What Is a Calorie?

Calories. Calories. Calories.

We hear so much about calories every day. They are listed on every food package, and now menus display calories on every item at your favorite restaurant. It seems like in the past few years; we’ve become more obsessed and calorie-focused than ever. Is it for a good reason, and is it working?

Originally used to define how much energy comes from different sources like gas or coal, when it comes to nutrition a calorie is a unit of measure for how much energy or fuel any given food contains. Measuring calories helps to set a standard across food items so people can know how much energy a piece of fruit, that candy bar, or a nice grilled steak will give them. Calories are important because the more we eat, the more we have to burn. Otherwise, the calories transform into fat and find their place on our bellies, hips, thighs, and other parts.

One of the main reasons we see and hear so much about calories now is that people are eating too many calories and not burning enough. There is an obesity epidemic in the country, and most of it is due to people simply eating too much.

What needs to happen is for everyone to understand what’s in the food they eat and how it will affect their health. Knowing how much you’ll have to move to burn off a piece of candy or a donut could be enough to convince you that it’s not worth having one every day.

Calories In vs. Calories Out

One thing calories do is make understanding how to lose or gain weight much simpler. It’s really a basic math equation anyone can do. We know, from scientists, that a pound of fat or flesh equals approximately 3,500 calories. So, if you want to lose a pound, you’re going to have to find a way to skip out on 3,500 calories worth of food or do enough exercise to burn 3,500 calories.

Every day, you walk to your car, clean up clothes off of your kids’ floors, and go for a run. These activities and anything else that requires energy burns calories. Even sitting here reading this article, your brain is using energy to read and process words. It won’t burn as many calories as, say, lifting weights, but everything that uses energy burns calories. High-level chess players can burn thousands of calories in a match! It all depends on intensity and longevity.

You’ll start losing weight when you’re in a consistent calorie deficit. On the other hand, if you want to gain weight, and, yes, some people have this problem, you’re going to have to eat more calories than you burn. Some weightlifters, for example, have a hard time keeping on their weight because their muscles burn so many calories throughout the day, and they do a lot of intense exercises. They have to eat a ton of food simply to maintain equilibrium.

If you’re looking to gain weight or lose weight, you have to know how many calories are coming in versus how many are going out.

Tracking Calories Is a Key to Successful Dieting

Women is counting calories on her phone while making food.

If you ask most people who’ve successfully shed pounds or maintained an ideal body weight after being obese or overweight, they’ll tell you that counting calories helped big time.

When you’re not tracking your calories, it’s way easier to overeat or eat mindlessly. You add a bit more to your portion or have a late-night snack that completely destroys all of the exercises you did that day.

Remember, for people who are trying to lose weight; your body isn’t going to take kindly to what you’re trying to do. It’s used to having all of that sugar and fat and carbs that you’ve been eating. Our bodies are programmed to consume as much as possible and store it for later. In evolutionary terms, we’re pre-disposed to eat as much as possible because the food wasn’t always as readily available.

You have to train your body to get it used to the new normal, and counting calories is a great way to do that. Map out how much weight you want to lose each week, multiply the number of pounds by 3,500 calories, and now you know what sort of deficit you need. It may seem like a lot, but you can shave out calories here and there to get to your goal.

One of the best things about tracking calories is that it makes results more concrete. It removes guessing and emotion from dieting.

How Many Calories Do You Need Every Day?

If you look at a lot of food packages, you’ll see an asterisk and some statement about how the calories and percentages on the label are based on a 2,000 daily calorie diet. Scientists and nutrition experts have pegged the 2,000 calorie mark as a baseline or an average for American adults.

The problem here, though, is that not everyone is the same. We have different levels of activity, different metabolisms, and eat different foods. For example, a high-performance athlete will likely need much more than 2,000 calories a day to sustain them. On the other hand, someone older who doesn’t move around a lot during the day doesn’t need 2,000 calories. If they eat that much, they’ll just end up gaining weight.

The same goes for differences in body size. A tall person will naturally need more calories in a day than a petite person. The best you can do is zero in on how many calories you need every day. There are tests that can measure your body mass and pin your ideal calorie consumption, or you can just track what you eat and how it affects you on the scale.

Choosing the Right Calories

A calorie is a calorie when it comes to energy, but we know not all calories are as good for you health-wise. You can technically eat 1,000 calories of candy every day and lose weight, but you’re probably going to feel horrible. Your body needs more than just calories to survive. It needs vitamins, minerals, protein, and other nutrients to keep you going.

Thankfully, many of the healthiest foods aren’t very calorie-dense. You can eat a ton of spinach, for instance, and get the same calories as a small piece of cake. Eating more protein, for example, will keep you feeling satisfied for much longer than that bag of chips or milkshake will. Healthier foods will keep you feeling fuller for longer, and you’ll avoid a lot of the cravings and sugar spikes associated with eating unhealthy foods.

To learn more about calories, start looking at what you’re eating and how long it would take you to burn off whatever you put in your mouth. It’s a great way to put things into perspective when you realize that scoop of ice cream needs three or four miles on the treadmill to burn off.

Knowing more about calories will make you a more informed eater and hopefully lead you to better choices about what you put in your mouth. Start slowly, make goals, and track calories to get where you want to be. It won’t happen overnight, but progress takes time. Stick with it and celebrate your successes along the way!