Calories = energy
Calories are a measure of the amount of energy that is in your food, so when you eat or drink, you are putting energy into your body. Everybody needs a certain amount of energy (or calories) to maintain normal bodily functions and to perform everyday activities.
If you eat and drink more than your body needs (i.e. take in too many calories), then your body will store it as fat and you will gain weight over time. You can help to burn up calories (use up energy) by performing physical exercise.
Understanding food labels
Most packaged foods have labels giving the “nutritional value” of what is in the food. This is where you can find the calorie count of the food, usually displayed under “energy”. It is often displayed under two different formats: kcals (kilocalorie) and KJ (kilojoules). Kilojoules is the metric value.
The average figures of 2,500 calories for men and 2,000 calories for women are based on kcals (kilocalories). In KJ (kilojoules), the figure would be much higher – 10,500 KJ for men and 8,400 KJ for women.
Sometimes you may have to work out the amount of calories in a particular food, as quite often the label may give the amount of calories per 100g. So for example, you could be eating a packet of something that is actually 200g in weight, but the label is telling you that there is 50 kcal in 100g, so in actual fact that packet of food would count as 100 kcal calories if you ate all of it.
Advantages of calorie counting
Knowing how many calories you should personally be having will help you to maintain a healthy weight and/or lose weight if you need to.
Calorie counting can help you start to create a more healthy diet as once you realise how many calories are in certain foods, you may decide it is better to limit those that are very high in calories in favour of more healthy and lower calorie options.
You don’t have to exclude your favourite foods, just be aware of how many calories are in the foods you do eat, so that you are not taking in more than you should. In fact, it’s nice to know you can have a treat occasionally rather than feeling deprived!


>>Click here to buy The Complete Book of Food Counts at a low price online<<


>>Click here to buy the Taylor 3847 Cal-Max Digital Food Scale with Calorie Calculator at a competitive low price with FREE shipping* online<<
>>Click here to buy the Taylor 3847 Cal-Max Digital Food Scale with Calorie Calculator at a competitive low price with FREE shipping* online<<
You may feel encouraged to become a bit more physically active, as this will help to burn up calories. So if you do feel like having an extra special treat to eat, you know you can burn off the calories by exercising. It's a good idea to invest in a Wrist Monitor Calories Counter that you can wear while exercising and which will show you how many calories you have burned.
>>Click here to buy the Heart Rate Monitor Calories Counter Fitness Pulse Watch at a low price online<<
Online Resources
There are many online resources to help you with calorie counting, diet and exercise. The best one I’ve found and which is free to use is: "My Fitness Pal". You can find nutritional and calorie information on thousands of foods, keep track of your meals, calories and exercise through an online diary, as well as join in a group or share with your friends. They also have a free app for Android and Apple.
NB: It is advisable to consult your doctor/health care professional before embarking on any new diet and/or exercise plan.
*Prices/discounts/shipping indicated correct at time of writing/publishing and may be subject to change anytime. E&OE.
*Prices/discounts/shipping indicated correct at time of writing/publishing and may be subject to change anytime. E&OE.
Related articles:
- Counting How Many Calories are in Everyday Foods
- Low Fat Cooking with a T-fal FZ700251 ActiFry Low-Fat Healthy Multi-Cooker
- Don't Go Hungry - 20 Healthy & Tasty Snacks under 100 Calories
- 2 Healthy Tasty Fish Meal Recipes Under 200 Calories
- 2 Healthy Tasty Chicken Meal Recipes Under 200 Calories
- How to Calculate your BMI and What it Means
- Formula for How to Work Out Your BMI Body Mass Index
- True or False, Metabolism Talk
- Benefits of Drinking Water for Health & to Aid Weight Loss
- Top 3 Diets Compared, Which One Works Best for You?
- The IF Intermittent Fasting Diet Explained for Weight Loss & Good Health
- How to Lose Weight and Improve your Health with the 5:2 Diet
- Lose Weight Without Counting Calories with the Dukan Diet
- The New Atkins Diet and How it Works
- How to Banish Bloating for a Flat Stomach with a Healthy Diet
- Workout with Low-Impact Exercises to Get Fit and burn Calories
- Get Fit, Burn Calories, Lose Weight with the Schwinn 170 Upright Exercise Bike
Click here to go back to homepage
No comments:
Post a Comment