Going back to basics - Calorie counting.

Maria Monem
Jun 22, 2020
3 min read

Last week, I wrote about portion control. Knowing how to count calories can be really helpful when you are trying to figure out your portions.

I am a big fan of mindful eating and to keep things as simple as possible and I know that calorie counting is quite the opposite of keeping things simple, however, knowing your calories and getting your portions right is really helpful especially in the beginning of your weight loss journey.

I usually tell people to count calories for 1-2 weeks using a calorie counting app. As soon as you have figured out the portions sizes that works for you, there is no need to continue counting. It can be good to go back to every now and then though, especially if you hit a plateau.

Try not to obsess about your calories, counting calories is an exercise to make you aware of your portions, that’s all.

What are calories? A calorie can be defined as a unit of measurement for the amount of energy our body can get from food.

In nutrition, calories are usually displayed in units of thousands with 1,000 calories equaling 1 kcal (kilocalorie). Majority of the public prefer to talk in terms of calories meaning kcalories.

Carbohydrates and protein release approximately 4 kcal per gram.

Fat releases 9 kcal per gram and alcohol releases 7 kcal per gram.

Kcal are also used to measure the amount of energy used by the body to stay alive and function, as well as undertaking physical activity.

Another measurement for energy is joules with 1 calorie equaling approximately 4.18 joules (or 1 kcal equaling 4.18 kJ). If you look at food labels you will see that energy values are usually displayed as both kJ and kcal. Majority of the public uses calories rather than joules.

The general guidelines for the amount of kcal required for women and men are often shown on nutrition labels on food 2000kcal for women and 2500kcal for men, but please note that the recommended daily amounts shown are only guidelines for the average requirements for the ‘average’ healthy individual of average weight and activity levels.

Also note that the ‘average adult’ refers to a healthy individual between the age of 19 and 60 years of age. It excludes pregnant and lactating women and any individual suffering illness. It also excludes those individuals who are very active.

To find out your personal and individual calorie requirements you need to know what your BMR is. (Do not confuse with BMI) Once you know your BMR – Basal metabolic rate, you will know exactly how many calories that you are meant to eat per day to maintain your current weight or how many calories (kcal) you are meant to eat to lose weight.

BMR is a collective term that refers to the energy required to maintain all the chemical processes that are constantly taking place within your body. You use energy no matter what you’re doing, even when sleeping.

The BMR will show the number of calories you would burn if you stayed in bed all day doing nothing so knowing your BMR is key to being able to control your weight, it is the starting point for everything.

The BMR is affected by your weight, age and activity level which can vary considerably. The BMR is different for every individual but also for you it will change throughout your own weight loss process as you are losing weight and increasing your activity level.

So how do we calculate the BMR?

To calculate your BMR, the easiest way is to use an online BMR calculator, it is very straight forward. You will just enter your gender, your age, your current weight, and your height together with your activity level. It will calculate your BMR for you so you don’t need to do any math’s yourself.

Should you choose to use a different calculator online, please be aware that there might be a slight variation on the results since the formulas might be different.

BMR Calculators: https://www.calculators.org/health/bmr.php

(I like this one because it also takes activity levels in to consideration, but just google BMR calculators for more options.)