Calories from Protein, Carbs and Fat

Calories from Protein, Carbs and Fat

Foods that we eat contain calories from different nutrients. Pick up any packaged food item at the grocery and read the nutrition label. The nutrition facts will tell you not only how many calories the food contains but also how many calories of protein, carbohydrates and fat it has.

Do you want to know how many calories are in every gram of protein, carbohydrates and fat? Every gram of protein has 4 calories. Every gram of carbohydrates has 4, as well. And every gram of fat contains 9 calories. So if you were to eat something that has all three of them, you can look at the nutrition label and figure out how many calories each of the three is bringing in.

Let’s take for example 100 grams of bacon. It roughly contains 37 grams of protein, 2 grams of carbohydrates and 42 grams of fat. The remaining grams come from cholesterol, sodium, calcium and potassium. If we focus only on the grams from protein, carbohydrates and fat, we can calculate the calories as such:

(37 g protein x 4) + (2 g carbs x 4) + (42 g fat x 9) = 148 + 8 + 378 cals = 534 cals

Thus, 100 grams of bacon, which is just a little less than one serving, already contains 534 calories. And that number doesn’t even include the calories from grams outside of protein, carbohydrates and fat. For most people, 534 calories already make one-third or one-fourth of the daily amount of calories they need in order to maintain weight. A serving of bacon already makes one-third or one-fourth of the daily amount of calories for weight maintenance.

Calories also increase blood sugar which refers to the glucose in the bloodstream. This glucose produces the energy we need to perform our daily activities. The level of glucose should always be brought back to normal, a task that insulin from the pancreas is responsible for. People suffering from diabetes do not have enough insulin to control their glucose level. This is why it is even harder for them to manage their calorie intake.   Their diet should contain large amounts of dietary fiber. They should decrease their intake of fat and carbohydrates, too.

But diabetic or not, we all have to be mindful of what we eat. We should be aware of the amount of calories we consume per meal. Exercise should be a regular part of our schedule. Through exercise, we burn calories to maintain or lose weight.

Calories truly cannot be ignored. They are in everything we eat and they have an impact on our health and well-being. If you want to be fit and healthy, start minding your calories today. Be aware of how many calories your meals are giving you and set a goal for yourself. Start eating healthy today.

Related Posts

How to Use Nutritional Labels
Nutrition and The 7 Rules to Healthy Eating
Your Diet / Eating Personality
Fun Fitness Questionnaire
The Link Between Comfort Food, Eating Disorder, And Emotional Eating
Foods That Boost Your Metabolism

Popularity: 54% [?]