Calories

Calories have a bad reputation in our society. We're counting calories and cutting calories, as though we've forgotten that calories keep us alive and produce the energy needed to function properly. In addition to considering the quantity of calories, we need to look at the quality of the calories we consume.

What are you getting from your calories?

Calories add up from the amounts of protein, carbohydrate and fat in foods (see separate sections on Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat). Briefly:

Protein helps to build and restore many parts of the body, including muscles, skin, hair, red blood cells, enzymes, hormones, and disease-fighting antibodies.

Carbohydrates are the body's main energy source. Complex carbohydrates provide the most nutrients.

Fat of certain types is essential for proper nerve and hormone function, as well as for building membranes such as skin, blood vessels, and organs.

It's important to make your calories work for you. They should give you as much nutrition and energy as possible. Avoid foods that have primarily "empty" calories. Sugar (including corn syrup and most other sweeteners), refined grain products, such as white flour, and many fats and oils contribute calories without giving you much nutrition. Most "enriched" flours and grains used in cereals and baking restore only part of the nutrients you need. It's much better to eat whole grains and other unprocessed or minimally-processed foods to get the nutrients you need. The sections on Carbohydrates, Protein and Fat give additional information on choosing your foods wisely to get high-quality calories.

How many calories do you need?

Calorie needs vary among individuals. Many meal plans assume 2000 calories per day, but if you are an active male who gets lots of exercise, you probably need more than that. If you are a sedentary female, especially if you are trying to lose weight, you probably need fewer than 2000 calories per day.

Many people eat too many calories and need to cut back. It is the number of calories (of any kind) you eat compared to the energy used in daily activities and exercise that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight.

If you don't know what your calorie intake should be, ask your doctor or dietitian, or visit www.wvda.org/calcs/ for more information.

Balancing your meals

Recommendations vary according to individual needs, but generally 45% to 65% of total daily calories should come from carbohydrates, 10% to 35% from protein, and 20% to 35% from fat.

You probably don't need as much protein as you think. Many nutrition experts suggest limiting the size of your protein (meat, fish, etc.) serving in a meal to 3-4 oz., i.e., the size of a deck of cards.

For an "average" person consuming 2000 calories per day, the recommendation of less than 35% of calories from fat corresponds to under 78 grams of fat per day, or about 25 grams of fat per meal (assuming 3 meals per day). For most people, that's hard to estimate. A deck-of-cards-sized portion of lean meat such as skinless chicken or fish will probably have about one-quarter the recommended amount of fat for the meal. That means you should limit all the other fats in your meal to about 16 grams of fat, which is less than 1½ Tablespoons. This means only small amounts of dressings, butter for flavoring vegetables, oil for sautéing, toppings such as sour cream or cheese, side dishes, and desserts.

The remainder of your meal should consist of healthy types of Carbohydrates such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes. These foods contains lots of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber (which do not contribute to calories) as well as "complex" carbohydrates which digest slowly enough to help stabilize blood sugar levels and keep you feeling satisfied between meals.

You probably do not need to measure and count everything you eat once you know how large your portions sizes should be and which foods to emphasize and which to restrict. Including a wide variety of the healthier foods will help you avoid filling up on the not-so-healthy ones.

In terms of restaurant dining, be aware that portion sizes tend to be large. When you dine out, be careful to choose items that fit the Healthy Dining Nutrition Criteria or plan to share the meal or take some home with you.

In summary, calories do count! Either too many or too few can cause problems, and so can the wrong kind of calories. A balance of "good calories" from the different food types is important to keep up your energy and overall health.