Counting Calories in Food
Calories in food; they’re crucial to your health. But do you know how to count your calories? Some health experts say that counting calories in food is necessary to ensure you’re eating right. Your body needs calories to function properly, and eating too little or too many can affect your health and overall performance
If you’re serous about your health and want to start counting calories in food, you need to understand, estimate, count, and adjust your calories.
Understand - Calories in Food
All food items contain calories (except for water). The calorie content of a food item represents the energy the body needs to exude to convert that food item into more energy. The higher the calorie count, the more energy your body needs to use to burn those calories. An ideal calorie intake is one where you ingest the same number of calories your body needs to function each day without excess calorie intake. If you consume more calories than your body needs to function each day, they’re stored in your body to be burned later. Calories that aren’t burned are stored as fat. Unless you want to increase your fat content, don’t over indulge in high-calorie foods.
Estimate – Your Calorie Needs
So how many calories do you need each day? There’s a simple formula you can use to get an approximate daily calorie count, but it varies based on your activity level. If you’re not an active person, take your existing weight and multiply it by 14. If you’re somewhat active, take your existing weight and multiply it by 17. If you’re a highly active person, take your existing weight and multiply it by 20. The end result is your estimated daily calorie intake. In other words, your body burns approximately that number of calories, so you need to balance it out by ingesting the same number. Once you’ve calculated how many calories you need to ingest each day, it’s time to go to the store.
Count – Noticing Calories in Food
This is where counting calories and your food intake come into play. All packaged food items have nutritional information on their packaging, including calorie count. When you’re at the grocery store, take a look at the calorie count of the foods you frequently buy. Some have a high calorie count while others have significantly lower counts. It may turn out that you’ve been eating foods high in calories even though you’ve been watching what you eat. Each food group in the food guide pyramid has food items that are high in calories, including fruits and vegetables. So, when you’re at the store, jot down the calorie count for the food items you most commonly eat (based on serving size). This will give you a good idea just how many calories you’re currently eating.
Adjust – Change Your Calories
Once you’ve estimated how many calories you’re eating each day, make the necessary adjustments. If you’re eating too many, find the foods highest in calories and cut down, or replace them with lower calorie equivalents. If the calorie count is moderate, but the amount of that food item that you eat is high (i.e. large portion), lower your portions. However, when you’re making your adjustments, you want to remember that you need to eat a balanced diet of all the food groups. Just make sure you’re not choosing the highest calorie foods from every food group.
Counting calories in food is a great way to discover just how many calories you’re eating and what changes need to be made. Just keep in mind that diet is just half of the health equation. Exercise is the other half. So in addition to counting calories in food, exercise regularly. It’s the best thing you can do for your body.
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