How to Count Your Calories Intake

How to Count Your Calories Intake

Counting our calories enables us to choose foods that contain less number of calories to help us lose weight. A healthy diet is made up of around 2,500 calories. Not going above this number will allow us to stay at the same weight or make the necessary changes to lose some extra kilos.

Counting our calories is not easy, since they vary according to the type of food we are eating: proteins, carbohydrates and fats. However, here at OneHowTo we give you some tips so you can know how to count your calories intake and take control of the amount of calories that you eat every day.

Steps to follow:
1

The first thing to know when learning how to count your calories intake is to know how to calculate the calories in carbohydrates. Fats, lipids and carbohydrates are converted into sugar, therefore foods high in calories are the most harmful to your health and to your weight.

To calculate the calories in carbohydrates, you should know that 1 gram of carbohydrate equals 4 calories. It is good to check the nutrition table on food labels and check how many grams of carbohydrates it contains and then multiply this number by 4. For a healthy diet, you shouldn't eat more than 9 grams of carbohydrates.

2

You also need to work out the calories in fats. To do this, remember that 1 gram of fat equals 9 calories. The number of grams of fat in your food must be multiplied by 9, however, remember to add it to the number of calories in the carbohydrates.

For example, let's say a cupcake contains 9 grams of carbohydrate and 3 grams of fat. We should then calculate 9 grams of carbohydrates multiplied by 4 calories = 36 total calories. Then we need to calculate the fat: 3 grams of fat calories multiplied by 9 calories = 27 total calories. Finally, 36 carbohydrate calories 27 fat calories = 63 total calories.

3

However, the above sum is missing something to finish off calculating the calories in this pretend cupcake: proteins. Remember that 1 gram of protein equals 4 calories. Thus, if the cupcake contains 5 grams of protein, then 5 x 4 calories = 20 calories protein.

These 20 calories need to be added to the total carbohydrate and fat calories: 36+27+20 = 83 total calories in the cupcake.

4

You have to work this out for every food you eat, and in order to count your calories effectively. You need to also consider your food's nutritional value in terms of the portion size that you are eating. All food products even fast foods and fizzy drinks by law must have a nutritional table in calories on their label, so counting your calories is not that hard.

5

If you're wondering: how to count the calories in vegetables, don't worry, we have also thought of that! You will be amazed to know that, generally, a portion of vegetables provides 4 grams of carbohydrates, i.e.: 16 calories for a portion size similar to 3 cups of this food.

6

If your goal is to count your calories to lose weight then remember it is best eat up to 2000 calories a day on a diet high in low-calorie foods like vegetables and proteins. It is also recommended to see a nutritionist to advise you on how to lose weight and the amount of calories you need according to your body's requirements.

7

Finally, if this equation for counting calories seems too complicated, we have good news. In the world of mobile apps, there are many tools that can help you by: providing information on what you're eating and on portion sizes; automatically calculating the calories in your food; and letting you keep track of your calories on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Some of the most popular apps to count your calories are: FatSecret, ShapeUp, CARROT Hunger, MyFitnessPal and Lose It!

This article is merely informative, oneHOWTO does not have the authority to prescribe any medical treatments or create a diagnosis. We invite you to visit your doctor if you have any type of condition or pain.

If you want to read similar articles to How to Count Your Calories Intake, we recommend you visit our Healthy living category.

Tips
  • It's important to know calorie intake is not the only factor to stay healthy, as you need to take into account the amount of each type of food you eat and try to keep a balanced diet.