Calories aren’t the scary monsters that hide under our beds at night, but some of us find ourselves worrying about calories all the same. With all of the science and trends surrounding weight loss and healthy eating, it can be confusing to understand exactly what a calorie is and what impact it has on your body. FitClub wants you to understand healthy living, so let’s take a closer look at those tiny scary monsters that we’re all worried about.

Definition

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Medical News Today defines “calorie” as, “a unit of energy.” The definition is simple, but the logic is slightly more complicated. Why then does an apple have fewer units of energy than a pizza?

Are all calories created equally?
No! Think about the calories you’ve already consumed today. There were calories in the piece of fruit that you had for a mid-day snack. Those calories delivered necessary nutrients to your body to strengthen your immune system, repair your muscle tissue, and support muscle growth. There are also calories in your sugary coffee drink which do not have a positive nutritional benefit.

The US Government believes that the number one source of empty calories in America is in sugary drinks, and estimates that Americans consume 363 empty calories everyday in the form of sugary drinks like soda, sugared coffee, or sugared juices. However, other sources of empty calories include foods like pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, and donuts.

Eliminating empty calories from your diet allows you to receive maximum nutritional value from the calories you eat daily without leading to excessive hunger throughout the day. Substitute water for soda, or try black coffee without sugar to free up room in your diet for more nutritionally satisfying calories.

How many do you need?
All of us have different caloric needs, determined by our age, weight, activity level and goals. If you’re goal is to lose weight, your calorie needs will be different than if your goal is to maintain your weight. Knowing your optimal caloric needs to hit your goals is essential. Don’t let the mathematical formulas scare you.

You can get an estimate of the calories your body needs to achieve your goals at WebMD. Then talk to the FitClub experts to determine whether your goals are healthy and your calorie demands reasonable. Eating too few or too many calories both have a detrimental effect on reaching your health goals.

Once you know your caloric needs, keep track. There are many apps available for phones and computers that make tracking your daily calories easy and efficient. If you’re more comfortable with a pen and paper, that will do just as well. Read the labels on your foods and make sure that you pay attention to the serving size when calculating how many calories your meal really contains.

Don’t let calories be confusing! Eat nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables throughout the day to avoid relying on empty calories to keep you satisfied. Take advantage of the knowledge of the FitClub staff and share your questions in the comments below. Together we can figure it out and achieve our goals!