What exactly are calories?

You will all have heard that the average male requires 2,500 calories (Kcal's) and that a female requires around 2,000 Kcal's as a daily requirement. This is evident on most food packagings and on all food packagings (by law) nutritional content is included. Some of you who have used Weight Watchers products or been part of their club will understand what a calorie is a little more and some of you won't. So here it is just to clarify any misinterpretations:

The human body requires energy to be able to do anything. A calorie is a measurement of energy in the form of food or drink and is the same as a mile is in distance in the way that it contributes to a greater picture. The build up of calories by the ingestion of various foods allows more energy available for the body.

As the guidelines previously mentioned state, the body requires between 2,000-2,500Kcal's per day to function. This set guideline refers to what the body requires for basic functioning such as respiration, movement or simply 'being'. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate or Resting Metabolic Rate. For example, if my body requires 2,300Kcal to perform its daily functions and in addition I do an activity equivalent to 500Kcal then my body has performed an extra 300Kcal than needed (2,300+500=2,800 but I only need 2,500 to function normally). This is great news and means that I have done extra work to burn more fuel. However, in contrast if I had consumed 3,000Kcal worth of food and drink throughout the day then I have gone 500Kcal more than what my body needs to function. Therefore these calories are still in the body. They don't just vanish through excretion though, they get stored inside the body as fatty deposits or adipose tissue (this is bad!).

Thats the short and sweet of it. Now comes the question of how to count calories. Try and keep a food diary, even if just for a day or two. If you record the calorific content of each food and drink item you consume then you can work out how much under/over you have gone according to the prescribed guidelines. Use this as a guideline to how much you really do eat and adjust it accordingly. This means that if you aren't exercising regularly then you should only be taking on board 2,000Kcal or 2,500Kcal dependent on gender per day. Remember, your body needs that to function properly so simply dropping your calorie intake is bad as your body will not like you for this! Supplement your life with more exercise. Read my other posts previously on this blog to find out what exercises and when.

Hope this clarifies things for people and remember to exercise whenever possible and get your five-a-day.