Diet Programs Today

There are two main opinions on this:

• Calories are all that matter and they must be counted.
• Calories don’t matter as much macro-nutrients (i.e. carbs, protein, fats) and so counting is pointless.

Actually both are important. Energy intake and output are measured in calories, but for health and nutrition, the macro-nutrients are equally important. Think about this: If you decided to keep your caloric intake to 1800 calories per day - would you choose to consume nothing but diet soda? Or 100% fat? Probably not. So a balance of macro-nutrients is also important.

If you are trying to lose weight, then calories do count. Depending on your individual body consititution - macronutrient ratios are important to the success of your fat loss program. This is why low-carb diets are successful for some people, and low-fat diets are to others.

adjust your calorie intake first; then look at your nutrient ratios.

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A calorie is a unit of energy, defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water up 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
When applied to food, we say a Calorie but we mean a kilocalorie (1000 calories). The number of Calories gives us an idea of the potential energy that we intake when we eat a particular food. This can easily be calculated with the following formula:

• 1 gram of Protein* = 4 Calories
• 1 gram of Carbohydrate* = 4 Calories
• 1 gram of Fat* = 9 Calories
• 1 gram of Alcohol = 7 Calories

Therefore Calories can be calculated simply by knowing the amount of these three building blocks* in the food.

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