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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Almost everyone would agree that calories count but very few people know how many calories they need each day and even fewer know how many calories they eat. Both are essential to weight loss and weight maintenance.
Data gathered from the International Food Information Council’s Food & Health Survey showed that there is a calorie disconnect among consumers. Only 9% of adults can accurately estimate their daily calorie need. Less than half of adults understand that consuming more calories than burned (taking more in than using up) leads to weight gain. When asked how many calories they ate yesterday, 49% of those surveyed reported they had no idea. And, 60% had no idea how many calories they burned through activity.
With this incredible level of unawareness it is no surprise that noting calories on the nutrition label, on the front of food packages, and posting calories in restaurants is having little effect on the collective waistlines of Americans. As health professionals we need to start helping people understand basic energy balance.
Consumers don’t actually know what a calorie is. They do not equate calories with energy or fuel for the body. When we talk energy balance, calories in versus calories used, focus group participants equate energy with feeling energetic. Few connected energy to calories. Balance was associated with a balanced diet, balanced meals or getting the right amount of nutrients. Balance was not connected with calories eaten and calories used, the simple input/output equations that most professionals understand.
Understanding Calories: You can think of calories as tiny energy powerhouses found in every food you eat, except water. You take in calories every time you swallow food.
Calorie balance is similar to balancing a scale. The calories you eat are used for energy or fuel to keep your body working (breathing, kidney function, heartbeats), repairing damaged cells (healing a cut), and fueling your daily activities (typing, cooking) or exercise (riding a bicycle).
If you are:
- Maintaining your weight – you are eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using up. Your weight should remain about the same over time.
- Gaining weight – you are eating more calories than you are using up through activity. You will store these extra, unused calories as body fat and your weight will go up.
- Losing weight – you are eating fewer calories than your body needs. You will use calories that have been stored as fat and your weight will go down.
- Most people will tell you that they do not want to count calories because it is tedious and boring. They would rather cut out certain foods, like bread, or follow a certain diet plan. Most of these strategies will work in the short term but for long term weight control calories are the key. It doesn’t matter how much carb, fat or protein you eat. It doesn’t matter if the calories you eat come from bread, meat, salad dressing or even vegetables. When you eat too many calories, even from good-for-you foods, you gain weight.
The US produces enough food for each person to eat 3,900 calories a day. Few of us need anywhere near that amount.
How many calories do you need each day? A quick guide is to multiply your weight against an activity factor.
- 20 for very active men
- 15 for moderately active men and very active women
- 13 for inactive men, moderately active women, and people over 55
- 10 for inactive women, repeat dieters, seriously overweight people
Your weight X activity factor = calories needed each day
If you are satisfied with your current weight this calories equation will help you maintain that weight. If you want to lose weight, simple multiply the activity factor you selected times your desired weight. If you currently weigh 175 but you would rather weigh 150, multiply the activity factor times 150. Now you know the number of calories that will support 150 pounds, not your current weight. Eating the calorie amount you calculated will help you lose weight and get to your desired goal. Add some activity to burn even more calories daily and you will achieve your target weight even quicker.
Determining your personal daily calorie need is the first step in weight control. Now you can make use of all the calorie information you see on labels and in restaurants. Currently, only 22% of adults report counting calories. Maybe they are the slimmer people you see walking down the street because close to 70% of adults in the US weigh too much. Knowledge is power. Use it to your advantage.
For more information on setting up a weight control program that will work for you take a look at one of my latest eBooks, Calorie Counter available from iTunes and Kindle/Amazon.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of 30 books. Available as eBooks from iTunes and Kindle/Amazon:
Diabetes Counter
Calorie Counter
Protein Counter
Healthy Wholefoods Counter
Complete Food Counter
Fat and Cholesterol Counter
Available in print from Gallery Books:
Most Complete Food Counter, 3rd Ed.
Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.
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