Balancing Calories

Anyone who is involved in health and fitness will be well aware that nutrition is one of the most important aspects, if not the most important. No matter how many hours you spend in the gym, how far you run on the treadmill, how much weight you lift, you simply won't see the results you're looking for if you don't have a sound nutritional plan.

One of the most important things that an individual should do in regards to nutrition is to make sure that their calories are balanced; it's okay eating all the right foods and staying away from junk foods but eating too much food – even if it's healthy – could result in a negative outcome. With this in mind, we're going to talk about how you can balance you calories and make sure that you are eating the right amount to keep yourself at a healthy weight.

The Caloric Balancing Equation

The caloric balance equation is simple. Being 'in balance' simply refers to eating the right amount of calories that your body will burn throughout the day thus consuming the same amount that you burn and maintain your weight. Being 'over balance' would refer to eating at a caloric excess meaning that you would be eating more than your body is burning and thus you would gain weight. Lastly, being 'below balance' would simply refer to consuming so little calories that your body is burning more throughout the day and thus weight loss will be imminent.

We can use this equation to figure out whether we are on track to reach our goals or not. If you are looking to lose weight then it's safe to say that you should be eating at a caloric deficit and thus be 'under balance'.

Recommended Physical Activity Level

There are governing bodies which exist that tell us how much exercise we should be getting every day, these are just recommended amounts but they are good guidelines to follow. The recommended amounts will vary mostly depending on your age and gender, however you should also take your body composition into account, and let's not forget your nutrition – if you eat more you should be exercising more!

If you are still a child/teenager and between the ages of 7 and 17 then you will be recommended to get a lot of activity as you are still growing and your energy expenditure is a lot different compared to that of an adult. It is recommended that you get approximately 60 minutes (1 hour) of physical activity every day but this is easy for younger people to do and you are probably already surpassing this level.

The recommended daily allowance for an adult isn't as strenuous – it is recommended that you have at least 2 hours and 30 minutes of activity every week that is low intensity i.e. jogging or a brisk walk. In addition to this, you will also want to do approximately 1 hour of high-intensity training per week.

For an older person the recommended daily level will be the same as a regular adult, but this may differ slightly if you have any limiting health conditions or are unable to exercise, you should check up with your doctor just to make sure.

Questions about Calories

Calories play a big part in our body composition and they are definitely a factor which should be taken into strong consideration. There are many questions that one might have about calories such as:

Q: How many calories are in different types of foods?
A: The caloric makeup of your food will be determined by the macro nutrients in the food. For example, a gram of protein is 4 calories, a gram of carbohydrates is 4 calories, a gram of fat is 9 calories and a gram of alcohol is 7 calories.

Q: How can I limit my calories to lose weight?
A: You should work out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and eat slightly below this number. For example if your BMR works out at 2,500 then you might want to reduce your daily food intake to 2,300 calories.

Food Diary

A great way to stay on track and ensure that you are eating the right amounts is to keep a food diary. This doesn't have to be anything specific or advanced but you do have to keep track of what time you eat, what foods you eat, and of course how much you eat. This is great because it allows you to see where you are going wrong and why you aren't achieving your goals.