A diet based on calorie counting is one of the most effective ways lose weight, invented back in the 20s of the last century.
So, you don’t need to deny yourself your favorite foods to lose weight - just reduce the number of servings so that their calorie content fits well into your diet.
On the contrary, diets that exclude certain foods are poorly tolerated, and their results are unstable, as a result of which the lost kilograms come back to you again.
A low-calorie diet will allow you to lose weight gradually until you reach your desired weight, and then successfully record the results.
Counting calories for weight loss: the pros and cons
First, you need to calculate your daily expenses, focusing on energy consumption tables various types activities: sleeping, cleaning, walking, etc. The amount of energy spent per day is the number of calories you need to maintain normal weight.
If you burn more calories than your body takes in, you will lose weight. If your routine includes daily exercise, then the calorie content of the food you eat during the day increases accordingly.
Nutritionists advise starting a calorie-counting diet with the basal metabolic rate to achieve more effective results. Basal metabolism - the number of calories expended by the body at rest - is the cost of chemical processes, mechanical work of the heart, respiratory muscles, digestive organs and other organs.
It is quite difficult to obtain accurate data on the basal metabolic rate, since this value can change down or up depending on the state of the body. However, to calculate your basal volume approximately, you need to multiply your body weight (in kg) by 24 (the number of hours in a day).
To calculate your basic daily calories, multiply your weight by 24 (the number of hours in a day)
The basal metabolic rate for women averages 1200-1900 calories. Start your diet based on these data. Effective diet for weight loss includes products with a total calorie content of 1400 kcal. This way you will lose weight without starving yourself.
Cons of a low-calorie diet
Some fitness trainers and nutritionists are skeptical of low-calorie diets, believing that weight problems are not caused by high calorie content dishes, but due to an incorrect balance of proteins and carbohydrates.
It is carbohydrate metabolism disorders (article about how to restore metabolism) that provoke obesity, so supporters of low-carbohydrate diets suggest not reducing the usual serving size, but removing carbohydrates from the diet.
There are also adherents of diets in which the main criterion for choosing dishes in the diet is not their calorie content, but the subjective feeling of hunger. So, you need to learn to “listen” to your body and eat only when you really want to, giving preference to foods that cause a strong appetite.
On the other hand, if you are used to eating a lot, then your body will not be able to immediately adapt to a new regime with “reduced” portions. In this case, even if you eat only when you are very hungry, get rid of excess weight will not work. This approach makes sense if you want to maintain your newfound weight after dieting.
Thus, the only significant disadvantage of this diet is its subjective “intolerance” - counting calories may seem tedious to you, and you will continue to jump from one ineffective diet to another.
There is no danger to the body when counting calories.
The theory of calorie counting for weight loss
In order to calculate the energy value of foods, arm yourself with a notepad, pen, calorie table and kitchen scale. In extreme cases, you can do without scales - you just have to write down the weight of the products right in the store. The basis of any calorie calculations is the mass of 100 grams, which you will get, for example, when dividing a 300 gram product into three parts.
You will need to record the calories of each grocery store purchase. But doing this once is enough - it is unlikely that this list will change every day.
The whole point is to pre-weigh each piece when eating and use the proportion to calculate the number of calories incoming. For example, you are preparing yourself a sandwich with cheese - the weight of butter (about 10 g), cheese (about 15 g) and bread (30 g) should be taken as “X”, and 100 grams of these products will be 100%. As a result, after solving three simple equations, you can already get the calorie content of the sandwich. It should also be written down in a notebook so as not to waste time on it later.
There are also a number of rules to make counting easier:
- Tea and coffee without added sugar and cream have zero calorie;
- The calorie content of complex dishes must be painstakingly compiled from separate calculations for each component;
- When cooking food, there is no loss of calories in the final dish;
- When frying food, you will need to add 20% to the final calorie content of the dish due to the oil in which it was cooked.
The nuances of correct calorie counting
Good household scales will significantly clarify your calculations, but soon, without the help of scales or a notepad, you will be able to estimate the calorie content of almost a dish by eye.
When making calculations with dry products such as pasta, you need to take into account the energy value described on the packaging - is it for ready-made or dry pasta? After all, when water is absorbed, the mass of pasta increases, so the calorie content ready-made dish is reduced by almost half.
To top it off, you will need to count calories, determine your unwanted weight and create an appropriate menu for yourself. The process of counting itself will force you to take your mind off food, so this diet can be done by almost everyone.
An approximate method for calculating the required number of calories per day
Finally, let's get started soon! Let’s say that the optimal weight for a person is 70 kg, and he currently weighs 80. He has a sedentary job in the office for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, as well as 16 hours of rest a day.
Using the energy expenditure table, it is easy to calculate your daily calorie requirements:
- 480 minutes of office work will be taken away from you 811 kilocalories;
- 8 hours of sleep will be required 340 kilocalories;
- Rest lying down after work will take away 105 kilocalories;
- One and a half hours a day for walking - 309 kilocalories;
- Cooking takes on average 257 kilocalories for 90 minutes.
Total: 811+340+105+309+257+360 = 2182 kcal.
To this we need to add the costs of digesting food and basal metabolism, so we get a figure of 3677 kcal. This is exactly the amount of energy we will need in one working day.
Conclusion
It is within our power to replenish the lack of energy with food (as we usually do), as well as to give up some part daily ration so that the body compensates for the deficiency by breaking down fats. You can also increase energy consumption by performing special exercises. Play sports or try to walk more.
You can greatly simplify your task by using a recipe analyzer, available on many websites about dieting and calculating the healthfulness of food. A small program will determine the calorie content of any recipe in three categories: proteins, fats and carbohydrates, as well as the vitamin component.
The calorie content of the finished dish is usually indicated in the cookbook, however, not always and not everyone has the opportunity to look there. Moreover, when creating your individual menu, you will have to make several bookmarks. Therefore, it is worth talking about what general principles counting calories in a future dish,
During the cooking process, all products are fried or evaporated. Cereals, meat and vegetables change their volume, but their calorie content remains the same:
- Meat, poultry, and fish lose moisture during cooking and their volume decreases;
- Vegetables also lose moisture and with it decrease in volume;
- Cereals and pasta, on the contrary, absorb moisture - their volume increases.
Calorie content remains the same. For example, you decide to cook chicken breast. You took 200 g of meat, with a calorie content of 220 kcal, cooked it, but in the end you only got 150 g of the finished product, but its calorie content did not change - 220 kcal.
Similarly, you decided to cook buckwheat. We took 100 g of buckwheat, with a calorie content of 329 kcal, and 200 g of water. The cereal absorbed water, increased in volume, but remained with the same calorie content - 329 kcal. If you took not 200, but 300 g of water, the volume of the porridge would become even larger without changing the calorie content.
That is why, after you have done the calculation raw foods and prepared the dish, you need to weigh it and count it. Or simply calculate as a percentage how much you ate. Let's assume that you cooked 100 g of buckwheat, but only ate a third of it. To do this, you need to divide the calorie content of the finished dish by 3: 329/3 = 109.66 (rounded to 110) kcal. In this case, you don’t have to count the finished dish, since you only ate a third of it. There is no need to recalculate the calorie content of a finished dish that you are going to eat in its entirety. Just count it raw ingredients.
If it’s easy to cook porridge and cook meat, then what about complex dishes that are prepared for the whole family? Let's look at simple examples.
Let's say you decide to make cutlets, beloved by your household, for this you will need:
- 1 - 86.35 kcal;
- 0.5 kg - 935.0 kcal;
- 100 g - 64.0 kcal;
- 100 g - 242 kcal;
- 20 g - 28.6 kcal;
- 50 g - 20.5 kcal;
- 100 g - 899 kcal.
Total calories: 2275.45 kcal.
Total raw weight of products: 925 g.
We calculated the calorie content of the amount of food we needed. We have used this on our website. Now you can start preparing the cutlets themselves.
All cutlets will be 2272.45 calories. To find out how many calories are in 1 cutlet, you simply need to divide the total calories by the number of cooked cutlets. However, if the size of the cutlets is different, then this method of calculation is not the most suitable.
More precisely, calculate the calorie content and nutritional value per 100 grams of the finished product. To do this, do not eat cutlets until you have done all the calculations. So, after the cutlets are cooked, see if there is any oil left. If there is oil left, measure its volume using a measuring container (get used to using this container), and subtract the calorie content of the remaining oil from the total.
Let's say you have no butter left at all, the weight of the cutlets is 700 g. Now you need to calculate how many calories are contained in 100 grams of your cutlets. To do this, we divide the total calories by the weight of all the cutlets in their finished form.
Let's use the formula:
Calories of all raw ingredients / weight of the finished dish = calories per gram of the finished dish
Calorie content 1 gram x 100 = calorie content 100 g of finished dish
It turns out 2275.45 / 700 = 3.25. This is exactly how many calories are contained in one gram of ready-made food. And in 100 grams of cutlets - 325 kcal. The calculation is ready. Add your product to the calorizer database. When will you cook in next time, then use the same amount of ingredients so you don’t have to count everything again. All that remains is to weigh 1 cutlet and write it down in your .
Then the total volume of the cooked soup is measured, since the water usually boils away during cooking, and then, some people like their soup thicker, while others prefer it thinner. The total calorie content of all products is divided by the resulting volume of the prepared soup, this figure is then multiplied by 100. This way we can calculate the calorie content of 100 ml of the resulting soup.
Calories of all raw ingredients / volume of soup = calories of 1 ml of soup
Calorie content 1 ml x 100 = calorie content 100 ml of soup.
Calorie content per serving pasta is considered according to the bookmark, in other words, in ready-made pasta as much nutrition as raw ones. It's the volume that changes, not the calorie content. common dish. But the calorie content of a dish per 100 grams varies.
To find out the calorie content of a serving simple dish, divide the number of calories by the portion eaten:
We prepared 100 grams of pasta and ate half.
Calorie content of pasta / 2 = calorie content of the eaten portion.
If you need to calculate the calorie content of mashed potatoes, take into account the calorie content and weight of potatoes, butter, milk, as well as the weight and volume of products. Let's say you have cooked 0.5 kg of potatoes (this is the weight of the finished potato), you added 100 ml of milk and 20 g of butter to it. Thus, the total weight is 620 g.
Now you can look at the tables and then make the calculation. To do this, you need to divide the total calorie content by the resulting weight, so you will know how many calories are in one gram of puree. We multiply the resulting figure by 100 and get the calorie content of a serving of mashed potatoes equal to 100 grams. It’s simple, the main thing is not to forget to write down the data in case you need to access it in the future.
Two mistakes when calculating calories
It is very easy to make mistakes when calculating the calorie content of dishes. Common mistake Most people rely on the weight of the prepared dishes. The calorizer database in your Personal Account contains great amount recipes, but you never know exactly what ingredients are used to prepare a particular dish. When choosing “porridge with milk”, you don’t know how much milk the author of the recipe added to it. Choosing " vegetable salad with butter,” you won’t even guess what vegetables are in it and how much butter. Likewise, when choosing simple “buckwheat on water”, you cannot know in what amount of water it was cooked. The calorie content of these dishes is good if you have a snack somewhere, but do not know how to write down the calorie content in your diary. In this case, you can safely use the calorie content of ready-made dishes.
Always calculate the weight of dry (pasta, cereals, flour) and raw (vegetables, meat, fish) products, and use ready-made dishes only from the base own recipes provided that you use the same amount of ingredients each time to prepare them.
The second mistake is . For accurate calculation, you weigh the raw ingredients first and then the finished dish. If you start snacking ahead of time, eat a cutlet or a bowl of soup “to try” or out of boredom, then you will not be able to accurately calculate its calorie content and risk overeating.
Show willpower, understand that if you have done all these calculations, then you need it. The food won’t run away from you, eat it later when it’s ready. But you will know exactly the calorie content of the dish and your portion.
So, today you learned from our article how to correctly calculate the calorie content of a finished dish. We gave as examples cutlets, soup, pasta, mashed potatoes. We hope you can now easily cook any dish!
Determining the caloric content of the food you eat is the most important step in understanding exactly how much energy your body receives. If the amount of energy exceeds what is required, body weight will increase, and if there are not enough calories, weight will begin to decrease. At the same time, playing sports, but not as much as is commonly believed.
For example, one can of Coca-Cola contains the same amount of calories as the energy expended from a two-kilometer run - in other words, it is much easier to give up this cola than to burn calories through an exhausting run. It is also important that learning to count calories is not as difficult as it seems at first glance, but the effect of such counting is enormous.
Learning to count calories
It is necessary to understand that there is no such thing as “calorie content of a plate of borscht” - rich soup with pork and big amount potatoes can be many times more caloric than lean soup with vegetables. The size of the plate also plays a significant role. As a result, the final figure can range from 100 to 500 kcal per serving.
Trying to count calories using calorie tables of ready-made meals or sending photos of food to a special application on your smartphone is nothing more than a joke. The real figure can only be obtained by eating foods with the calorie content indicated on the package and weighing each ingredient of the prepared dishes on a kitchen scale.
What is a "calorie"?
Scientifically speaking, a calorie is a unit of measurement. energy capacity food. Initially, the amount of heat released during the combustion of fuel (for example, coal, fuel oil, firewood, etc.) was calculated in calories, and the application of calories to food began in the 20th century, when food began to be considered as fuel for the body.
The term "calorie" became widespread in the 1990s, when food manufacturers were legally required to indicate the energy content of food on packaging. However, it should be noted that the indicated calorie content is only a mathematical calculation - the real amount of energy that the body will receive.
Formula for calculating calories
To calculate the calorie content of food, before preparing a food product (for example) or a “composite” dish (mashed potatoes with a cutlet), its ingredients are weighed. Then, using nutritional tables, the composition of each component in proteins, fats and carbohydrates is determined. After which the sum of nutrients and the proportion for each serving are calculated.
One gram of proteins and carbohydrates contains 4.1 kcal (essentially 4 thousand 100 calories), one gram of fat contains 8.8 kcal. For simplicity, numbers are rounded. If a serving of food contains 20 g of protein, 25 g of carbohydrates and 10 g of fat, then the calculated calorie content will be 20x4 + 25x4 + 10x9 = 270 kcal. Water, as such, does not contain calories.
How to determine calorie intake?
The average woman leading a sedentary lifestyle needs about 2000 kcal per day, a non-athletic man - 2300-2400 kcal; for an athlete training for muscle growth - at least 2500-2700 kcal. The exact figure is calculated using a special formula taking into account the gender, age and weight of the person.
Let us also note that if the energy supplied from food is not enough, the body will not immediately begin to burn fat - first it will try to slow down the metabolism, making the person more lethargic and sleepy. However, if the total calorie intake exceeds the required amount, then the “extra” calories will definitely be stored primarily in fat reserves.
Do genetics really influence how much fat the body stores?
How to count calories correctly?
Firstly, you need to accustom yourself to pay attention to the calorie content table of foods placed on the packaging. Most people don't realize that a liter of cola or a medium-sized pizza contains almost 1000 kcal, or half daily value calories. Refusal similar products- the first rule for those who want to lose weight.
Ideally, the size of each serving of food should not exceed 500-700 kcal - this will allow the body to rationally use the energy received for current metabolic needs and not send it to fat reserves. At the same time, breakfast and lunch should be as dense as possible, and dinner should be light and without carbohydrates.
Calories or food composition?
Secondly, you need to pay attention not to calorie content individual dishes, but on the composition of the diet in proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Total calorie consumption should be the starting point, not the final point, in creating a diet. Essentially, the number of calories per serving crushed potatoes and a serving of buckwheat may be equivalent, but the effect on the body will be significantly different.
Scientific research has long determined the boundaries of what is optimal - for example, fat (including vegetable oils) should not account for more than 30-40% of the total calorie intake. In other words, if you stick to your caloric intake but rely exclusively on carbohydrates or fat, nothing good will happen to you.
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Counting your caloric intake is the first step towards losing weight or gaining muscle mass. To correctly count calories, you need to study food composition tables and weigh the food you eat on a kitchen scale. However, despite this, the composition of foods in proteins, fats and carbohydrates is always much more important than their final calorie content.
15.01.2019 14.02.2019
One of the most effective and safe ways losing weight is counting calories. Many people reject this technique due to its complexity, but it is through reasonable calorie restriction in your diet that you will balance your diet and improve your figure.
In fact, if you once learn to count calories and monitor your diet, you will not only get your body in shape, but also gradually change eating habits . In fact, calorie counting does not impose restrictions on any specific products, but if you start counting the calories of the dishes you eat, then one day you will realize that it is better to eat a plate of salad with meat than a small cake. Yes, in terms of calories it will be approximately the same, but nutritional value These dishes are completely different.
In this article we will answer the following questions. Why is calorie counting effective for weight loss? How to correctly calculate the daily caloric intake for weight loss? And we will consider in detail the question of how to actually calculate the calorie content of the daily menu.
The principle of losing weight is very simple: You need to eat less than the body can process so that it begins to use fat reserves for energy. It would seem that it couldn’t be simpler - you sit on a strict diet for a week, lose weight and then again allow yourself liberties in terms of food. However, this principle gives a short-term effect; all lost kilograms return very quickly. A more optimal way to lose weight is to count calories. Why?
- The calorie counting method involves reasonable approach to nutrition without stress and serious restrictions. You do not injure your body by putting it on a strict diet.
- By counting calories, you will have a complete nutritious diet, so this method of losing weight does not harm the body, unlike various mono-diets and hunger strikes.
- You don’t have to exclude your favorite foods from the menu, the main thing is to stay within the calorie range. And appreciate how great it works! On the one hand, in order to fit into a given caloric intake, you will cleanse your diet of useless, harmful and fatty foods (which in itself is good). But on the other hand, you will always have the opportunity to eat yours favorite treat, simply by reviewing the daily menu.
- Counting calories is the first step towards proper, healthy, balanced nutrition. You will learn to monitor your diet and be thoughtful in your food choices.
- With counting calories you will consume sufficient quantity proteins, fats and carbohydrates, which means your weight loss will be carried out in a healthy and harmless way. Why is it important? For example, a lack of fat can cause problems with the hormonal system, while a lack of carbohydrates can lead to loss of energy and loss of strength. And an excess of proteins, which is so often promoted in various diets, very often causes problems with the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys.
- Counting calories is actually the only option for proper nutrition if you play sports and want to maintain your muscle mass, protecting it from destruction (muscle support = quality toned body). Hard low calorie diets and mono-diets primarily attack muscle tissue, not fat: under severe restrictions, it is easier for the body to say goodbye to muscles, since they require more energy.
- The process of losing weight, such as counting calories, is more stable and stable - without sudden jumps and the immediate return of lost kilograms.
- As a rule, after 2-3 months of regularly counting calories, you will create several menu options for yourself and you will approximately know what and how much you can eat per day in order to stay within your calorie range. If you think that now the calculator will be your companion for the rest of your life, then this is not so.
- Counting calories is a very flexible and convenient method of losing weight. If, after breaking a diet, you have to give up everything or start over, then by counting calories it’s not at all difficult to regulate sudden “gluttony days.” Just slightly reduce your daily calorie intake for the next 2-3 days or do an energy-intensive workout.
- With calorie counting, it's very easy to go into weight maintenance mode after losing weight. You will only need to add +10-20% to your current caloric intake (depending on your chosen deficit).
In order to begin to control your diet, you must take the following steps:
- Determine the caloric value of your daily diet.
- Start keeping a daily record of the food you eat.
- Observe regular improvements in your figure in the mirror.
Calorie counting algorithm for weight loss
Step 1: Calculate your basal metabolic rate
Each of us, depending on weight, activity and age, needs different quantities food. To find out the exact figure you need to use formulaHarris-Benedict :
- Women: BMR = 9.99 * weight (in kg) + 6.25 * height (in cm) – 4.92 * age (number of years) – 161
- Men: BMR = 9.99 * weight (in kg) + 6.25 * height (in cm) – 4.92 * age (number of years) + 5
Where BMR – basal metabolic rate
Step 2: Determine your daily activity
The resulting basal metabolic rate (BMR) figure must be multiplied by coefficient physical activity :
- 1.2 – minimal activity (absence physical activity, sedentary work, minimum movement)
- 1.375 – little activity (light workouts or walks, little daily activity during the day)
- 1.46 – average activity (workouts 4-5 times a week, good activity during the day)
- 1.55 – above average activity (intensive training 5-6 times a week, good activity during the day)
- 1.64 – increased activity (daily training, high daily activity)
- 1.72 – high activity (daily ultra-intensive training and high daily activity)
- 1.9 – very high activity (usually we are talking about athletes during the period of competitive activity)
Note! When choosing a coefficient, it is better to focus on the overall activity during the day. For example, if you exercise every day for 30-45 minutes, but at the same time you have a sedentary lifestyle, then you do not need to take a coefficient greater than 1.375. One workout, even the most intense one, does not compensate for the lack of activity during the day.
Step 3: Calculate the final result
So, by multiplying the basal metabolic rate (BMR) by the physical activity coefficient, we got your calorie intake. By eating within this norm, you will neither lose weight nor gain weight. This is the so-called calorie intake for weight maintenance.
BMR * physical activity ratio = Calorie requirement for weight maintenance.
If you want to lose weight, then you need to subtract 15-20% from the resulting product (this will be a diet with a calorie deficit). If you are working on muscle growth, then you need to add 15-20% (this will be eating with a calorie surplus). If you are at the “weight maintenance” stage, then leave the resulting figure unchanged.
If you are slightly overweight, we recommend calculating daily calorie content with a deficit of 15%. If you need to get rid of >10 kg, we recommend calculating with a 20% deficit. With a lot of excess weight, if you need to get rid of >40 kg, you can take a deficit of 25-30%.
Example:
Woman, 30 years old, weight 65 kg, height 165 cm, physical activity 3 times a week:
- BMR = 9,99*65 + 6,25*165 — 4,92*30 – 161 = 1372
- Calorie intake for weight maintenance= 1372*1.375=1886.5 kcal
- Normal calorie deficit= 1886 - (1886*0.2) = 1509 kcal
In total we get 1450-1550 kcal - this is daily norm for weight loss. Based on this figure, you need to keep a daily count of calories in your menu.
Why you can’t go below the established corridor: your body will get used to small amounts of food, your metabolism will slow down, and as soon as you start eating a little more, you will gain weight sharply. We recommend reading the whole truth about the 1200 calorie diet.
Why you should not exceed the established corridor: you will not lose weight, because the body will not have time to waste the energy received.
1. Keep a food diary; the numbers must be recorded in writing. Don't rely on your memory and don't rely on approximate estimates, otherwise there is a risk of eating too much or, even worse, not eating enough.
2. Technological progress made the task of managing our diet much easier. Download mobile apps for calculating food calories and you will make your life much easier. We recommend reading: Top best free apps for counting calories.
3. Do not trust food weight measurements “by eye”, be sure to buy a kitchen scale. Without a kitchen scale, your calorie counts will be inaccurate, which means it will be more difficult to achieve the desired result. By the way, very often calorie counting programs already calculate the energy value for the whole product, for example, for one orange . It is unknown how much this conventional orange for which the calorie content was calculated weighed. Your orange may be significantly larger or smaller. Of course, the error is small, but if during the day you add all the products approximately and “by eye,” then you will not get an objective picture.
4. Weigh food only in uncooked form! If you suddenly forgot to do this during the cooking process, be sure to check the calorie content of the finished dish. For example, the energy value is 100 g raw rice and 100g of cooked rice is not the same. It is always better to weigh food in dry or raw form rather than cooked.. This way the data will be more accurate.
5. Weigh a product that is ready to eat or cook: meat without bones, fruits and vegetables without peels and cores, cottage cheese without packaging, chicken without skin, etc.
6. Plan ahead sample menu for tomorrow. Enter the expected list of dishes so that there are no surprises with the absence of certain products.
7. When planning a menu for today or tomorrow, always leave a small corridor (150-200 kcal) to have room to maneuver. What if you have an unplanned snack or decide to replace one product with another.
8. If you are preparing a complex dish consisting of several ingredients (soup, cake, casserole, pizza), it is better not to look for its calorie content on the Internet. Before cooking, weigh each ingredient, calculate their energy value and add up the resulting numbers. Thus, the result will be much more accurate.
9. Avoid restaurants and catering establishments. IN modern world It seems incredibly difficult, but if you get into the habit of carrying food with you to work, school, or even on a walk, you will achieve your weight loss goals much faster. Even if a restaurant menu lists the number of calories in a dish, remember that these numbers are only approximate.
10. Never rely on the number of calories that are listed in recipes on various websites or in recipe groups. in social networks. Firstly, it is unknown how conscientiously the recipe compilers considered all these data. Secondly, the weight of individual ingredients may differ for you, which will change the overall calorie content of the dish.
11. If one day you seriously go beyond the established caloric intake, then under no circumstances should you arrange for yourself fasting days or hunger strike. This will only disrupt your metabolism. Continue to follow the calorie corridor, and if you are really tormented by your conscience for yesterday’s gluttony, it is better to devote 1 hour to training, walking or any other physical activity. Alternatively, you can reduce your diet by 15-20% for a couple of days to compensate for the excess you eat, and then return to your previous diet.
12. To train yourself to count calories, At first you need serious self-discipline. But after a couple of weeks, you will train yourself to enter the foods you eat in your diary before each meal. Usually 2-3 months are enough to create a daily menu and learn to determine your food intake without calculators.
How to correctly count KBZHU products: a detailed review
Where can I find the calorie content and nutritional value of foods?
- See the product packaging for all information on calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fats. The most accurate information is provided there.
- If the product is sold without packaging or the energy value is not indicated on the packaging, then look at the calorie content and content nutrients in the Internet. Just, for example, enter in a search engine "banana KBZHU" and find all the data you need. It is advisable to look at several sources to ensure the accuracy of the data.
- If you use a website or mobile application to count calories, they usually contain a ready-made database of products with KBJU data. Therefore, there is no need to search for additional information.
- If you have a complex dish that consists of several ingredients, then weigh each individual ingredient, calculate the KBJU for each ingredient separately and add up the resulting numbers. More on this below.
How to correctly calculate KBZHU: examples
Let's look at specific examples of how to correctly count calories, proteins, fats and carbohydrates for individual products and ready-made dishes.
1. Cottage cheese 5%. We look at the calorie content of the product on the packaging. If it’s not listed, then we’re looking on the Internet.
KBZHU cottage cheese 5% - 100 g:
- Calories: 121 kcal
- Proteins: 17 g
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g
a) For example, you decide to eat 80 g of cottage cheese. In order to calculate the KBZHU of 80 g of cottage cheese, simply multiply each indicator by 0.8:
KBZHU cottage cheese 5% - 80 g:
- Calories: 121 * 0.8 = 96.8 kcal
- Proteins: 17 * 0.8 = 13.6 g
- Fat: 5 * 0.8 = 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g * 0.8 = 1.44 g
b) If you decide to eat 225 g of cottage cheese, then multiply each indicator by 2.25:
KBZHU cottage cheese 5% – 225 g:
- Calories: 121 * 2.25 = 272.3 kcal
- Proteins: 17 * 2.25 = 38.25 g
- Fat: 5 * 2.25 = 11.25 g
- Carbohydrates: 1.8 g * 2.25 = 4.05 g
Thus, we obtain specific KBZHU of cottage cheese depending on its weight.
2. Oatmeal. This is the most popular breakfast those who try to follow proper nutrition. Counting calories for oatmeal also very simple. By analogy with the plan proposed below, we calculate the KBJU for all other cereals and pasta.
a) Weigh the oatmeal in dry form (precisely dry, this is important!). For example, you got 70 g. Let’s look at the KBZHU data on the packaging or on the Internet for 100 g:
KBJU oatmeal – 100 g:
- Calories: 342 kcal
- Proteins: 12 g
- Fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 g
Since we do not plan to eat 100 g, we calculate 70 g per serving, multiplying all indicators by 0.7:
KBJU oatmeal – 70 g:
- Calories: 342 * 0.7 = 240 kcal
- Proteins: 12 * 0.7 = 8.4 g
- Fat: 6 * 0.7 = 4.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 60 * 0.7 = 42 g
This is the final KBZHU empty oatmeal for 70 g: K-240; B-8.4; Zh-4.2; U-42. No matter how much water you add, how much your porridge is boiled and no matter how much it weighs after cooking, you enter the data into your food diary by dry matter. We do the same with other cereals, pasta, and potatoes.
On the Internet you can find calories for oatmeal already prepared. But it’s better not to rely on these numbers. The cereal absorbs water and swells, and its final weight may vary depending on how much water you add and how long the porridge is cooked. Therefore, weigh only in dry form.
b) Suppose you are preparing oatmeal with milk and adding butter, honey and milk. In this case, we weigh each individual ingredient before cooking (cereals, butter, honey, milk), we consider KBJU for everyone individual ingredient, we sum it up and get the KBJU of the finished dish. We calculate all this before cooking! More details about the specific calculation of ready-made dishes are below.
3. Chicken breast. Another popular product those losing weight, so let's look at it too.
Weigh the chicken breast raw, preferably after you have thawed and dried it, so that excess moisture does not get into the calculations (well, if you remain completely accurate). For example, let’s calculate the KBJU of chicken breast per 120 g:
KBZHU chicken breast – 100 g:
- Calories: 113 kcal
- Proteins: 24 g
- Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.4 g
KBJU chicken breast – 120 g:
- Calories: 113 * 1.2 = 135.6 kcal
- Proteins: 24 * 1.2 = 28.8 g
- Fat: 2 * 1.2 = 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.4 g * 1.2 = 0.48 g
After we boil the chicken breast, we do not weigh it and do not count calories. We take into account data only in raw form. Spices and salt do not affect calorie content, but if you cook with oil, do not forget to add it.
How to count ready-made recipes
As we said earlier, when preparing complex dishes, we count calories as follows:
- Weigh each ingredient in wet/dry form
- We calculate KBJU for each ingredient according to the scheme above
- We sum up the data and get the total calorie content of the dish.
Let's give an example with a complex dish that we mentioned above: oatmeal with milk, honey and butter.
Ingredients for porridge:
- 130 g oatmeal
- 50 ml milk 3.2%
- 30 g honey
- 10 g butter
We calculate by analogy with the examples above, multiplying the data by the weight of the product. Then add up calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat.
| Cereal 130g | Milk 50ml | Honey 30g | Oil 10g | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calories | 444,6 | 29,5 | 98,7 | 74,8 | 647,6 |
| Squirrels | 15,99 | 1,45 | 0,24 | 0,05 | 17,73 |
| Fats | 7,93 | 1,6 | 0 | 8,25 | 17,78 |
| Carbohydrates | 77,35 | 2,35 | 24,45 | 0,08 | 104,23 |
We get KBJU oatmeal: K-647.6; B-17.73; F-17.78; U-104.23.
A simple way to calculate the KBJU of a finished dish
There is the simplest and most convenient way to calculate KBZHU ready dish. To do this, we will use the Calorizator website. Go to the Recipe Analyzer page and enter all our ingredients in the window that opens, separated by commas: 130 g oatmeal, 50 ml milk 3.2%, 30 g honey, 10 g butter :
Click analyze and instead of manually counting calories, we get ready-made numbers:
We look at the line Total and we get ready calorie content complex dish with several ingredients.
Moreover, it is not necessary to enter the weight in grams; you can use the notation as follows:
As you can see, you can copy ready-made recipe and calculate KBJU in this way. But be careful! For example, 2 onions in the understanding of the recipe analyzer is 150 g. But in reality it can be either 100 g or 200 g, depending on the specific size of the onion. The values in such programs are taken as average. Therefore, it is better to weigh and enter products into the analyzer in grams, having first weighed them.
If you use mobile applications to count calories, in the same way, it is better to weigh it rather than use “1 banana” or “1 onion” from a ready-made food base in your calculations.
How to weigh dishes if you are cooking for a family?
Very often we cook complex dishes not on yourself, but on the whole family. How can you count calories in this case if you need to weigh the food raw, but when cooking the weight of the food changes? There is a fairly simple way to solve this problem.
1. We calculate KBJU based on the diagrams described above, weighing the ingredients in dry or raw form before cooking. Let's take our example oatmeal with milk, honey and butter , which we discussed above. We got a general KBZHU: K-648; B-17.7; F-17.8; U-104.
2. Prepare the porridge, add all the ingredients, mix. We weigh the resulting dish. For example, we got 600 g - the total weight of the finished dish.
3. Now put the porridge on your plate and weigh it. For example, our portion turned out to be 350 g.
4. 350 g is 58% of the total amount of porridge (350 divided by 600 and we get 58%) .
5. Accordingly, calculate the KBJU of your portion, multiplying each figure by 0.58:
- Calories: 648 * 0.58 = 376 kcal
- Proteins: 17.8 * 0.58 = 10.2 g
- Fat: 17.8 *0.58 = 10.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 104 *0.58 = 60.5 g
6. In total, we calculated one serving of porridge: K-376; B-10.2; Zh-10.3; U-60.5.
Calorie content of foods in the table
Majority mobile applications and sites with food diaries have in their database information about energy value all kinds of products. But if you do the calculations manually, it will be useful to you (click on the picture to save it):
We looked at several cases in detail calorie counting both for individual products and for whole dishes. Do you have any questions? Write, we will try to answer them!
Be sure to read:
Depositphotos/esp2k
Surely there is not a person on earth who, wanting to lose weight, has not heard the word calories. At the same time, for those losing weight, this word evokes fear. After all, unwanted kilos appear precisely from calories, and for everyone who follows a diet, a significant reduction in the calorie content of the menu will certainly lead to perfect proportions bodies.
- There are no restrictions in the choice of food. Dishes are prepared exclusively according to your own preferences.
- When calculating calories, it is possible to independently adjust the quantitative indicator of food, i.e. serving size.
- A person who counts calories per day can easily track the fluctuations in his weight, while the usual nutritious diet will remain at the same calorie level, or possibly decrease.
How to count calories for weight loss: table
- The first thing you need to understand is that to burn 1 kg of body weight you need to spend 7700 kcal. The same amount of calories will be needed to gain 1 kg.
- Most the best option- This is to keep a weight loss diary. It needs to record all the results obtained, as well as plans that will stimulate achievement. You will need to make entries throughout the day with the portions of what you eat, so it will be more convenient to keep track of proper diet.
- At the same time, it will be necessary to record all physical activities that are carried out during the day.
- The third table records data on weight lost.
It is also worth noting that the weighing process is carried out daily, in the morning, immediately after waking up. Conducting comparative characteristics notes in three tables. A person has the opportunity to independently decide on a diet and the amount of physical activity, which together will help to quickly get rid of extra pounds.
Calorie table for weight loss: number of calories per 100 g of product
| Fruits | Kcal | Vegetables | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bananas | 90 | Boiled potatoes | 60 |
| Grape | 70 | Green onion | 18 |
| Cherry | 25 | Bulb onions | 43 |
| Grapefruit | 30 | Carrot | 33 |
| Pear | 42 | cucumbers | 15 |
| Melon | 45 | Sweet bell pepper | 19 |
| Blackberry | 32 | Parsley | 23 |
| Kiwi | 50 | Tomatoes | 20 |
| Apricots | 47 | Eggplant | 28 |
| Avocado | 100 | Green pea | 75 |
| Quince | 30 | Zucchini | 18 |
| A pineapple | 44 | White cabbage | 23 |
| Orange | 45 | Cauliflower | 12 |
| Watermelon | 40 | Sauerkraut | 28 |
| Strawberries | 38 | Red cabbage | 27 |
| Dogwood | 41 | Rhubarb | 16 |
| Cranberry | 33 | Radish | 16 |
| Gooseberry | 48 | Radish | 25 |
| Lemon | 30 | Turnip | 23 |
| Raspberries | 45 | Lettuce leaves | 11 |
| Mandarin | 41 | Beet | 40 |
| Peaches | 45 | Pumpkin | 20 |
| Plum | 44 | Dill | 30 |
| Currant | 43 | Horseradish | 49 |
| Cherries | 53 | Garlic | 60 |
| Blueberry | 44 | Spinach | 16 |
| Apples | 45 | Sorrel | 27 |
| Flour products | Kcal | Dried fruits | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butter buns | 301 | Raisin | 270 |
| Baranki | 330 | Figs | 290 |
| Black bread | 206 | Kishmish | 310 |
| Wheat bread | 266 | Dried apricots | 290 |
| Rye bread | 213 | Dates | 290 |
| Flatbread from rye flour | 375 | Prunes | 220 |
| Sugar | 295 | Apples | 210 |
| Meat and poultry | Kcal | Dairy | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mutton | 316 | Brynza | 261 |
| Ham | 366 | Yogurt | 51 |
| Beef stew | 180 | Full fat kefir | 61 |
| Beef | 170 | Kefir (1.5%) | 39 |
| Brisket | 475 | Low-fat kefir | 31 |
| Goose | 301 | Milk (3.2%) | 62 |
| Turkey | 150 | Whole cow's milk | 68 |
| Sausage var. | 250 | Ice cream | 220 |
| Sausage p/k | 380 | Curdled milk | 59 |
| Korean | 430 | Ryazhenka | 85 |
| Rabbit meat | 115 | Cream (10% fat) | 120 |
| Boiled chicken | 131 | Cream (20% fat) | 300 |
| Fried chicken | 212 | Sour cream (10%) | 115 |
| Beef liver | 100 | Sour cream (20%) | 210 |
| Kidneys | 66 | Dutch cheese | 357 |
| Sausages | 160 | Lambert cheese | 377 |
| Pork chop | 265 | Parmesan cheese | 330 |
| Pork stew | 350 | Russian cheese | 371 |
| Heart | 87 | Sausage cheese | 267 |
| Sausages | 236 | Curd cheeses | 380 |
| Veal | 90 | Cottage cheese (18% fat) | 225 |
| Duck | 405 | Low-fat cottage cheese | 81 |
| Language | 165 | Cottage cheese with sour cream | 261 |
| Mushrooms | Kcal | Nuts | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dried porcini mushrooms | 211 | Seeds | 580 |
| Boiled mushrooms | 26 | Walnuts | 652 |
| Mushrooms in sour cream | 230 | Ground nuts | 470 |
| Fried mushrooms | 165 | Pine nuts | 620 |
| Honey mushrooms | 20 | Almond | 600 |
| boletus | 30 | Pistachios | 620 |
| Boletus | 30 | Hazelnut | 670 |
| Fish and seafood | Kcal | Butter sauces | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Granular caviar | 250 | Rendered fat | 930 |
| Pollock caviar | 130 | Ketchup | 80 |
| Squid | 95 | Mayonnaise | 625 |
| Fried carp | 145 | Mayonnaise light | 260 |
| Shrimps | 85 | Creamy margarine | 745 |
| Crabs | 70 | Sandwich margarine | 670 |
| Pollock | 70 | Margarine for baking | 675 |
| Sea kale | 16 | Corn oil | 900 |
| Perch | 95 | Olive oil | 825 |
| Eggs | Butter | 750 | |
| Chicken egg 1 pc. | 65 | Soybean oil | 900 |
| Egg powder | 540 | Melted butter | 885 |
| Cereals and legumes | Kcal | Ready salads | Kcal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green peas | 280 | Korean carrots | 134 |
| Wheat flour | 348 | Sea kale | 80 |
| Rye flour | 347 | Salad with squid | 240 |
| Cocoa | 375 | Salad with crab sticks | 217 |
| Buckwheat | 346 | Mimosa salad | 183 |
| Oatmeal | 374 | Olivier salad | 198 |
| Pearl barley | 342 | Vegetable salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers) | 30,7 |
| Millet | 352 | The vinaigrette | 130 |
| Barley | 343 | Vinaigrette with herring | 179 |
| Corn | 369 | Radish with sour cream | 103 |
| Pasta | 350 | Caesar salad | 303 |
| Rice | 337 | Greek salad | 188 |
| Soybeans | 395 | Sauerkraut salad | 77 |
| Beans | 328 | Herring under a fur coat | 193 |
| Lentils | 310 | Young cabbage salad | 120 |
Calorie consumption per day
Few people do not know the well-known statement that the number of calories consumed should be less than their consumption. A person who leads a sedentary lifestyle must follow a diet with a caloric content of 1200 cal per day; for an adherent of an active pace of life who engages in any kind of sport, the menu should be composed of 1800 cal per day.
To perform physically demanding work, a man will expend approximately 3200 kcal, a woman - 2700.
Let's look at how to correctly count calories to lose weight. In order to make the calculation, you need to use the calorie content table. Don't panic if the numbers differ from one source to another - these are averages, so a difference of a few calories isn't significant. The best option is to use a table with an extensive list of products, or even easier, print it out for clarity and place it in a convenient place for use, for example, in the kitchen.
Over time, becoming familiar with the caloric content of dishes will become a habit, and it will also become easier to calculate the required portion. For example, average sandwich with cheese, pork cutlet, oven pie and a serving of side dish will be 370 kcal. A small portion of oatmeal coffee drink with cream and sugar, plus boiled egg- 130 kcal.
200 ml freshly squeezed vegetable or fruit juice, milk and spring vegetable slicing- 120 kcal. Tea with sugar or coffee - 70 kcal.
It is worth realizing that weight loss will not be immediate. The result will be clearly visible after at least 5 days from the moment you start counting calories.
Snacking before bed is taboo. Dinner should be no later than 18:00. For example, you can prepare vegetable salad, oatmeal in water with raisins and green tea with jasmine. A few hours before bedtime, you can drink kefir or natural yogurt(up to 200 ml). If you still feel hungry, you can drink a cup of tea with mint and honey and eat ½ an apple. You can also use a small slice hard cheese(20 g).
A nutritious breakfast is a very important aspect of a calorie diet for weight loss. It should be 1/3 daily norm calories. A suitable option there will be porridge, boiled eggs, low-fat variety steamed meat and salad with vegetables.
In order to be full, and this means that the volume of one serving should not be less than before the diet, you should completely eliminate sugar, White bread, products with high content fat and oil. The optimal way to prepare any dish is baking or steaming.
By eliminating several high-calorie items from your menu, the amount of daily calorie consumption will decrease by 10-15%. These products include: baked goods, fatty meats, smoked meats, fats and sugar. Meals are divided into 6 times a day, while the serving size is reduced. This method reduces calorie intake by another 5-7%.
You need to know this! By drinking 200 ml of cool water, you can burn up to 50 kcal. This method also works for a calorie-counting diet. The norm is 2 liters of water per day. The liquid helps the body cleanse itself of accumulated waste and toxins.
How to count calories for weight loss
To correctly calculate the calorie content of a dish, you should pay attention to the product label. It is worth remembering that the calorie content of the dry and finished product will be different. For example, the calorie content of 100 g of dry pasta is 300 kcal. When cooked, their weight increases, so 100 g boiled pasta will have almost half as many calories.
Counting calories for weight loss means converting each meal into numerical ratios. This is not a grueling fast, but a correct calculation of an individual weight loss program.
Calculate the number of calories per day for weight loss
Initially, a notebook is created in which you need to write down each meal for one week, and calculate the calorie content of the dish accordingly. To calculate the calorie content of a dish, you need to sum up the calorie content of each ingredient, taking into account its quantity.
The next step is to reduce the calorie content of each serving, and you need to begin the process of daily weighing. It is necessary to achieve a result of 200 g of daily weight loss. Having reached this point, you need to stop and no longer reduce the calorie content of your dishes - this will be an individual indicator of the required calorie content.
Continuing to eat in the established mode, while losing 200 g of excess weight per day, in a month the scales will show a result of 6 kg less than before starting the calorie-counting diet.
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