A calorie is a unit that measures energy. Energy helps our body to run smoothly; and without it we cannot survive. In case we eat more calories than we expend, intraday, then it results in increase in weight at a snails’ pace. With weight being on the plus side of normal BMI i.e. more than 25, we become a candidate of overweight and vulnerable to some diseases.

As a corollary, we use calories to measure the energy content in numerous food items and beverages we consume. An average woman needs to eat about 2000 calories per day to maintain, and 1500 calories to lose one pound of weight per week; and an average man needs 2500 calories to maintain, and 2000 to lose one pound of weight per week, though the source of the calorie is quintessential.

What is a calorie actually?

Calories are the physical units for measuring heat and energy. The nutritional energy contained in fat, protein and carbohydrates is expressed in kilocalories (kcal or Cal) and makes up your daily caloric intake. Our bodies need the energy provided by these three macronutrients in order to function properly.

All calories are not created equal:

Burning more calories each day than we consume may have been the diet advice from the past, for years in succession. However, as per present considered view by many renowned medical Doctors and Scientists it is not correct. They opine that – Instead, the focus should be on eating whole foods and avoiding processed carbohydrates — like crackers, cookies, or white bread- all being made from white flour.

Before the 1980s, regulations did not require researchers and physicians to declare conflicts of interest before publishing a paper. By not announcing affiliation, research was swayed by money and funding. The companies that fund the research, influenced the research outcome also. That’s why, experts do not agree to the research outcome in many cases.

Does fat and cholesterol a bad dietary choice?

A research study funded by the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) in the 1960s wrongly published that cholesterol and fat were the main contributors to weight gain and responsible for an increased risk for heart disease. Resultantly, manufacturers removed fat from the food items during processing process. With fat removed, food lost taste and appeal, so manufacturers added sugar to make it tasty and look good. In continuation, the country’s intake of sugar and processed carbohydrates went up, while our intake of fat went down. Dr. David Ludwig, MD, PhD Endocrinologist in Pediatrics, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, says “Overall, these processed carbohydrates are worse than the fats they replaced.” This is the prime reason that in the last 6 decades we have become addicted to the taste of sugar- a man- made poison. The added sugar consumption increased by 30% between years 19977 to 2010 throughout the world.

Instead of the number of calories, what matters most is the source of the calories coming from the food we eat. Looking only at calories ignores the metabolic effects of each calorie; the source of the calorie affects how you digest it and how you retrieve energy from it.

As per The Journal of the American Medical Association [JAMA] it is found that the doctors involved with the captioned study were in fact paid by the SRF. Their research was tainted due to conflict of interest. The SRF — and thus the doctors paid by the SRF — directly benefited from the results of this 1960s study, and they profited tremendously from the extra sale in sugar sales, while consumers made health decisions on the basis of questionable information and crying all the way to clinics/hospitals.

Good vs. bad calories

Imagine for a moment if you nourished yourself only with pure sugar. If you didn’t consume more calories in sugar than you expended, your weight would remain the same. What would happen to your body though? First, you’d be suffering from some significant nutrient deficits, and therefore your body would not be able to maintain proper functioning. After all, sucrose doesn’t actually provide you with any valuable nutrients. The effects will be visible in your general health, including appearance of your skin and the functioning of your immune system.

To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns each day. Keep a calorie deficit, otherwise your body will not shed weight as desired. As per Dr. Ludwig leading endocrinologist “It was this calorie-focus approach that got us into trouble with the low-fat diet in the first place.

Always remember that food consists of much more than just calories. More importantly, look for the vitamins, minerals and fiber. The test check of a healthy diet is you feel full for 4 hours at least. In case your food intake is loaded with

Simple carbohydrates, you will feel hungry after one hour. You can easily check for yourselves, dear folks.

Let’s compare the calories in some common foods and soft drinks:

Towards good calories, adapt to the principle of ”clean eating” — so give preference to unprocessed foods in the purest forms. This includes things like fruits, vegetables, legumes/beans, nuts, or eggs. You can fill up on these foods without giving much thought to your daily caloric intake limit. Variety amongst these items is key though.

The bad calories can be found in highsugar foods or fast food, which follow exactly the opposite principle. They offer you almost no nutrients, but a ton of empty calories. If you’re trying to maintain your weight, you’ll have to pay attention to your “bad” calorie intake. They only make you feel full temporarily, but usually lead to cravings shortly after. You can enjoy a bad calorie from time to time, but keep it to a minimum.

The American Heart Association recommends 100 calories or less from sugar each day for women, and 150 calories or less from sugar each day for men.

One tablespoon of honey contains 64 calories, which is higher than that of sugar at 49 calories per tablespoon. One table spoon of fructose has calories

Calories coming out of: Carbohydrates or Fat

It is true that fat has more calories [ 9 calories] than carbohydrates [4 calories], Sugar- including fructose, glucose, and lactose- comes under simple carbohydrates. Starch is in complex carbohydrates. Starch is found in foods such as starchy vegetables, whole grains, rice, and breads and cereals. If we go by that logic, a sugary beverage should be better for you than a handful of nuts. That’s just not what the transparent and unbiased studies – at present-have shown us.

Carbohydrates have been categorized as simple or complex in the past. As per Dr. Ludwig, these classifications are misleading. Many doctors are moving away from these narrow categories to the concept of checking the food on the scale: High Glycemic Index and low Glycemic Index. An apple is a simple carbohydrate because it is digested quickly by the body, but fruit is better for you than other simple carbohydrates like chips or crackers. That’s why Dr. Ludwig views the glycemic index as a more accurate measure of a food’s value (good or bad). When something has a low glycemic index, it raises your blood sugar levels slowly, increasing your insulin levels gradually. Please understand that abrupt and continuous release of Insulin – more than required- is the villain that converts the extra intake of glucose into fat and thus increase our weight as this fat is stored in our body.

Excess release of Insulin does the damage not calories alone:

That’s correct. Because too many insulin spikes result in insulin resistance, where your body stops responding to insulin it is producing (also known as type 2 diabetes). High-glycemic foods, on the other hand, cause blood sugar levels and thus insulin to rise quickly, prompting the overproduction of insulin which result in fat storage. Dr Ludwig recommends that we should focus on low-glycemic foods like whole-grain pasta, wheat bread, fruits, beans, and nuts. High-glycemic foods include dates, potatoes, candy, croissants, and scones et al. By choosing the low-glycemic foods and the minimally processed foods, we the people, can lose more weight, feel fuller longer, and remain healthier.

Can you make peace with fat?

We need to look at food differently. Counting calories alone doesn’t work because ultimately it matters where those calories are coming from; this matter more than the number of calories ingested. Dr. Ludwig says, “It was this calorie-focus that got us into trouble with the low-fat diet in the first place.”

So, don’t be afraid to go back to fat. Just make sure it’s the healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, and nuts. Don’t cut out the fat, and don’t make a habit of eating products labeled “fat free. However, this depends on numerous factors. These include age, height, current weight, activities of daily life [ADL] levels, metabolic health and several others.

How calories affect weight?

Calories can affect your weight by increasing it or decreasing it. All considerations aside it can even keep weight at the same level. To lose One pound of weight, one need to burn 3500 calories. So, when we are looking at losing weight we must be sure to burn more calories than we eat. Also, the source of calories matters.

Calorie intake is key

The formula is simple: if you consume fewer calories than you burn, you’ll lose weight. In order to burn 1 kg (2.2 lb.) of fat, you need to burn about 7,000 Cal. What if you consume more calories than you burn? The consequence is weight gain. In this case, the ratio of carbs, protein and fat in your daily caloric intake is irrelevant. Those ratios do, however, determine how you feel, or if you’ll be fighting with cravings two hours after mealtime.

How to Reduce Calorie Intake Without Starving Yourself?

In order to gain weight, more calories need to be entering your body than leaving it. Conversely, you lose weight if more calories leave your body than enter it. By cutting calories without taking the foods you eat into account is usually not a sustainable way to lose weight.

Though it works for some people, the most end up hungry and eventually give up on their diet. For this reason, it’s highly recommended to make a few other permanent changes to help you maintain a calorie deficit in the long term, without feeling starved. Shift on Negative Calorie foods.

Eat Negative Calorie Foods:

Certain foods burn more calories during digestion than what they have in them. These are foods high in fibre and have a low glycaemic index [GI]. Apples, carrots, cucumber and lettuce all are negative calorie foods

We can have as much of these foods as we like without any weight gain, and that’s because digesting these foods takes up more calories than what they inherently contain. Hence, nullifying the calorie addition. This does not mean that these foods do not contain calories but only the fact that your body ends up burning more calories than what you consume. A win-win situation.

Calories are classified in two categories:

negative calories. Empty calories: Empty calories are the ones, which when consumed generate immense number of calories (main sources being fast food and refined sugar). These contain no nutritional value.

Negative calories:

The other, negative calories, come from foods that are nutritious and low on calories. They are great to be added to your diet if you want to lose weight as your body does require bare minimum calories to generate energy and sustain.

High fibre foods come under negative calorie foods. High fibre foods fulfil two purposes. Our body takes longer to digest out fibre from the body, hence they stay in the body and delay the early movement of glucose into blood steam and thereby hunger. Rich in nutrition and extremely low on calories, load your plate with the following delicious foods.

• Celery: Containing barely 16 calories per 100 grams, celery is ranked high among negative calorie foods. Packed with fibre, celery is also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, and folate.

• Berries: Indulge in these sweet and tangy treats with no guilty. Raspberries, blueberries and strawberries contain just 32 calories per half a cup (as per USDA). Known for their anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants, berries are really good for your heart too.

• Grapefruit: Containing about 40 calories per 100 grams, grapefruit is a storehouse of vitamin C, folic acid and potassium along with soluble fibre pectin.

• Carrots: Carrots contain about 41 calories per 100 grams. They are also low in cholesterol and saturated fats which can work wonders if you happen to be struggling with hypertension issues. Along with being a good source of dietary fibre, carrots are also rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese and potassium

• Tomatoes: This fruit contains a minimal of 19 calories per 100 grams. Apart from being a juicy and delicious source of dietary fibre, potassium and vitamin C. it also contains lycopene, an antioxidant known to protect the skin from harmful UV rays. Tomatoes can also prove effective in lowering your cholesterol levels.

• Cucumbers 16 calories per 100 grams! Yes, our favourite salad is that low on calories. Cucumbers are full of minerals, vitamins and electrolytes and are extremely hydrating. It is also known as the classic cooling food which helps maintain the body’s water balance in high temperature days.

Watermelon: Another summer favourite, watermelons contain 30 calories per 100 grams. Watermelons are also rich in lycopene [which gives it red colour] which can help protect the heart. The citrulline in the rind and the flesh of watermelon can also ensure smooth blood flow and enhanced immunity.

Apples: Containing about 50 calories per 100 grams, apple is the fibre-rich snack you must keep in your bag to beat your mid-day hunger pangs. Apples are high in pectin, a type of soluble fibre that encourages weight loss, and releases sugar gradually to help regulate the body’s glucose level. The fibre present in apples also provides relief from constipation. Zucchini Containing as low as 18 calories per 100 grams, zucchini is one of the highly recommended negative calorie foods by the nutritionists. The phytonutrients in Zucchini also promote bowel regularity and aid water balance in the body.

• Broccoli: is plant-based and high in fibre and great calorie burners. Containing barely 34 calories per 100 grams. Broccoli is ranked high amongst superfoods. It is packed with fibres and antioxidants and studies have shown that they may also have certain anticancer properties.

Lettuce: Containing only 6 calories per 100 grams, lettuce is not only low in calories but it is also rich in fibre, vitamin B, folic acid, and manganese. In case we load the aforesaid lowcalorie foods in our daily food regime, it can really help, remember that it is equally essential to maintain a balanced diet with all-round nutrition.It’s highly recommended to use a calorie counter for at least a few days [seek Google help], to see how many calories, carbs, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals you’re actually eating.

Conclusion:

How many calories you need per day, depends on whether you want to maintain, lose or gain weight, as well as various factors such as your gender, age, height, current weight, work activity levels and metabolic health to quote a few Reducing calories does not have to mean starving yourself. A few simple diet and lifestyle changes like exercise, proper hydration[2000ml] and increased protein and reduced carb intake can help you lose weight and feel satisfied. You can also go to five to two diets a week pattern of eating by consulting your Physician. It is a diet that involves eating normally for five days out of a seven-day period and greatly restricting the amount of food eaten on the other two days. So are you …. …

On your mark, get set, go!

Prof. Surinder Kochhar (Shaun)
LPN, FCN, M.Com, CAIIB, DIM A freelance writer with 36 Years Exp. A Health Coach of University of Victoria