The number of calories vs value of calories.
The number of calories vs value of calories.
There is a common misunderstanding of calories, kilojules and how much we should be having a day. People tend to read the nutritional panel on the cereal box in the morning and take note that the average daily energy intake is 4800 kilojules a day or 1200calories and aim for that. However everybody's personal energy requirements is different. Everyone is different.
What is my ideal calorie consumption a day?
Your ideal energy consumption is determined by your energy usage: frequency of exercise, type of exercise, duration of exercise, metabolism, if you're trying to gain, maintain or lose weight, or if you're male or female, pregnant or breast feeding and your age.
Another misconception is that as long as you hit your daily kj intake you're fine. But many don't realize that the different macro-nutrients (fats, carbs, proteins) contain different amounts of energy.
1 calorie = 4.2 kilojules
1 gram of protein = 4 calories or 17kj
1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories or 17kj
1 gram of dietary fibre = 3 calories or 13 kj
1 mL of alcohol = 7 calories or 29 kj
1 gram of fat = 9 calories or 37 kj
So hitting that kj intake isn't all it's talked up to be, because the quality of your calorie consumption is more important. If your ideal kj intake was 4800 a day, eating 130 grams of fat would exceed that. ( that's like eating 4 big macs a day and that's all)
Another point I want to get across is that your body metabolizes your macro-nutrients differently.
Different types of fats are broken down at different speeds. Some fats, like polyunsaturated fats (especially omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils), may be more easily used up from fat stores during exercise than fats from other animal sources.
Carbohydrates are broken down by the body into sugars or ‘glucose’. Some carbohydrate foods, such as white bread, processed cereals and biscuits are metabolised faster than others and are known as foods with a high glycaemic index (GI). Some research suggests that a diet dominated by carbohydrate foods with a high GI is associated with unhealthy weight gain and higher body fat percentages. However, both high GI and low GI foods can be included in a healthy diet.
The value of your calorie is more important that how many you have in total a day.
Don't follow a weight watchers diet or point system as they follow the amount of calories consumed a day as compared to value of calories consumed.
What causes Unhealthy weight gain?
When we regularly eat more energy than our body needs, the excess is stored inside fat cells. Just 1 kg of body fat contains the equivalent of 37,000kJ. To lose 1 kg of body fat in a week, you would need to burn an additional 37,000 kJ, or around 5,000 kJ a day.
How to lose excess fat?
The best way to lose excess weight is to switch to a high-fibre, low-fat, low-energy-dense, nutrient-rich diet and, most importantly, to exercise regularly. Exercise not only uses up stored energy, but also helps to stimulate muscle development. Remember, the more muscle tissue you have, the more kilojoules you can burn.
What I want you to remember:
- A kilojoule (or Calorie) is a unit of energy.
- The kilojoule content of foods depends on the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins present in the food.
- If we regularly eat more kilojoules than our body needs, the excess will be stored as body fat.
There is a common misunderstanding of calories, kilojules and how much we should be having a day. People tend to read the nutritional panel on the cereal box in the morning and take note that the average daily energy intake is 4800 kilojules a day or 1200calories and aim for that. However everybody's personal energy requirements is different. Everyone is different.
What is my ideal calorie consumption a day?
Your ideal energy consumption is determined by your energy usage: frequency of exercise, type of exercise, duration of exercise, metabolism, if you're trying to gain, maintain or lose weight, or if you're male or female, pregnant or breast feeding and your age.
Another misconception is that as long as you hit your daily kj intake you're fine. But many don't realize that the different macro-nutrients (fats, carbs, proteins) contain different amounts of energy.
1 calorie = 4.2 kilojules
1 gram of protein = 4 calories or 17kj
1 gram of carbohydrates = 4 calories or 17kj
1 gram of dietary fibre = 3 calories or 13 kj
1 mL of alcohol = 7 calories or 29 kj
1 gram of fat = 9 calories or 37 kj
So hitting that kj intake isn't all it's talked up to be, because the quality of your calorie consumption is more important. If your ideal kj intake was 4800 a day, eating 130 grams of fat would exceed that. ( that's like eating 4 big macs a day and that's all)
Another point I want to get across is that your body metabolizes your macro-nutrients differently.
Different types of fats are broken down at different speeds. Some fats, like polyunsaturated fats (especially omega-3 fatty acids from fish oils), may be more easily used up from fat stores during exercise than fats from other animal sources.
Carbohydrates are broken down by the body into sugars or ‘glucose’. Some carbohydrate foods, such as white bread, processed cereals and biscuits are metabolised faster than others and are known as foods with a high glycaemic index (GI). Some research suggests that a diet dominated by carbohydrate foods with a high GI is associated with unhealthy weight gain and higher body fat percentages. However, both high GI and low GI foods can be included in a healthy diet.
The value of your calorie is more important that how many you have in total a day.
Don't follow a weight watchers diet or point system as they follow the amount of calories consumed a day as compared to value of calories consumed.
What causes Unhealthy weight gain?
When we regularly eat more energy than our body needs, the excess is stored inside fat cells. Just 1 kg of body fat contains the equivalent of 37,000kJ. To lose 1 kg of body fat in a week, you would need to burn an additional 37,000 kJ, or around 5,000 kJ a day.
How to lose excess fat?
The best way to lose excess weight is to switch to a high-fibre, low-fat, low-energy-dense, nutrient-rich diet and, most importantly, to exercise regularly. Exercise not only uses up stored energy, but also helps to stimulate muscle development. Remember, the more muscle tissue you have, the more kilojoules you can burn.
What I want you to remember:
- A kilojoule (or Calorie) is a unit of energy.
- The kilojoule content of foods depends on the amount of carbohydrates, fats and proteins present in the food.
- If we regularly eat more kilojoules than our body needs, the excess will be stored as body fat.
Posted by Seven Xu on Tuesday 5 March 2013
*Any weight loss or health testimonials presented here are applicable to the individuals depicted and are not a guarantee of your weight loss nor are they typical. Herbalife products can be a healthy part of your weight loss program, which includes diet and exercise.
An extensive questionnaire generated responses from more than 200 U.S. Herbalife Independent Distributors about their weight-loss programs and results. They reported weight loss ranging from 4 pounds to 167 pounds and a reduced body mass index (BMI) of 1.5 points to 24.1 points, suggesting that consumption of Herbalife® products is associated with weight loss and improvement in BMI in those ranges.
**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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