People often cringe at the word "calorie," largely due to the influence of certain commercial fad diets that seriously restrict daily caloric intake. However, calories are essential to a nutritious diet that keeps you healthy and energized. Understanding caloric intake and its place in overall nutrition is crucial to making healthy dietary changes.
Your Body's Fuel
If you examine any FDA-approved nutritional facts label on a food's packaging, the amount of calories per serving of the food is listed at the top of the label. A calorie is simply a number that represents a unit of stored food energy, according to the National Institutes of Health. When you eat food, your body uses these stored calories as energy.
Daily Intake
The FDA bases its nutritional facts labels on a standardized intake of 2,000 calories per day. However, depending on your gender, age and body composition, you may need more or fewer calories than this general number. Your level of daily physical activity also plays a key role in determining your daily nutritional intake of calories. See the Resources section below for a handy interactive tool to help you determine your individual daily caloric intake amount.
Caloric Balance
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, caloric balance occurs when you consume the same amount of calories that your body burns throughout your day. If you are in caloric excess -- or consume more calories per day than your body uses -- you will gain weight. To lose weight, you must create a caloric deficit by reducing the amount of calories you consume on a daily basis, as well as increasing your amount of physical activity.
Discretionary and Essential Calories
Certain calories are termed discretionary calories, reports the USDA's My Pyramid website; these are calories that you can think of as "extras" in your daily caloric allowance. Amounts of discretionary calories range from 100 to 300, and you can use these to have an extra snack or indulge in a sweet treat. However, discretionary calories exist primarily as a tool for you to keep your eye on your essential calories -- those from healthy food groups such as whole grains and vegetables.
Healthy Calorie Sources
Although any calorie is technically a calorie -- and calories from sweets and unhealthy foods provide the same amount of energy as those from more nutritious choices -- to stay healthy you must make healthy eating choices. Whole grain bread, granola, beans and raw vegetables are all excellent sources of calories from complex carbohydrates -- and these types of food contain higher amounts of nutrients than unhealthier options such as fast food and candy. Selecting foods from the base of the USDA's traditional food pyramid as the primary source of your daily caloric intake is essential to your waistline as well as your overall health.
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