Did you know that the calories you take in are actually kilocalories? This means that on the nutritional facts label saying 1 calorie is actually 1,000 calories or one kilocalorie. A calorie is how much energy your body will get when you eat certain foods.
Do you know where the calories come from your foods
The calories from your foods come from macronutrients which are proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids or fats.
Here is a simple and fun way to count your calories if you do not have a nutritional facts label.
1 gram of carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories
1 gram of protein is also equal to 4 calories.
1 gram of lipids or fats (saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats) is equal to 9 calories.
1 gram of alcohol is equal to 7 calories.
Example: If you eat a half cup of oatmeal with 30grams of carbs, 3 grams of fat, and 5 grams of protein how many total calories would you consume?
Here is how to calculate the calories: 4*30= 120, 4*5=20, 3*9=27
120+20+27=167
You would consume a total of 167 calories of food from one half cup of oatmeal.
These calculations can be very useful when determining how many calories are in a macronutrient if you do not have a nutritional facts label.
By Mike Fonseca BeFit4LifeNow Virtual trainer
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