If you’ve never heard an unsolicited calorie recommendation, count yourself lucky because they’re a hot topic! Calories were first discovered over 200 years ago, but how we talk about them has changed drastically over the years. It took nearly 100 years for humans to start using calorie counting as a way to control weight. That leaves about 100 years of advice and opinions on using calories to gain or lose weight to sift through. Today, we’re going to answer some of the basic questions regarding calories to help you better understand what they are and if you need to track them for your goals.
What Are Calories?
Calories are a unit of energy contained in foods and drinks, and the energy used for physical activity and body functions. This means that the calories we intake by eating and drinking are what gives our bodies the energy to function both on the basic level, such as pumping our heart, breathing and digestion, but also for movement like physical activity. This energy source is needed for our survival and is found in all foods.
There are two types of calories you might come across:
- Small calorie (cal): This is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. This is rarely used in everyday nutrition.
- Kilocalorie (kcal): This is the most commonly referred to “calorie” in nutrition. One kilocalorie is equal to 1,000 small calories and is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.
When you see calorie information on food labels, it’s usually referring to kilocalories (kcal). For example, when a label says a food contains 200 calories, it means it provides 200 kilocalories of energy.
How Many Calories Do I Need?
The answer to this question is highly personalized. On average, a female needs 2,000 calories and a male needs 2,500 calories per day. However, this number is highly affected by your activity level, disease state or medical condition, your goals, and other factors. To find out your calorie needs, it’s best to leave it to the professionals. By working with a Registered Dietitian (the nutrition experts!), you can find a calorie goal that will meet your needs while also helping you achieve your goal. When it comes to losing weight, the ultimate goal is still to eat as much as you can for optimal energy, while seeing the number on the scale go down – not eat as little calories as possible while starving. Reach out to our team of dietitians and get started on your journey today!
What Role Do Calories Play in Weight Loss and Weight Gain?
In general, 3,500 calories are needed to gain or lose a pound of body weight. An intake of 3,500 calories above your maintenance level per week will aid in gaining 1 pound per week, while an intake of 3,500 calories below your maintenance level per week will help you lose 1 pound per week. Your dietitian will use this to help calculate your calorie needs with your end weight goal in mind.
Of course, more than just the calories in a food will impact your weight. Your dietitian will also discuss macronutrients with you (which are also impacted by your goals, disease state, and needs!) to help you achieve these goals.
It’s important to note that your body composition (how much muscle or fat you have) will also impact how your weight changes and the number on the scale.
How Are Calories Calculated in Foods?
The way macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat and protein) are distributed in a particular food helps calculate the total calories in the food per serving.
Carbohydrates and protein each provide 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram.
These numbers can be used to calculate the total calories in a food, as well as the percentage of calories from each macronutrient.
Again, talk with your Registered Dietitian to see what numbers you should be aiming for!
What Are “Empty Calories”?
The term “empty calories” refers to foods with the majority or all of the calories coming from added sugars or fats. These foods lack protein, fiber, and micronutrients leaving little beneficial nutritional value. These foods can provide a source of quick energy, but they lack the ability to help build muscle, provide a sense of fullness, or supply vitamins or minerals.
Examples of “Empty Calories”:
- Sodas, energy drinks, sports drinks, sweet tea, and high sugar coffees
- Alcohol
- Sweets like cakes, ice cream, and candy
- Deep fried foods
How to Track Caloric Intake
Your Registered Dietitian may ask you to track your food and drink intake for a few days as a starting point to get a better picture of what and how you eat. If you’re working with a One Bite Nutrition dietitian, then you can track your intake in our EMR system, Practice Better. This way, both you and your dietitian can review your food logs together, along with adding notes to each meal.
If you’re working on nutrition goals on your own, there are many options for food tracking.
MyPlate and MyFitnessPal are both easy to use options for mobile tracking. You can also keep it simple and track your intake on paper.
Should you track calories in foods? That depends. Some find it helpful, especially when first starting on a path to gain or lose weight. Though we will note, tracking calories is not something you want to be doing forever. In some cases, tracking food and drink intake is not necessary, but it can be used as a tool short-term.
Calories in Common Foods
While you can search nearly any food and get the calorie and macro nutrient content on Google, your food tracker should also be able to accurately give you this information as well. Technology and apps are becoming more and more specific with the nutrition content and calories, even based per brand.
Here is the calorie content in some common foods:
- Apple, medium – 72 calories
- Banana, medium – 105 calories
- Carrots, 1 cup – 52 calories
- Cheese, 1 slice – 115 calories
- Boneless skinless chicken breast, 3 oz – 140 calories
- Soda, 12 oz – 140 calories
- Hotdog, no bun – 140 calories
- Ketchup, 1 tbsp – 15 calories
- Peanut butter, 2 tbsp – 180 calories
- Pepperoni Pizza, one slice – 300 calories
- Potato Chip, 1 oz – 155 calories
- Rice, 1 cup cooked – 200 calories
- Egg, 1 cooked – 80 calories
- Tuna, 3 oz – 100 calories
Conclusion
Calories are essential to the human body. Without them, we would not live! There is also a fine balance between calorie intake and output that keeps our bodies working at the optimal level. There can be a lot of food talk from people all around you: friends, family, coworkers, social media, celebrities. It can be hard to know what is accurate information and what is misleading. For reliable, science-backed nutrition information, be sure to ask your Registered Dietitian!
If you don’t have a Registered Dietitian to ask, reach out to our OBN team. We are ready and waiting to get your nutrition journey started!
