What even are calories? Lets explore together 🤝

The conversation of calories is widely talked about worldwide. In this series we will discuss on how to define a calorie and how we can utilize the information to energize our bodies in the most efficient way.

What is a calorie?

A calorie (with a lowercase “c”) is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C.

A kilocalorie (kcal) is 1,000 of those calories.

When we talk about food and nutrition:

1 kcal = 1 “Calorie” (with an uppercase C) on food labels.

So when you see “200 Calories” on a food package, that really means 200 kilocalories (200,000 small-c calories).

So how many of these "Calories" are recommended according to research and science?

Women

Sedentary: ~1,600–1,800 kcal/day

Moderately active: ~1,800–2,200 kcal/day

Active: ~2,000–2,400 kcal/day

Men

Sedentary: ~2,000–2,400 kcal/day

Moderately active: ~2,200–2,800 kcal/day

Active: ~2,600–3,000+ kcal/day

It is best practice to maintain the minimum caloric intake in accordance to category along with a active lifestyle to maintain muscle mass while reaching your goals.