Calories: All You Need To Know

• What is a calorie?
A calorie is a unit of energy that measures the amount of energy contributed by food to your body. A calorie is also understood as a measure of heat (energy) produced when food is being processed during metabolism in the body.

• Good calories v/s Bad calories
Good calories are contributed by foods that give you energy as well as nutrition. E.g. a big guava contains 100 calories, but it also stores minerals and vitamins. A small packet of potato chips, on the other hand will give you 200 calories and no essential nutrients.

• Does gaining calories mean gaining weight?
Weight gain is determined by the total number of calories consumed, as against the total number of calories burned/ used for energy. If you consume more calories than you burn through exercise or physical activity, the body stores the excess calories as fat, resulting in those extra unwanted kilos.

• How do excess calories affect us?
Living in a modern- day lifestyle with erratic food habits, one tends to consume more calories than what their body needs. And before one realizes, the excess calories have already been converted into and stored as fat cells in the body. This results in unnecessary weight gain, unsightly bulges and worst of all, some quits dangerous and avoidable health problems such as high cholesterol, heart diseases and obesity.

• Keep the calories under control
The key to a longer and healthier life is to keep calorie intake under control. Getting rid of those extra calories is not as difficult as one thinks. A few tips tat can help you burn calories without making big changes in the lifestyle are;

o Take stairs instead of lifts.

o Park your car further in your parking area, and walk down.

o Start your day with a 10 minute morning exercise.

o Play active sports with your kids.

o Don’t crash diet.