Have you ever wondered what happens in your body after you finish an enjoyable meal? Your body digests the food and breaks everything down to produce energy. A final product it uses for its different functions. This energy can be measured in units called calories (Reference).

Foods from all groups, like carbohydrates, proteins, and fat, all provide a certain amount of calories. However, some food groups are richer in calories than others, and portion sizes determine the number of calories available (Reference).

How many calories do I need?

Our bodies require a certain amount of calories daily to function correctly. It differs depending on weight, height, age, and everyday activity levels. For example, let’s take a 30-year-old woman who weighs 150 pounds and is 5 feet 5 inches tall. Below are her estimated caloric needs based on her activity level (Mayo Clinic).

Notice the significant differences in the required calories for this lady based on her physical activities!

How do I gain weight?

Generally, there are two main ways in which you can gain weight. Firstly, if you take in extra calories, your body will find a way to deal with it and usually tries to hold on to it by storing it as fat. Consequently, you can find yourself gaining weight (Reference).

Suppose the person in the example above is usually inactive and consumes 2000 calories worth of food daily. In that case, their body will store the extra calories as fat. If she continues to do this consistently, she will gain significant weight in the long run based on the net calories accumulated daily.

Secondly, the composition of your food, especially the kind of carbohydrates you consume, may affect your body weight. Highly processed carbohydrates, for example, have been shown to increase the release of Insulin, which will promote fat deposition and make you feel more hungry and less active afterward (Reference).

Studies have shown that consuming liquid carbohydrates such as soda and juices has an even higher effect on weight gain (Reference). So, yes, you can gain weight not only from excess calories but also based on what is in your diet. 

How many calories are in my food?

As mentioned above, various food groups provide different amounts of calories per serving. For example, fatty foods and oils offer more calories per serving compared to carbohydrates and proteins. Below are the calories in some of the common foods, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The table above shows you the number of calories in different food types. The idea here is to help you get more interested in what you eat and how that affects your health. 

The bottom line

For the most part, you don’t have to know the number of calories in all food items. However, it is essential that you observe what you eat and estimate the number of calories you will end up with. There are many online apps and calorie reference tables that you can use to count them in your food. Once you do that several times, you will get the hang of it and can easily estimate the amount. Remember that nobody expects you to measure everything you eat; it is impractical. Still, you can use these tools to give you an idea of how much you consume at each meal. 

Generally, the type of food will affect how many calories you consume at the end of the day. For example, you can plan to eat salad for a light lunch. Still, it may be more than light if that includes 3 tsp of olive oil and several avocado slices with a sprinkle of cashew nuts! Even though it is a healthy meal, it is still calorie dense. In that case, consider this as you plan your next meal and physical activities for that day. 

There you have it! You need basic knowledge about calories and apply it daily to decide what to eat. It will help you to stay on top of your game in weight management and help you to achieve and maintain healthy body weight.