What is a Calorie?

A calorie (or kilo calorie (kcal) to give it it’s full name) is a measure of the energy contained in food. We all need this energy (these calories) to survive.

All foods contain calories. Every gram of fat in a food contains 9 kcal, while every gram of carbohydrate/sugar and protein only contains 4 kcal. A gram of alcohol contains 7 kcal and is therefore nearly as fattening as fat itself! While starch and sugar both contain the same amount of energy, sugary foods aren’t recommended. This is because firstly sugary foods also tend to be high in fat (e.g. chocolate, cakes, cookies) and secondly they tend to contain what we in the business call “empty calories”. This means that unlike starchy carbs (e.g. bread, potatoes, pasta) they usually don’t contain any useful vitamins and minerals or any fibre.

What is Metabolism?

Even when completely at rest our bodies use energy to maintain breathing, circulation and maintain a constant temperature. The amount of energy we use to do this is called our Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is what is commonly called your metabolism. Your BMR depends on your age, gender and muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the higher your BMR.

Any activity over and above the energy you use at rest contributes to your Estimated Energy Requirements (EER). This is the total energy you use in your day to day life. This is usually about 2000 kcal/day for a woman and 2500 kcal/day for a man, but the more active you are the more energy you will consume.

How to Increase Your Metabolism

A lot of people blame their metabolism for weight gain. In a small number of cases, medical conditions can slow the metabolic rate (e.g. under-active thyroid), however in most of us our metabolic rate isn’t the main problem and isn’t out of our control. The simple fact is that you can increase your metabolic rate by increasing the amount of metabolic tissue in your body. By this I mean increasing the amount of muscle you have. So in a nutshell, you hold the key to your own metabolism. All you need to do is take regular exercise. But be warned – avoid crash dieting at all cost, as this can slow your metabolism. Your metabolism will respond best to small portions of low fat nutritious foods spread throughout the day.

Energy Balance

You may not have heard this term before, but energy balance is the key to managing your weight. To lose weight all you need to do is to expend more energy than you consume. If you think this sounds simple, that is because it is simple. The down side however, is that to lose 1 kg you need to use up 7000 kcal more than you consume, and this is why is it so hard to lose weight consistently and keep it off.  The best way to achieve and maintain this energy deficit is to aim for a negative energy balance of 500 kcal/day. There are different ways to achieve this easily. I will cover some of these in upcoming posts.

If there is anything you would like me to expand on or cover further, please leave a comment below and I will do my best to explain in future posts.