How to calculate calories correctly
As soon as you start a diet, the assiduous calculation of calories also begins. However, it is not always that simple. In fact, to know the calories of a certain food you have to take into account whether it is eaten raw or cooked and, in the latter case, how In general, before any diet, the ideal would be to consult the opinion of a doctor or nutritionist, who can indicate the best solution to your needs in order to lose weight in a healthy and effective way.
So what are your daily calorie needs? Find out how many calories you really need per day! It is a quick and easy process to be able to learn how to count the calories you consume without any problems.
See also
The calories of meat
How can you know your calorie expenditure?
To function, the body needs energy.
This fixed energy, also called basic metabolism, represents the energy that our body has available to ensure its survival (heartbeat, breathing movements, digestion ...), the renewal of its cells, the maintenance of its temperature. , its growth and all other functions.
This basic metabolism can vary enormously from one person to another depending on age - as less energy is spent as one gets older -, muscle mass - as muscles increase basic energy expenditure, and sex, with men having a higher base metabolism than women.
In addition to these fixed energy expenditure of the body, there are variables, mainly related to physical activity, from 80 to 100 kcal / h for a small effort to over 1,000 kcal / h for a very intense effort. In other words, the more there we move, the more we increase our calorie expenditure.
Good to know: pregnancy and breastfeeding also stimulate the metabolism, but not to the point of having to eat for two ...
Calculation of your calorie expenditure
To calculate the number of calories you need, here is the average calorie requirement by gender and activity:
> Low activity: 1,800 kcal for a woman, 2,100 kcal for a man,
> Light activity: 2,000 kcal for a woman, 2,700 kcal for a man,
> High activity: 2,400 to 2,800 kcal for a woman, 3,000 to 3,500 kcal for a man,
> Pregnant or breastfeeding women: 2000 to 2500 kcal
Beware, these figures increase with corpulence, because the more weight increases, the more energy the body needs to function and, conversely, these figures must be adjusted downwards for slimmer builds.
Know your calorie intake
It is important to know that all foods provide calories, and fortunately, because that is their role!
However, not all nutrient categories are the same: 1g of protein = 4 kcal, 1g of fat = 9 kcal and 1g of carbohydrate = 4 kcal.
> So, for the same weight, high-fat foods will fatally have more calories than others, but that's no reason to completely exclude them from your diet. Likewise, one must be wary of very sweet foods, which do not lead to much in terms of satiety and energy if not a lot of pleasure on the palate.
> Water does not provide calories: for the same weight, dry foods will be much more caloric than very moist or even liquid ones.
These two pieces of information can help you choose your food if you decide to control your calorie intake.
When you want to reduce your calorie intake, what exactly should you eat?
To find out more precisely how many calories this or that food provides, go to our information sheets and learn how to calculate your calories. It will be much easier to count each food before consuming it.
You will see, it is so simple that you will quickly get used to finding out which food has more or less calories.
Calories from fruit
Calories of carbohydrate foods
Calories from the salad
Calorie but healthy foods
