New LifeStyle over 40

life style 40

What are calories

Use calorie calculator to count your calories

What is the definition of a calorie?

I will try to make everything simple. When we talk about nutrition, we are talking about energy sources that supply the body to perform various operations. Energy is calculated in Kj or as we find them on the nutrition tables for each food in Calories. A calorie is a unit of heat. In nutrition, calories refer in particular to the amount of energy that a food or beverage provides to the body, or the energy consumed by our body during physical activity. The calories we find inscribed on the packaging of supermarket products are kilocalories (kcal), which is 1000 calories (cal). In general, when people talk about calories, they refer to kilocalories for convenience. When we eat and drink, we put energy into our body. Our bodies consume that energy through daily movement, which includes everything from breathing to running. Different types of food provide different levels of energy; the three macronutrients are not equal in the number of calories they provide. Protein and carbohydrates provide less than half of the calories per gram in the form of fat.

Macronutrient calories per gram:

A healthy diet means to cover the body’s need for nutrients and micronutrients and to be diversified to cover the full range of micronutrients. At the same time it should be consumed in moderation and not to exceed the daily calories in order to lead to fattening and obesity. It is known that every extra kg exceeds the normal limit increases the risk of a health problem.

      

What does calories do to your body?

If you understand that calories mean energy for the body then you can implement this. It is said that breakfast is the most important for the body and indeed it is because it is the first meal of the day that brings you the first intake of energy that day. If we look in most countries, breakfast consists of products such as: croissants, coffee, tea, white bread with butter, jam, bacon, eggs, avocado, cheese, oats, fruit etc.  Which nutritionally means fast carbohydrates to give an energy boost to the body.  Knowing that carbohydrates and fats are sources of energy, you can calculate your own meals based on the physical activity you do that day.

For example:

  • if you have sedentary work at the office for example and consume good fats and fast carbohydrates (two sources of energy) you have all the chances to eat excess calories and gain weight because you do not burn enough calories sitting down. Because sedentary work requires fewer calories consumed daily, I recommend meals high in protein and fiber, being more full and having a slower digestion.
  • If you go on a bike race for 1-2 hours, it is advisable to have with you, for example, 1-2 bars with a high glycemic index (eg sugar) to have an energy boost.

Rapid carbohydrates are assimilated by the body and converted into energy in from 30 minutes up and protein and fats from about 1:30 minutes.
In conclusion, you can schedule your macronutrients in your meals depending on your activities. Most tips are general and differ from person to person depending on genetics, age, weight, height,

Calorie calculator

No matter what lifestyle you have, we need energy to live. Science offers us the nutritional table for each product we buy in the store, as well as scientific data on fruits and vegetables grown in the garden. For this we need a kitchen scale, a telephone and a calorie counting application.

For vegetables and fruits, you can use the internet to find out an approximate number of fruits or vegetables. For example:

  • one medium ripe banana, provides about 110 calories, 0 gram fat, 1 gram protein, 28 grams carbohydrate, 15 grams sugar (naturally occurring), 3 grams fiber, and 450 mg potassium.
  • single medium-sized egg will contain around 66 calories, an average small egg will contain around 55 calories and an average large egg around 80 calories.
  • one whole avocada having between 200 and 300 calories, depending on size
  • one medium apple, provides about 95 calories, 0 gram fat, 1 gram protein, 25 grams carbohydrate, 19 grams sugar (naturally occurring), and 3 grams fiber.