Calorie counting and reading labels can help you maintain a healthy diet and a healthy weight. Everyone has different fitness goals, such as weight loss, weight gain or maintaining weight, and each of these goals are directly related to your calorie intake. There are free calorie counters online, or you can start a food journal to track calorie intake.
What is a Calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy that comes from foods and drinks. One calorie is equal to amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1l of water by 1 degree Celsius.
Calories Requirement
Your body requires a certain number of calories daily to complete basic bodily functions. This calorie requirement is known as the basal metabolic rate, or BMR. Find a free BMR calculator online to determine your recommended daily calorie requirements. The BMR is unique to each person because it's based on height, weight, age and sex.
Calories Consumed
To decide how many calories you consume, you must decide on your weight goal. To lose weight, you must create a daily calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than your body requires. For example, if your body requires 2,000 calories daily and you consume 1,500 calories, then you are creating a 500-calorie deficit. Repeat this for seven days and you will lose 3,500 calories in a week, which is equal to 1 lb. of fat. You must consume more calories than your BMR to gain weight or consume calories equal to your BMR to maintain weight.
Adjusting your BMR
Your BMR will change over time as a result of weight loss, weight gain and aging. For example, as you lose weight, certain exercises will become easier and you will burn fewer calories performing the same exercise, says CaloriesPerHour.com. This is a result of your body's ability to become efficient at exercises as they are repeated and its need to be subjected to new stimulation for constant change.
Reading Labels
Most foods you purchase at the store have a label that displays total calories, macronutrient breakdown and ingredients in the product. You can use online calorie counter websites to find the calories in foods without labels, such as fruits and vegetables.
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