How Stuff Works
In our journey to get healthy understanding calories is pertinent. In fact having the knowledge of exactly what those things called calories are can help you when trying to make decisions regarding your health. I will start by saying calories are not the enemy, they only appear that way because of our lack of knowledge on what exactly a calorie is and how it works.
Calorie as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary is "an amount of heat exactly equal to 4.1840 joules." (Thermodynamics) and "a unit equal to the kilocalorie, used to express the heat output of an organism and the fuel or energy value of food.-- a quantity of food capable of producing such an amount of energy." (Physiology)
Origin: French, equivalent to calor- which in Latin means heat.
In the scientific world a calorie is the amount of energy required to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
Okay now that we have defined the word, what does that mean for our overall health. Well, learning that calories are the measurements of fuel or energy value of food, or rather that the amount of calories in a specific food item will provide your body with that much energy units tells us that by consuming some food stuff we are essentially turning that food stuff into energy. How much energy? The number of calories that food source is worth is the amount of energy you are adding to your body.
The other important thing to note is that in order to successfully monitor the amount of calories (energy) you should consume it is important to decide on a specific number of calories your body needs to sustain health. In order to find this amount you can use a health coach such as Noom (which is the coach I use, and happens to be a very helpful and free downloadable app). Medical News Today suggests that the number of calories you should eat is dependent upon your age, size, height, sex, lifestyle, and overall health. One way to calculate your caloric intake is to use the Harris-Benedict equation:
Male Adult:
66.5 + (13.75 x kg body weight) + (5.003 x height in cm) - (6.755 x age) = BMR
66 + ( 6.23 x pounds body weight) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.76 x age) = BMR
Female Adult:
55.1 + (9.563 x kg body weight) + (1.850 x height in cm) - (4.676 x age) = BMR
65.5 + (4.35 x kg body weight) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age) = BMR
After calculating your BMR you can then use a BMR calculator to find out how many calories your body will burn if you do nothing at all. You can find the calculator at Medical News Today.
After you have found the number of calories your body burns on average with no exercise at all you can then decide how many more calories you would like to burn and settle on an exercise plan that works for you. It is important to note that you should not begin a new diet or exercise plan without first consulting your doctor or physician.
Once you have settled on the number of calories you will consume, and the number of calories you wish to burn you need to find an easy way to keep track of your caloric intake. As I mentioned above I use my Noom Coach app (It's free and amazing!). You can do a quick google search to find other free calorie counters to help you keep track of your intake. MyFitnessPal offers a free calorie counting app to help you track your caloric intake.
Another aspect to consider when forming your new eating plan is what you are eating. While it is okay to decide that you are going to consume 1200 calories a day, you need to think about what you will "give" those calories to. I think of it as a daily budget. I question the nutritional value of the food I consume and ask myself how my body will use that energy. A question that Medical News Today brings up and is very valid is if the calories in a chocolate bar will do the same for your body as the calories in a carrot. My addition to this is the question: "am I willing to give a candy bar 140 calories from my budget?" I also ask myself how filling the food I eat will be. Is the 140 calories from a candy bar going to fill me up until my next nutritional meal? The answer is almost always no, though I do indulge every now and again because if you don't treat yourself eventually you'll frustrate yourself and quitting soon follows.
When grocery shopping I look at the number of calories in each food stuff I purchase, in addition to serving size. If it is a nutritional item that has a portion size that will sustain me it usually goes in my cart, however if I find that there are a big number of calories for a small portion I will either look for an alternative or choose something different.
I do hope that this information on what a calorie is and how your body uses calories is helpful to you and gives you some insight for your journey to health.
Until next time I wish you luck on your journey,
Alaina
dreamstime.com
Male Adult:
66.5 + (13.75 x kg body weight) + (5.003 x height in cm) - (6.755 x age) = BMR
66 + ( 6.23 x pounds body weight) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.76 x age) = BMR
Female Adult:
55.1 + (9.563 x kg body weight) + (1.850 x height in cm) - (4.676 x age) = BMR
65.5 + (4.35 x kg body weight) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age) = BMR
After calculating your BMR you can then use a BMR calculator to find out how many calories your body will burn if you do nothing at all. You can find the calculator at Medical News Today.
After you have found the number of calories your body burns on average with no exercise at all you can then decide how many more calories you would like to burn and settle on an exercise plan that works for you. It is important to note that you should not begin a new diet or exercise plan without first consulting your doctor or physician.
Once you have settled on the number of calories you will consume, and the number of calories you wish to burn you need to find an easy way to keep track of your caloric intake. As I mentioned above I use my Noom Coach app (It's free and amazing!). You can do a quick google search to find other free calorie counters to help you keep track of your intake. MyFitnessPal offers a free calorie counting app to help you track your caloric intake.
Another aspect to consider when forming your new eating plan is what you are eating. While it is okay to decide that you are going to consume 1200 calories a day, you need to think about what you will "give" those calories to. I think of it as a daily budget. I question the nutritional value of the food I consume and ask myself how my body will use that energy. A question that Medical News Today brings up and is very valid is if the calories in a chocolate bar will do the same for your body as the calories in a carrot. My addition to this is the question: "am I willing to give a candy bar 140 calories from my budget?" I also ask myself how filling the food I eat will be. Is the 140 calories from a candy bar going to fill me up until my next nutritional meal? The answer is almost always no, though I do indulge every now and again because if you don't treat yourself eventually you'll frustrate yourself and quitting soon follows.
When grocery shopping I look at the number of calories in each food stuff I purchase, in addition to serving size. If it is a nutritional item that has a portion size that will sustain me it usually goes in my cart, however if I find that there are a big number of calories for a small portion I will either look for an alternative or choose something different.
I do hope that this information on what a calorie is and how your body uses calories is helpful to you and gives you some insight for your journey to health.
Until next time I wish you luck on your journey,
Alaina
dreamstime.com
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