Calorie Count in Food: What You Should Know

Many people are ready to follow the latest diet fad, especially if it promises rapid weight loss.

Keto diet, Atkins diet, and low-carb diet are just to name a few of the many diet programs available. One of the most known is the low-calorie diet.

Being on a low-calorie diet means that you usually consume around 800 and 1,500 calories per day. But how do you really know the calorie count in your food?

Calorie provides energy through the food you consume. This is what you burn when you exercise.

Registered dietitian Samantha Cassetty, a weight-loss expert in New York City, said that your calorie needs depend on several factors such as age, activity, levels, if you are pregnant or nursing.

Cassetty said that you can factor in whether you want to lose weight, gain weight, or maintain the current weight that you have right now.

She said that men requires more calorie than women because their body sizes are larger and they have greater muscle mass.

"Men need up to 3,000 calories, while most women need in the range of 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day," Cassetty was quoted in a report.

Experts said that it is not advised to eat below 1,200 calories a day unless you are working and consulting with a medical professional.

"It would be really difficult to meet your nutrient needs at 1,200 calories, and you might have a hard time feeling satisfied with that few calories," notes Cassetty.

Calorie Counts in Food

Food manufacturers use two methods to count calories in your food. The 4-4-9 method, which says that a protein or carbohydrate contains four calories per gram.

Fat, on the other hand, has nine calories per gram.

For instance, a packet of instant oatmeal which contains five grams of protein, 27 grams of carbs, and 3 grams of fat. With 4-4-9 method, it would mean that it contains 155 calories.

The other method is the system Atwater formulated. This method considers the amount of energy available for certain foods.

Meanwhile, your supposed to be zero calorie snack is not zero at all. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations said that if a food has fewer than five calories per serving, its nutrition label may list it as zero calories.

Aside from the methods used in counting calories in food, calories might be listed differently on imported foods.

Calories are rounded to the nearest calorie in Europe. Meanwhile, in Canada, if a food contains less than five calories, it is rounded to the nearest calories.

Unless this meets "free of energy" requirements and is labeled with zero calories.

However, experts say that there is far more to being healthy and nutrition that the calorie count in food.

Maya Feller, a registered dietitian in Brooklyn, New York, said that when considering aspects of food, calories are not always on top of the list.

"Going the low-calorie route can leave many people feeling deprived and unsatisfied," Feller was quoted in a report.

Cassetty suggests that instead of focusing on calories, eat mostly whole foods, enjoy generous portions of veggies, and slash processed snack foods in your diet.

Check these out:

Apps & Gadget News: GE's New Device Counts Calories So You Don't Have to

How Coconut Oil, New Heating Process Could Cut Calories in Rice by Half

This Eating Utensil Tells You How Many Calories You Are About to Consume