Understanding Calories
Calories -- knowing how to find them, how to count them and how to cut them, are key to lose weight on your own. Calorie counting is easy and effective. This article will help you understand what you need to know about calories.
The first step to losing weight by counting calories is to understand what a calorie is and how it applies to your weight. A calorie is a unit of measurement that measures the amount of energy contained in a food or beverage.
Your body uses caloric energy to perform everything from basic biological functions to typing on your keyboard or jogging around the block. We all have a certain caloric requirement needed to maintain our current weight; if you eat fewer -- or burn more -- calories than that, you will eventually lose weight. This is called a caloric deficit. A good rule of thumb is that a caloric deficit of 3,500 calories leads to a weight loss of approximately one pound.
How Many Calories do You Need?
There are several ways to determine the number of calories you require each day in order to maintain your weight.
There is something called the Harris-Benedict formula that uses a mathematical formula to determine your caloric needs based on your sex, weight, and activity level; the result is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate. The U.S. government provides a chart of suggested daily caloric needs as part of the My Pyramid.gov Web site. Additionally, Calorie Count Plus allows you to type in your weight, activity level and weight loss goals and receive caloric intake recommendations when you sign up for a free account.
Once you know the number of calories you need in order to maintain your weight, you can create your own caloric goals for losing weight. It's up to you how many calories you cut from your daily diet. Remember, it takes a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories for you to lose a pound. Most people find it easiest and most effective to cut between 250 and 500 calories a day. Beware of cutting calories too low (below 1,200) as doing so can put your health at risk.
How Many Calories are in a Food?
The next step in counting calories is to learn how to read a food label to identify the caloric content of foods and beverages, or to find the calorie count for the item with another method, such as using your computer.
The products you purchase at the store have a label on them called the Nutrition Facts label. Here you will find a great deal of information about the food's nutritional content, including total number of calories per serving. The calories are located just below the thick black line and the words "Amount per serving". It is important that you also note the serving size listing on the label, which is located at the top, just below the "Nutrition Facts" heading.
You can also use Calorie Count Plus to search for the nutritional information for many different types of foods, including restaurant foods, for free.
Additionally, food manufacturers, fast food restaurants, and other restaurant chains often provide the calorie information for their foods posted in the dining room, in a brochure, or on their Web site.
Portion Sizes and Counting Calories
Portion control is the most important step of calorie counting. You must begin measuring your food based on serving sizes in order to successfully count calories. For example, if a potato chip brand has 120 calories per serving, but you eat straight from the bag, how can you possibly know how many calories you have consumed? Adhering to the listed serving size is the key to tracking your caloric intake.
The simplest way to begin to track your portions is to buy and use a simple measuring cup. Many foods such as cereal and pasta are measured by the 1/2 cup or cup. Fluid ounces, such as a beverages, can also be measured with a measuring cup. Some foods such as peanut butter, pancake syrup, or jam are measured by the tablespoon. A few foods, such as stick margarine, can be difficult to measure with a spoon; a serving of margarine, for example, can be measured by using the "ruler" provided on the the product's packaging.
Other foods will list a serving as "x number of slices" or "x pieces" such a deli meat or candy, where you can simply count out the number of pieces that make a serving.
Some foods list a weight, such as an ounce, as a serving, which requires the use of a kitchen scale. However, if you search for that same food on a caloric database such as Calorie Count Plus, you may find an alternative form of measurement is provided, such as cups or "portion of package."
Lastly, many foods are available in "single serving" size packages. This means that you can eat all of the food in the package for the listed number of calories. It's important that you don't assume a package is a single serving. Look on the package's nutrition label and find the "servings per package" or "servings per container" section. If it says "1" then you do not need to measure or count the food to know your caloric intake.
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