How to calculate the Caloric Content of Foods and Why Do It?

How to count calories, why to do it, why counting calories is not a solution to improper nutrition, which categories of food are the least caloric. Let’s deal with the topic of calories once and for all.

Why count calories

Calories are necessary for our body, we couldn’t live without them. They are our only source of energy. When the body lacks calories, it becomes weak and sick. When there are too many calories in the food we eat during the day, it’s no good either, the excess calories turn into body fat stores. Which not only pisses us off, but is also bad for our health.

What is a calorie count?

Calorie is a unit of energy. It was used in physics and corresponded to the amount of energy needed to heat one gram of water from 14.5 to 15.5°C.

In today’s world, the calorie is no longer part of the international system of units; it is only used in nutrition to express the energy value of food. A calorie can be converted to a joule, where 1 calorie = 4.184 joules.
So, 1,000 calories = 1 kilocalorie, abbreviated kcal. This is the term most commonly used in the field of nutrition.

The conversion factor of the two units is:

• 1 kcal = 4.1855 kJ
• 1 kJ = 0.239 kcal.

It is especially important to know the calories of the three macronutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins, as well as alcohol and fiber:

• 1 g fat = 9.3 kcal (39 kJ)
• 1 g carbohydrate = 4.1 kcal (17 kJ)
• 1 g protein = 4.1 kcal (17 kJ)
• 1g Alcohol = 7.1 kcal (30 kJ)
• 1 g of fiber = 1.5 kcal (4.2 kJ).

Ways to Count Calories

We will not consider “ancient” ways of counting, which involve a pencil and a piece of paper, let’s talk about something more technological.
And here the leading methods are those in which the computer does all the calculations, we just enter the raw data and get the result. In this case, an invaluable aid will be the calorie counters available on the Internet or in applications for smartphones.
Such counters make calculations much easier. First, they contain a huge database of foods and ready meals. Second, they help you calculate exactly how many calories your body needs, taking into account your personality and lifestyle.

Calorie counting is not a panacea

There are at least five good reasons not to see calorie counting as a panacea.

Different digestion

Two people who eat the same food do not necessarily consume the same amount of calories. Gut length, digestive enzymes, microbiota, and the way food is prepared affect calorie absorption. For example, processed foods require less energy to digest, which implies that our calorie expenditure is lower.

Inaccurate Labels

There is a 20% margin of error in the labeling of food products. Several factors can explain the difference between the actual nutritional value and the stated nutritional value, including seasonal variations, processing of raw materials, manufacturing process, and method of nutritional analysis. Thus, a person who believes he or she consumes 2,000 calories during the day may be consuming 1,600 or 2,400 calories.

Unequal number of calories

According to the counting method, 100 calories of carrots equals 100 calories of chocolate. But not for our bodies! The carbohydrate, lipid and protein composition of foods varies and affects the calories needed to digest them.

Calculated energy expenditure

A person who counts calories certainly has good intentions. However, the formulas available for calculating calories coming from food do not always take into account certain factors that can affect digestibility, such as cooking or bacterial fermentation.

Forgotten sensory pleasures

Considering only calories in food choices can come at the expense of sensory pleasure. This type of pleasure refers to the properties of food, such as taste, smell and texture, that allow us to enjoy them using our five senses. Counting calories can also lead to deprivation, loss of control, and guilt.

The lowest calorie foods

Even if we agree that counting calories is not a hundred percent guarantee of controlling our energy intake, we have essentially no other choice.
In today’s world, caloric overconsumption is the bane of developed countries. So our interest in replacing high-calorie foods with low-calorie ones is inevitable.
So let’s remind ourselves once again what categories of foods are low-calorie.
If you look at the caloric content of the three macronutrients, it’s easy to guess that low-calorie foods are definitely low in fat, and strong alcohols clearly have no place in the low-calorie drink group.

Satiety with low-calorie foods

But calories alone don’t make you feel full. There are two main factors responsible for feeling full: when the stomach is full and when the body needs more time to separate and assimilate nutrients from food. In other words: the number of calories in what you eat does not play a role in the feeling of fullness.

A bar of chocolate and its hundred calories do not fully satisfy us: it weighs only 100 grams and therefore takes up very little space in the stomach. In addition, chocolate is high in fat and sugar, and these two nutrients are converted very quickly by the body into energy. Whether it uses this concentrated energy or not, it will need new energy very quickly.

Another example is nuts. They contain a lot of protein, but above all a lot of fat, which increases their energy value. Despite this, a handful of nuts won’t satiate you either. Of course, it has much less sugar than chocolate, which is a plus, but your stomach won’t be full either.

Finally, sugary or alcoholic drinks are further proof that it is not the number of calories that counts for satiety. If you drink a 50 ml bottle of Coke containing 200 calories, you can sit down at the table and enjoy your meal as if it were nothing. On the other hand, if you eat four apples (also 200 calories), you will feel full before you even sit down at the table.

Let’s take a closer look at low-calorie foods with good satiety. They should be relatively voluminous and mostly consist of nutrients that take a long time to digest (complex carbohydrates and proteins) and fiber.
What foods have these characteristics that could be considered low-calorie satiety foods?

Fruits, vegetables and legumes

If we assume that high-calorie foods are also rich in nutrients, we can guess the characteristics of low-calorie foods: they do not contain many nutrients, but mostly consist of water and fiber, which cannot be completely digested. They have a low energy value of 0-2 kcal per gram.

The most famous vegetable for fast satiety is the potato. 200 grams of raw potatoes contain 150 calories, which is small when you consider the many nutrients, especially proteins, which are easily digested.
In addition to vegetables, fruits are also among the foods with the lowest calories. However, if you look at the list of fruits with less than 50 kcal per 100 grams, you will notice that, except for the rather bitter rhubarb, no fruit can compete with low-calorie vegetables.

Low-calorie fruits, such as melon or lime, already contain twice as many calories as cucumber or iceberg lettuce. The reason – most fruits are usually sweeter than vegetables because they contain more sugar and more nutrients. But compared to grains or dairy products, fruit is certainly much less caloric.
The list of low-calorie fruits, unfortunately, will not include the classic foods that we usually find in our fruit bowl: apples, pears, bananas, tangerines, kiwi, grapes, cherries, mangoes and pineapples have more than 50 kcal per 100 g.

If you want to switch to a low-calorie diet, you will have to significantly reduce your consumption of the above-mentioned fruits and give preference to berries or exotic fruits such as papaya, pomelo or jackfruit.

Legumes are some of the best foods that are low in calories and high in satiety. They are rich in protein and complex carbohydrates. A classic can of 255 g of red beans provides 40 g of carbohydrates and 19 g of protein and about 1 g of fat, which provides 273 kcal and good satiety.

Good to know: A good protein shake as a dessert after a vegetable meal improves macronutrient balance with few calories. A vegetable dish is low in calories and inherently low in protein, which is unbalanced when you consider the amount of macronutrients.

Fish and Meat

Fish and meat are high in protein, which is ideal for feeling satiated: unlike carbohydrates and fats, protein itself is not a source of energy for the body, but a raw material that needs to be converted into energy. This process itself requires energy and therefore burns calories. In addition, meat and fish contain a lot of water, which makes them bulky in the stomach.

If we are talking about a portion of lean meat or fish of 200 g, all the criteria are met. A 200 g beef steak has about 20 g of fat and 40 g of protein – about 330 calories.
Turkey breast is also low in calories: 200 g of turkey breast contains 45 g of protein and only 5 g of fat, which is only 220 calories. Some fish have even fewer calories: 200 g of hake fillets have 34 g of protein and less than 2 g of fat, and that’s only 150 calories.

Dairy products

Lean dairy products are good sources of low-calorie protein. A great option for people who want to lose weight, as well as for athletes, is nonfat cream cheese.
Small portions of 250 grams already make you feel full. And for good reason: 30 g of protein, 10 g of carbohydrates and only 1 g of fat for 170 kcal. Just add a few slices of low-calorie fresh fruit and you have a super healthy snack. If you’re still hungry, take a larger portion, 500 g; with its 340 kcal, it stays relatively low in calories.

Whole-grain foods

Bread, pasta and rice are being somewhat “demonized” today. By choosing whole grain foods, you will certainly be consuming calories. But above all, plenty of fiber, relatively high protein, and important micronutrients.
And since whole-grain bread, pasta and rice have a strong satiating effect, we don’t eat them in huge portions. Thus, the total number of calories consumed remains reasonable. Thus, we can choose 60 grams of raw rice for the main meal, providing only 200 kcal, but long-lasting energy and a quick feeling of satiety.
Or why not choose bread made from unseasoned flour: a slice of bread made from unseasoned flour weighs about fifty grams, which is about one hundred calories. A breakfast consisting of three slices of wholemeal bread and their low-calorie accompaniment (as a spread or in the form of slices of meat or cheese) is not even 500 kcal, but allows you to get through to lunch without problems.

Calorie-free foods

There are some. They are mostly beverages: besides water, black coffee and unsweetened tea contain very few calories, if any at all. There are also so-called “light” drinks, the energy value of which is close to 0 kcal.
Other foods containing very few calories are also liquid foods. First of all, these are diluted soups, as well as broths.
Apart from these drinks and soups, it is impossible to find other foods that do not contain calories (except salt): calories, as we mentioned earlier, come from macronutrients.
In the process of digestion, the body needs energy, and therefore calories. In order to digest some foods with very low calorie content, the body needs more energy than is delivered by that food.

What can you do?

Try to cook at home or eat where you are sure that they cook like at home. And for your menu to be varied and delicious – use the recipes from our website. Each recipe is written with love and care for your health.