What You Need To Know About Calories

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By Shereen Lehman - VeryWell.com
Take it from this expert, she does the research. I wrote several blog posts about calories. I believe that not all calories are equal and by merely cutting calories is not going to give you permanent weight loss. For example, if I eat Pizza and ice cream and through in some donuts every day, then decide I have to lose weight and I cut back on my calories but continue to eat the same food, I'm not going to become slimmer or healthier. So, I can't agree with everything this author is saying.
Q: What is a calorie?
In science, a calorie is a unit for measuring energy. It's equal to the amount of heat needed to raise one liter of water one degree. What we call 'calories' in nutrition and fitness are actually kilocalories, which are equal to 1,000 calories. We use them to represent the amount of energy available in food and beverages. You use that energy to fuel the various physiological processes that occur inside your body and for physically moving around.
When you consume more calories than your body needs, the extra is stored as fat. 
Q: How many calories do I need?
The number of calories you need depends on your age, body size, and activity levels -- most teens and adults need somewhere around 1,500 to 2,500 calories per day. The bigger you are, the more calories you need to maintain that weight. If you want to gain weight, you'll need to take in more calories, and if you want to lose weight, you'll need to consume few calories or burn more. You can determine your caloric need by using the Harris-Benedict formula.
Q: How do calories affect my weight?
A pound of fat is roughly equal to 3,500 calories, so if you do the math, you can see you need to burn 3,500 extra calories to lose a pound of fat. Decreasing your typical daily calorie intake by 500 calories per day should result in losing a pound every week. At least for awhile -- as your weight drops, your daily calorie need will also decrease.
Q: How does physical activity affect calories?
Moving around and lifting or doing various things require energy, so the more you move around and the more things you lift, push or pull, the more calories of energy you burn. Also, resistance training that builds muscle increases your metabolism, meaning your body requires more calories -- even when you're not doing much.
So, building muscle is a good way to help you reach a healthy weight.
Q: How accurate are calorie calculators?
Close -- maybe not 100 percent accurate, though. Most of them are based on the Harris-Benedict formula, which determines your basal metabolic rate -- that's essentially the number of calories you need just to be alive and awake. The calculators also need to factor in your typical daily activity levels, which might be a bit more of an estimate. It's difficult to know exactly how many calories you burn with physical activity and it probably differs every day.
These calculators are a good way to start, but if you feel your weight isn't changing enough, then you may need to adjust your caloric intake or output accordingly. 
Q: What's the best way to track my calories?
You can use a notebook or a paper food diary, look up the calorie counts and do the calculations. But these days, I think the best way is to use a calorie tracking website that can help you track calories. You pick out the foods you eat, the beverages you drink, and the site will count the calories and give you a daily nutrition grade. Also, you can track the calories your body burns every day. And it's free.
Q: I've heard that 'all calories are not equal.' What does that mean?
All calories are equal energy-wise. Each gram of carbohydrate has four calories, each gram of protein has four calories, and each gram of fat has nine calories. That doesn't change. I think the phrase 'all calories are not equal' means that some calorie sources are better than others. In short, you should get most of your calories from nutrient-dense foods. So while 250 calories from a candy bar are utilized the same as the combined 250 calories from a banana, an apple, and a pear, the fruit is obviously much better for you. 

Here is something else I can't agree with. The way I see it the idea of simply cutting calories to lose weight would only work if you had a diet of nutrient-dense foods already.  I don't believe the Liver will utilize the calories in that candy bar the same way it will utilize the calories from the apple and banana. I don't believe the body will treat all calories the same. If all calories are equal then why isn't the junk food providing as much energy for the body as the nutrient-dense food. We know that a diet of nutrient - dense foods will give a person much more energy to perform a daily routine and a steady diet of junk food can cause malnutrition. 

It's my opinion that a nutrient-dense diet will give you more energy and because of the extra energy you will become more active and over time lose weight.

You can contact my on LinkedIn or Twitter (@ray0369)
I write several blogs and e-books, check out some of my other sites.
If you really want to lose your body fat than look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 
There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, B&N.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. I’ll give you a discount coupon you can use at checkout. (PJ42H) not case-sensitive the price is $1.99 w/coupon

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