Using calories to your advantage.

It is a massive advantage if you know how many calories you should be having rather than just guessing the number of calories you are eating or need in any fat loss or weight gain journey.

• Do you have to count calories forever? No
• Are there easy ways of doing it? Yes

With my client's I give them all the tools they need to understand how to track calories and the importance of doing it, does it open their eyes the first time they use it? Hell Yessss.

Why does it open people eyes when they track calories for the first time? Well, most of the time it's because of the unknown, not knowing how many calories they should be eating and how many calories are in their favourite foods and snacks etc.

It does open your eyes when you find out that your favourite snack is half your daily intake of calories. 

??Let's do what I always do and let's break it down:

??Firstly, What is a calorie? Well, when people talk about the calories in food, it means a calorie is a unit of measurement but it doesn't measure weight or length. A calorie is a unit of energy. When you hear something contains 100 calories, it's a way of describing how much energy your body could get from eating or drinking it.

??How many calories do I need a day? When we eat and drink more calories than we use up, our bodies store the excess as body fat. If this continues, over time we may put on weight. As a guide, an average man needs around 2,500kcal (10,500kJ) a day to maintain healthy body weight. For an average woman, that figure is around 2,000kcal (8,400kJ) a day.

These values can vary depending on age, size and levels of physical activity, among other factors.

A calorie calculator is an easy way of working this out: https://www.version2fitness.com/calorie-calculator

??What is the difference between KCAL and kJ? The calorie content is often given in kcals, which is short for kilocalories. And also in kJ, which is short for kilojoules. A kilocalorie is another word for what's commonly called a calorie, so 1,000 calories will be written as 1,000kcals. Kilojoules are the metric measurement of calories.

??How do I lose or gain weight using calories? As you now know the calories are simply a measure of energy.

• To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than you expend. 

Calories In (More) Vs Calories Out (Less)

• Conversely, you lose weight if you use more calories than you consume.

Calories In (Less) VS Calories Out (More)

??How can I count my calories? I recommend a few different apps, but the two main ones I use is My Fitness Pal and Fit Bit, both very simple to use and allow you to do everything from your phone, you will be able to add the foods you eat and see the breakdown of your food intake in calories and macros.

Of course, all of the above is just a simple break down of calories and other facts could come into play if you are eating the correct amount of calories but still unable to lose or gain weight, like water, types of food etc.

With all this said, you should now understand why we can use calories to our advantage. There will be no stopping you now achieving your goals because of your better understanding of what is a calorie and how calories work.

So if you are just starting out or still in the thinking phase but have no idea how to take that first step, then please send me a message and let us take that first step together.

Happy Friday everyone.

Coach Bruno

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