{"id":2384,"date":"2025-02-18T13:25:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T02:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/understanding-calories-and-their-measurement.html"},"modified":"2025-02-18T13:25:14","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T02:25:14","slug":"understanding-calories-and-their-measurement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/understanding-calories-and-their-measurement.html","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Calories and Their Measurement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re just starting out on your fitness journey, you might know calories as the figures you stare at on the back of a cereal box while scrunching your nose in disdain and\/or confusion. A measly cup of cereal has how\u00a0many calories?<\/p>\n<p>But what actually is a calorie? How is it measured? Is it really a reliable unit that will help you regulate your diet?<\/p>\n<p>In truth, the conversation about calories is actually a conversation about food. Read on to find out why that is.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>How a Calorie Is Measured<\/h2>\n<p>Food\u2019s main biological role is to\u00a0fill our needs for energy and nutrients\u00a0\u2014 think vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs, fats, and phytonutrients. Scientists need a way to measure this energy, and they do so in the form of the calorie: By definition, a Calorie (with a capital \u201cC\u201d) we commonly see on the back of nutrition labels is actually a kilo-calorie, meaning it\u2019s actually 1,000 gram calories.<\/p>\n<p>Each Calorie is capable of heating up one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius.<\/p>\n<p>In the past, food was burned in a\u00a0bomb calorimeter, and the energy released was used to heat the surrounding water. Depending on how hot the water got, scientists would determine the food\u2019s caloric value.<\/p>\n<p>Today, the process is a little less exciting.\u00a0Calorie counts are guesstimated by totaling up the calories from macronutrients\u00a0in food based on these rules of thumb:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Carbohydrate = 4 Calories per gram<\/li>\n<li>Fat = 9 Calories per gram<\/li>\n<li>Protein = 4 Calories per gram<\/li>\n<li>Alcohol = 7 Calories per gram, but alcohol is considered to be a\u00a0source of empty calories, meaning it has no real nutritional value<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>How Calories Lead to Weight Gain<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>Calories became a popular way to help explain weight maintenance in a sleek concept called\u00a0energy balance: The premise is that if the amount of energy you eat (calories in) is equal to the amount of energy you expend (calories out), then your weight should remain the same. If you\u2019re consuming more calories than you\u2019re expending, this will lead to weight gain.<\/p>\n<p>This concept is endorsed by expert organizations like the\u00a0Centers for Disease Control; Many weight loss and diet programs encourage people to eat less and move more, in order to create enough calories out for weight loss.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a useful general rule, though the reality is actually a little more complicated than that.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0types\u00a0of calories you\u2019re consuming\u00a0are important, too\u00a0\u2014 you can\u2019t hit your numbers solely via cupcakes and expect to be healthy (more on this below). And several factors like age, gender, and activity level can also affect\u00a0your individual caloric needs.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><h2>How to Count Calories<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking to count your calories, online tools like\u00a0this one\u00a0can help give you a general idea of where you\u2019re at.<\/p>\n<p>But since not all calories are equal\u00a0and each person\u2019s needs are different, you should consult your doctor or dietitian to determine your specific calorie goals.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Are Calorie Counts on Food Labels Accurate?<\/h2>\n<p>Not too long ago, an article from the\u00a0New York Times quoted nutrition experts who stated that labels on foods high in protein and fiber can be\u00a0overestimated by as much as 25 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The reason? The human body uses more energy to digest certain foods, such as nuts and meats, than it does to break down highly processed carbohydrates, such as cookies and bagels.<\/p>\n<p>Robert Dunn, a biologist at North Carolina State University, recently\u00a0wrote in\u00a0Scientific American\u00a0that \u201cdigestion is an intricate process,\u201d and that calorie numbers on labels \u201care inaccurate because they are based on a system of averages that ignore the complexities of digestion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dunn goes on to say that our ability to extract calories varies depending on how long our intestines are, what gut bacteria we carry, and even how well we cook our food.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2>Is a Calorie a Calorie?<\/h2>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-113243\" src=\"https:\/\/bod-blog-assets.prod.cd.beachbodyondemand.com\/bod-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Traits-of-People-Who-Have-a-Healthy-Relationship-With-Food.inpost2.jpg\" alt=\"Woman eating a bowl of ice cream\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>At this point, you may wonder if calories even matter. They do.<\/p>\n<p>The point is that, while you don\u2019t need to be nit-picky about counting every last calorie \u2014 there are too many other factors in play \u2014 you should still be generally aware of how much food you\u2019re putting into your body. And calorie counting is one way to drive this awareness.<\/p>\n<p>But while the overall quantity of calories consumed is important for weight loss, the quality of your calories is equally important when creating a healthful diet.<\/p>\n<p>What does all of this boil down to? Food quality matters.<\/p>\n<p>Experts\u00a0consistently recommend\u00a0that you reach for minimally processed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy sources for fats and protein.<\/p>\n<p>It may seem like common sense, but it\u2019s also science. These foods are\u00a0nutrient-dense, meaning they contain many different vitamins and minerals for relatively few calories. This is especially helpful for weight loss.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, meeting your weight-loss goals involves understanding how much food you need to eat (calorie quantity) and which foods are best for your health (calorie quality).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re just starting out on your fitness journey, you might know calories as the figures you stare at on the back of a cereal box while scrunching your nose in disdain and\/or confusion. A measly cup of cereal has how\u00a0many calories? But what actually is a calorie? How is it measured? Is it really [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2385,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-2384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness","tag-21-day-fix-articles"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2386,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2384\/revisions\/2386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}