Calories are a form of energy and are important to our health because they provide energy to the body and help sustain its necessary processes.

What Is a Calorie?

A calorie is a measure of accumulated energy, where one calorie is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Thus, the calories which are mentioned in the nutrition scale and diets are kilocalories or kcals, and one kilocalorie equals to 1000 calories. Due to this reason when it comes to foods and exercises, kcals are commonly referred to as ‘calories’.

The human body, in addition to utilizing energy from food to generate body heat, utilizes calories in various body processes including the generation of energy, the repair of body tissues, the maintenance of body cells, and the releasing of hormones. The number of calories needed by our body to carry out its essential life processes without engaging in any other activities at all is called the basal metabolic rate.

This rate is differentiation based on gender, age, level of physical activity, and other characteristics. Diets consist of the foods that provide calories within the human body to be metabolized and utilized throughout the day to meet the body energy requirement.

Assessment of Total Calories Consumption and Calorie Requirements

Another dimension is the caloric intake which determines the amount of calories that you are taking in through food and beverages. The number of calories you require daily can be ascertained by the age, levels of activity, height, weight, and gender of the person. Any male who is considered to be an average needs about 2500 calories per day, and a female of the same standard needs about 2000 calories per day.

These numbers can be less for those who have a slow metabolic rate or they can be more for those with a fast metabolic rate. For example, to achieve one pound of fat loss per week, you require a caloric deficit of about 500 daily. You can accomplish that by either decrease your consumption or by increasing your activity level.

Having realized this realization, nutritionists and health professionals have put in place suggested daily calorie intake course such as the Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These numbers though are raw averages and therefore not very specific. Calorie intake targets also vary depending on a person’s physique and lifestyle, thus, it is advisable to consult with your doctor or a nutrition specialist to know the advisable calorie intake for you.

Life Points Energy Points How Calories Work

We then consume foods and beverages that contain carbohydrates, proteins, and fats and they undergo digestion in the body. This also releases chemical energy that is then transformed to a versatile form of energy known as adenosine triphosphate or ATP. ATP drives metabolism in almost all tissues and organs of our body since the human body is continuously at work. Well, we would be unable to move, to blink, to breathe, or even to think on our own without it!

Closely linked to this is the fact that after ATP has produced energy where it is required in the body, what is left are calories that have been conserved. These unused calories are either stored into your glycogen (our short-term energy storage which is mostly located at the liver and muscles) or body fat. The excess calories and other unused energy is stored as fat which we can literally see on our body.

When we use more energy than we intake, the body has to utilize fats for energy and thereby, cause a decrease in fat mass This is why, people who take fewer calories than they require lose weight and particularly fat when they are put on a certain diet for an agreed number of days or weeks.

Tracking Calories

In other words, it is possible to gain, lose or maintain weight if one knows how many calories they are consuming. It is also worth stressing that most of the health-oriented professionals and nutritionists advise measuring daily calorie intake. It also assists in identifying excess calories or fat from food and how the maintenance level is like in order to make necessary adjustments.

Recording the caloric content of the foods one consumes may at first seem to be an intimidating chore but is in fact a simple process when one gets into the habit. To help in the process there are many tools, apps, food journals, and resources that can be used. When in doubt, simply looking at the food labels and making some quick calculations provide you all the information you require about calories, serving size, fat, protein, carbs and all other nutrients you desire.

There are numerous applications designed for fitness tracking, such as Calorie Calculator Pro, that also have rather vast food databases for pulling the nutrition information for most foods. It is also advisable to cook more meals at home rather than going to restaurants and eateries because that way you will be able to track more effectively.

After you have been monitoring your calories for some time, you will begin to realize that there are areas where you are taking in extra or ‘useless calories. For instance, it is possible to come to the understanding that your daily caramel macchiato is incredibly calorie-dense yet nutrient-poor. This is because if you rely on whole, minimally processed foods and control portion sizes, you are likely to consume less calories in order to shed off excess calories or maintain the desired weight.

Conclusion

Calories are those sources by way of which our body gets the energy needed to survive. They feed us through food and supply the source of energy which is very essential in enabling us to perform our daily activities and exist. Maintenance of general health and body weight is well achieved by closely monitoring the number of calories consumed and those burnt daily.

By consistently logging what you eat and making sure that the foods you consume are low in calories but rich in nutrients, it becomes possible to sustain energy and well-being within the recommended calorie range. Despite the fact that the computation of calories may sound herculean at the beginning, having a close eye on what you take and sticking to it is actually easy when it comes to dealing with calories.