be eating per day for successful weight loss, you can use a calorie calculator such as MyFitnessPal which takes into account your age, height/weight ratio, gender and level of physical activity in order for it give an appropriate recommendation on daily calorie intake for optimal results.
Weight Gain & Calories
On the other hand if your goal is weight gain instead then its important to create an energy surplus instead by consuming more than you expend - again this can be done through increasing caloric intake or reducing physical activity levels (or both!).
As mentioned before it's also important not only increase total caloric consumption but also ensure that these extra calories are coming from healthy sources such as lean proteins like fish/chicken/beans/nuts etc., complex carbohydrates like veggies/fruits/whole grains etc., and healthy fats like olive oil/avocado/nut butter etc..
Conclusion
In conclusion when looking at gaining or losing weight its essential that one understands what a calorie is and how many their body needs daily in order to reach their goals effectively - whether its cutting down or bulking up its all about creating either an energy surplus or deficit depending on which goal one has decided upon working towards!
A good way to figure out exactly how many one should be consuming per day in order to reach their desired outcome would be using a calorie calculator so they can accurately work out their recommended daily allowance! Finally once someone has figured out their total daily caloric needs its important they ensure these come from healthy sources such as proteins/carbs/fats so they not only reach their goals but do so healthily!
