Understanding Calories for Weight Loss
Calories and Weight Loss
Obesity is an epidemic. In 2008, it was estimated that 35% of the worlds population was either over-weight or obese and the problem is only getting worse.
As a Personal Trainer, I work with people from all walks of life. Their common goal? Weight Loss. The reasons are obvious - health, energy, happiness, confidence, better relationships and being more able to do the things they want to do.
To lose weight, it is helpful to understand calories.
What is a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy. Officially, a calorie is how much energy it takes to heat one gram of water by one degree centigrade. A Calorie (with a capital C) is how much energy it takes to heat one kilo of water by one degree. When we talk about calories with regards to food, we are referring to the Calorie (with a capital C), but in popular usage the capitalisation has been dropped. Because of that we'll be using the common usage of 'calorie'.
We use the calorie as a unit of measurement for describing the energy contained in food.
- Proteins contain four calories per gram.
- Carbs contain four calories per gram.
- Fats contain nine calories per gram.
Why do calories matter?
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The first law of thermodynamics states that energy can be neither created nor destroyed, only transferred. What that means for nutrition is this:
- If you get more energy from food than you burn, you'll need to put the remaining energy somewhere. That usually means you'll store fat. So too many calories = fat storage.
- If you eat less energy than you use, you still need to get energy from somewhere. That means you'll take energy out of fat stores to be used for daily activity and exercise.
Dieting and calories
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Here's where things get complicated (sort of). There are thousands of popular diets out there, right? You could follow the ketogenic diet, the paleo diet, the low fat diet, the mindful eating diet or many many more. And the fact that you've heard of them, probably means they work. No one talks about a diet that doesn't work.
The only way any of these diets work, is if they result in less calories in than calories out. If you avoid all carbs, but eat too much food generally, you won't burn fat. That's the simple bit.
The complicated bit is that each diet might achieve a calorie deficit in a different way. Some might purely restrict calories, like Weight Watchers. Some might remove high calorie dense foods, like a low fat diet. Some might encourage eating foods that keep you full for longer such as paleo. Some diets might rely on different strategies to boost metabolism.
The 'best' diet in the world won't work unless you're eating less calories than you're burning.
So I should count calories?
Counting calories is actually fraught with problems. Many people laud it as the the ultimate way to lose weight - 'it's science' they way. Unfortunately, calorie counting is not exact, in any way. This is because:
- Calorie estimates can be off by up to 30%.
- Calorie data is based off data collected in the early 1900s.
- Calorie counts don't take in to account nutritional interactions.
- Calories don't take in to account genetic differences in digestion.
- Calorie models for energy expenditure don't take in to account metabolic and physiological differences.
So, should you count calories? Well you can. But it's not the holy grail of dieting as many would have you believe. It's not as simple as calories in and calories out and counting calories is an inaccurate art.
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To conclude. If you are following a diet, but not losing weight. It's not because the diet is broken - it's because you're consuming more calories than your burning. It could be because your not exercising enough or your body has got used to the exercise you were doing, it could be because your metabolism has slowed down a bit or it could just be you're eating too much.
Try following the Japanese concept of Hara Hachi Bu. It means, eat until you're satisfied but not full or 'eat until 80% full' and your own natural hunger cues will help you take care of the rest. I mean, are you really going to plug calories into an app for the rest of your life?
If you have any questions about calories, please post them below!
Yours in health,
Coach Ben @healthsquared
#coachben
you have taught a long lesson about calories and all of that, but people give it no value against their empty stomach and they forget all these things when they eat all junk....
That's true - being more prepared can help so you aren't caught hungry!
What do you think about corn, gluten, dairy, sugar, soy...etc? These foods can be highly addictive and people can have true addictions to certain foods. It’s not as simple as just eat less. So Should we exclude these foods as most people nowadays have some sort of food addiction to something?
Good question @victoriacalloway. It's highly individual. The only reason to completely exclude a certain food group is if the individual has an intolerance to that food. Other than sugar, people can be intolerant to all of the foods you mentioned and many more.
If someone is intolerant, I would advise removing that food. If they are slightly addicted to that food, it depends on the person. Some people can eat a little and not have a problem, every now and then. Some people must avoid completely so as not to trigger their cravings!
Are there foods you personally avoid?
I personally avoid milk because it gives me a bad stomach and I don't eat much gluten though I don't completely avoid it because I don't seem to digest it well!
Interesting I must say!!!
Avoiding all them carbs isn't just the way then, we should also look for a physical means to burn the energy derived from other foods and also eat to satiety not 100% full...
It doesn't always need to be carb avoidance, no :) But it can help to reduce them if you've eaten too many for too long!
I was always taught to finish the food on my plate as a kid. Not a good lesson for kids or to set them up for good life long habits. My fiance always eats just t enough to feel satisfied, but HATES the feeling of being full.... the results speak for themselves.
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Congrats on the engagement @digitaldruid, my wedding is this year! Good motivation to stay in shape for me.
Yeah I was the same - told to everything even when you really didn't want to. We get a lot of that pressure passed down to us in the UK because of rationing during WWII. My grandparents forced my parents to eat everything available because during the war they never had enough.
My fiance is very good at stopping when full too! Maybe it's a fairer sex thing too :p
Yeah, men (especially when teenagers) pride themselves on having near insatiable appetites, women, not so much.....
I guess it's a perspective thing when it comes to diet and nutrition. Can definitely understand the WW2 rationing driving parents to encourage "healthy" appetites for their kids after that era.
Congrats on your wedding too! Perhaps we should trade notes on how to maintain sanity while planning it!
Not sure I've worked out the staying sane bit yet ;)
Everybody needs to understand what you explain in this post. Congratulations very usefull information
Thankyou @endopediatria
Very well explained, tanks for your post! :)
Do you know why (or if) it makes a difference, if you eat your calories in the evening or for lunch? If all that counts is, that you eat less than you burn it should not matter right?
Greeting, @Co-co
Very perceptive @co-co, most people would miss something like that :) Yes, I personally believe that if you eat less than you burn then it shouldn't matter. You might get better sleep or slightly better digestion if you don't eat loads of food before bed but it doesn't help you burn more fat as long as you're keeping the balance of calories correct.
I've just been checking out your other blog posts and saw your awesome 'Run With Me' post. I'm running a Six Week Health Challenge and this week is literally about posting about your run.
Thank you, that makes sense to me! :)
Oh wow, I just checked out your Six Week Health Challenge! What a great idea! If I had only known earlier, I would have made some pictures of my run today!
I will definitely take part the following weeks, although I fear I will have to pass this one cause I will have time for my next run only Friday afternoon :(
Great you are motivating people to do some activity, this is so important!
Yeah it would be great to have you on future weeks! If you can get up a post about your run sometime Friday evening then I'll let you enter late :D I'll be shortlisting the final four on Saturday. Looking forwards to connecting more soon!
B
Uh great, thanks a lot! I will do my best :)
Now I even managed to do it today :) It was great fun, thanks again for inviting me @healthsquared!
I saw! Some beautiful shots :D
I like the way you used the first law of thermodynamic to explain why calories matter. Its good to lose weight who are overweight...but for the person who wants to maintain the weight...I understood that it is very important to have a sufficient calorie intake and maintain it daily to support your level of daily activity. Is 2300 KCal/day a good calorie for a lean person who is moderately active?
Good point @steem-monkey. It's important to eat enough food to maintain body weight. Calorie requirements are very individual - depending on weight, height, muscle, activity, age etc.
What I like to do is track what I'm eating for just one week, and see if my weight stays the same. If my weight stays the same then I know that that much food is about right for maintenance. I do this because metabolic rate can change regularly so one hard and fast rule just doesn't work!
Does that make sense?
B
It does make sense. Our metabolic rate slowly decrease with our age and hence calorie and the number of meals we take should be adjusted and timed accordingly. Its fascinating just to understand how our body is responding to the food we eat on weekly basis and use that outcome to make a healthy change in our life.
Wow!!! Am inspired by your post now will be eating 80% only Lol...
Perfect :D Glad I was of help - it's easier said than done though!
Very nice post.
But how does someone actually gain weight because that seems to be my own situation now.
I so much want to gain weight so that I could hit the gym and turn it into muscle.
Any advice on what to do?
So first, if you aren't training then you need to be or you wont build muscle. If you are training hard then eating more calories than you burn will help you build the muscle that you are training for in the gym.
I don't go for diets. I opt for the combination of nutrition, training/working out, Intermittent Fasting and rest. This helps me to not only eat well but also eat healthy and have a cheat day on Sunday along with losing weight and building muscle at the same time. All that happened with diets was snacking increasing insulin and reverting back to the same old ways of eating junk more often than eating healthy.
Intermittent fasting is a type of diet ;)
How exactly?
It's a set of rules about how to eat. Just like a keto diet or a low fat diet has a set of rules about how to eat.
Ok agreed.