CALORIES

introduction

It owes its name Calories the Latin name calor and translate as warmth. The calories serve as a unit of measurement for the energy contained in food, which the human body in the nutrition are fed. The actual unit is in Joules or. Kilojoules stated, but could not prevail in parlance against the calories.

The EU guidelines there for the Nutritional labeling both the specification of the kilocalories and the kilojoules.
From January 1st, 2010, the specification of kilocalories should no longer be permitted. Difficulties often arise in linguistic usage with regard to the term calorie / gram calorie or kilocalorie. One kilo calorie (kcal) correspond to 1000 calories (cal). The stated values on the food always relate to kilocalories (kcal). The amount of calories ingested (kilos) through food says nothing about its value, only about the energy it contains.

more to:

Fats

carbohydrates

protein

What is a calorie?

A calorie is the amount of thermal energy required to heat one gram of water by 1 Kelvin. However, this value is temperature-dependent, dependent on the water composition and the ambient pressure. Water has a specific heat capacity of approx. 4.18 kJ / (kg · K) at 30-50 ° C. The amount that is required to heat 1 gram of air-free water from 14.5 ° C to 15.5 ° C is approx. 1 cal and corresponds to around 4.18 joules (J).

One kilocalorie / hour (kcal / h) corresponds to 0.00158PS. Conversely, a PS corresponds to 632.415 kcal / h.

What should you watch out for with calories?

1 kg pure body fat contain an energy value of 7000 kcal. In order to burn a kilo of body fat (see Fat burning), you would have to burn 7000 kcal more than is consumed with food. However, the problem is that the body would much rather burn carbohydrates than fats. The man's basal metabolic rate varies depending on his height, body weight, body fat percentage, occupational activity, sporting activity, external conditions, etc. Significant interpersonal general statements regarding the basal metabolic rate are therefore not possible. However, men burn because of the increased Muscle mass more every day Calories in basal metabolic rate than women. Fats are more energetic than proteins, so one gram of fat contains 9 kilocalories, whereas carbohydrates and protein contain only 4 kilocalories. Fats are therefore more energetic than carbohydrates, but are more difficult to convert into energy and are therefore only burned with moderate physical activity.

Why is knowing about calories for weight loss so important.

In a nutshell, the body needs to have a negative energy balance in order to lose weight. The proportion of calories consumed must be lower than the proportion that is burned. A deficit of 1000 to 2000 kilocalories per day can lead to the loss of several kilograms per week. However, the body can adapt to this energetic deficiency very well and accordingly puts the basal metabolic rate on the back burner, which ultimately has the opposite effect. (please refer Jojo effect). 0.5 kilograms of weight loss per week is a healthy figure, guarantees long-term fat burning and ultimately leads to the hoped-for goal.

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