Calories are the foundation of any diet but it’s important to count calories smartly. Diets that cut carbs usually cut refined carbs like bread, white rice, baked goods, plus processed or refined grains which are basically sugar. They give calories without nutrition. This means you get hungry again fast after eating them and also end up eating more calories. So, if you replace refined carbs with whole grains and nutritious veggies, you’ll likely eat less because your body gets the nutrients it needs. If you eat fewer calories, you’ll lose weight.
Reaching your calorie goal
How can you hit your daily calorie target? One way is to add up the calories in every meal from all foods you eat and plan your menus based on that. You can get books listing calories per meal for many foods. Plus, nutrition labels on all packaged foods and drinks show calories per product. Make it a habit to read labels on foods and drinks you use, noting calories and serving sizes. Many recipes in cookbooks, newspapers, and magazines also give this info.
If you don’t want to count calories, a different approach is to limit how much and how often you eat, and choose low-calorie meals.
How to track the calories you eat and decide how many meals you should have each day
You could spend your whole life reading about the best ways to lose weight, but it basically comes down to one thing: burn more calories than you eat. To be sure you’re doing that, you need a rough idea of the calories you burn and the calories you eat. That’s called the art of calorie counting.
You can count calories easier than ever thanks to special apps and fitness trackers that do some of the work for you, but you can’t rely on them for everything. For more info on calorie counting, you might want a nutritionist, which is exactly what we offer at Fitness Garage.
How many calories should you eat per day?
It depends on many factors like gender, height, weight, amount and type of activity, metabolism, and genetics.
Daily calorie intake guidelines recommend 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. But this is just a rough average. Everyone should calculate their calories based on their goals.
How do you calculate your own calorie needs?
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy - calories - your body needs at rest. It accounts for about 60 to 70% of daily calories burned. Generally, men have a higher BMR than women. One of the accurate ways to estimate your BMR is the Harris-Benedict formula:
Adult males: 66.5 + (13.75 × weight in kg) + (5.003 × height in cm) - (6.755 × age in years) = basal metabolic rate
Adult females: 65.51 + (9.563 × weight in kg) + (1.850 × height in cm) - (4.676 × age in years) = basal metabolic rate
To find your total daily calorie need, multiply your BMR by the activity factor that matches your activity level exactly
(Little to no exercise): BMR × 1.2.
(Light exercise or sports 1-3 days a week): BMR x 1.37
(Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week): Basal metabolic rate × 1.5
(Hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week): 72.BMR x 1
(Very hard exercise or sports, physical work or training twice a day) BMR × 1.9
The result will be the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight.
Is counting calories a good way to lose weight?
In the end, to lose weight you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. How you do that is different for everyone. It's good to know roughly how many calories you eat so you can balance this equation.
People often overestimate how many calories they burn during exercise and end up eating too many calories, then wonder why they don't lose weight. Evidence shows that self-monitoring with food diaries and tools to track calorie intake helps people lose weight and keep it off.
You also need to think about calories in drinks because people often forget them. You can easily add a big number of calories from drinks throughout the day. For example, having a latte in the morning, juice with lunch, and wine in the evening can add up to 500 calories to your daily total.
Should you cut calories by targeting macronutrients? Is it better to get calories from protein instead of carbs, for example? Here's the answer.
When it comes to losing weight, calories are calories no matter where they come from. Whether you eat carbs, fat, or protein, they all have calories. But it’s unhealthy to get all your calories from just one source like protein or carbs. It’s important to have a balance from all sources.
You should get one third of your calories from complex carbs, one third from fruits and veggies, and one third from protein and dairy. Fat and sugars should be the least. Keep in mind 1 gram of carbs or protein gives about 4 calories. 1 gram of fat gives about 9 calories. and 1 gram of alcohol gives nearly 7 calories.
What’s the best way to count calories? How accurate do you need to be?
The best way to track calories is by using the tech we have now. Before, people used paper diaries and looked things up in books. Today, we’re lucky to know calorie counts for food with just a click. But remember, this is only accurate if your portion sizes are exact. People often hugely underestimate their serving sizes and think they’re eating fewer calories than they really are. They might log "one serving," meaning 100 grams, when they actually ate a lot more than that.
If you want full daily support including how to count your calories each day to lose weight healthily and keep it off, we offer all that with Fitness Garage.
