How to calculate for a food serving portion calories

• Search for a recipe of said food
• Calculate for the calories contained in each ingredient (use nutritional Web site such as www.calorieking.com/ )
• Sum up total calories contained in all ingredients
• Divide the total calories in the recipe by its number of serving to get the calories per serving.

Tips for Feeling Good, Looking Good & Living well

Calories: How many do you need?

Calories measure the amount of energy that is supplied by carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in food. The energy supplied by food is needed for vital body functions like growth, movement, and thought.

A weight gain results when the number of calories consumed is greater than the number of calories used. When the number of calories consumed is less than the number of calories used, there is weight loss. There is no weight change when calories consumed equals calories used. Each person's energy balance is directly related to a combination of their behaviors, environment, and genetics.

Food labels identify the amount of calories and nutrients per serving. But how many calories do you need to fuel your daily activities? The National Academy of Sciences makes the following daily calorie recommendations:

• 1,600 calories is about right for many sedentary women and some older adults
• 2,200 calories is about right for most children, teenage girls, active women, and many sedentary men (Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may need somewhat more.)
• 2,800 calories is about right for teenage boys, many active men, and some very active women

Excess calorie consumption plays a major role in being overweight. The convenience of fast food restaurants, pre-packaged foods, and soft drinks affect our food choices. These are likely to be high in fat and calories. Large portion servings also increase caloric consumption. People who do not know the basics about nutrition or understand food labels are less likely to make healthy food choices. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are the major nutrient components of the diet. Carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram, while fats contribute 9 calories per gram. Food choices and food preparation effect the amount of calories we consume. Most Americans follow meal plans that are much too high in fat. A diet low in fat will reduce the risk for getting certain diseases and help maintain a healthy weight. To lower fat intake, choose plenty of whole grain products, vegetables, and fruits that provide needed vitamins, minerals, fiber, and complex carbohydrates.

Keep the fat content of your foods to 30 percent or less. The total grams of fat for a 1,600 calorie diet would be 53, for a 2,200 calorie diet the total would be 73, and for a 2,800 calorie diet the total would be 93. Therefore, for a 30 percent fat diet, 837 calories of a 2,200 calorie diet may be fat calories. Counting fat grams has become popular. To determine the fat in the food you eat in terms of fat grams, read the food package label. It will tell you how many grams of fat and what kinds of fats are in each serving.

If there is a balance between your caloric intake and your activity level, you should maintain your weight. If your caloric intake increases and your activity level does not, you will probably gain weight. If you eat fewer calories and increase your activity level, you should lose weight.

Minimum Daily Calorie intake

When reducing calories:

Try to gradually lower calories. A sudden drop (such as 500 calories or more) can cause your metabolism to slow.

Eating to Lose Weight, Gain Weight, or Maintain Weight?

We’ll use the 2,000-calorie recommendation as a jumping-off point. If you’re trying to lose weight, you should subtract up to 500 calories per day---since 3,500 calories is equal to a pound of fat, this will yield one pound a week in fat loss. (1—2 pounds per week is the rate agreed upon by fitness and nutrition experts as ideal for long-term success.) So, if you’re attempting to lose weight, start with 1,500 calories, if you’re looking to maintain your weight, stick with 2,000 calories, and if you’re trying to gain weight, start with 2,500 calories.

However, if you’re also working out regularly, remember that you’re also burning additional calories through exercise and therefore require extra energy. If your workouts are particularly intense, you may need to increase your number by 50 or 100 calories just to get through them.

Strength Training More Than Twice a Week?

Every pound of muscle gained through resistance training increases your resting metabolic rate by 35—50 calories per day (a number, though controversial, that is still agreed upon by many health experts). This may mean you can allow yourself a slight bump in calories if you are consistently strength training 3 or more times per week. This is not an excuse to eat more, but rather a lifestyle habit to factor into your total calorie burn---it means you’re active, and therefore will require more calories than a person who is sedentary.

5’1”, 6’3”, or Somewhere in Between?

Perhaps more than anything else, your size dictates how many calories you burn daily. A 6-foot-tall, 200-pound person burns more calories than a 5-foot-tall, 100-pound person. Period. It takes more energy, or calories, to move a 200-pound body around whether that person is overweight or lean. So, if you’re very petite and trying to lose weight, 1,500 calories may be too many. Likewise, if you’re very tall, it might not be enough. Assume the 2,000-calorie recommendation from Cooking Light is for an average woman of around 150 pounds and adjust accordingly.

Remember that these are just estimates and that caloric needs vary from person to person. You may need to exercise a little trial and error: determine your starting number based on your age and gender, and then decide whether you want to lose, maintain, or gain weight. Keep a food journal to ensure that your calorie consumption matches that goal number, and then adjust as you go based on your workout habits and results. If you have a large amount of weight to lose or are still uncertain, consult an expert to calculate your exact calorie needs.

K Calories/hour for Type of Exercise 

Sleeping 55
Eating 85
Sewing 85
Knitting 85
Sitting 85
Standing 100
Driving 110
Office Work 140
Housework 160+

Golf, with trolley 180
Golf, without trolley 240
Gardening, planting 250
Dancing, ballroom 260
Walking, 3mph 280
Table Tennis 290
Gardening, hoeing 350
Tennis 350+
Water Aerobics 400

Skating/blading 420+
Dancing, aerobic 420+
Aerobics 450+
Bicycling, moderate 450+
Jogging, 5mph 500
Gardening, digging 500
Swimming, active 500+
Cross country ski machine 500+
Hiking 500+

Step Aerobics 550+
Rowing 550+
Power Walking 600+
Cycling, studio 650
Squash 650+
Skipping rope 700+
Running 700+

Burning fat vs. burning calories

Research shows aerobic activity done at a low to moderate intensity actually burns more stored fat, than if exercising at a higher intensity. Fat is a slow burning energy source utilized during longer bouts of cardio exercise. People interested in dropping pounds should perform 60 to 90 minutes of cardio, according to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans by the USDA. The amount of fat you burn has little to do with your choice of aerobic exercise, and everything to do with the amount of time you devote to sustainable cardiovascular exercise. 

To ensure you’re exercising enough, you’ll first need to determine your target heart rate zone. Known as the Karvonen Formula, it provides the baseline of your training zones, which range from 50 percent to 70 percent for fat loss. 

The equation:

• Subtract 220 minus your age =  Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)
• Now, subtract your MHR from your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) = Heart Rate Reserve
• Multiply your HRR by 50%, then add RHR = lower training range
• Multiply your HRR by 70%, then add RHR = moderate training range
• Multiply your HRR by 70%, then add RHR = higher training range

(Get your RHR by locating your pulse at rest, count the number of times your heart beats during 30 seconds, and multiply that number by 2)

Although we have already established that exercising at a lower intensity burns more fat calories than carbohydrates, the overall total calories burned is greater at a higher intensity.

To burn calories, you will need to exercise harder at a moderate to higher intensity of 75 – 85 percent of your maximum heart rate. According to the Karvonen Formula (above), a greater number of calories are used in 30 minutes than 60 minutes of fat burning.

When deciding on methods to burn fat and burn calories it all starts with you. It depends on your body weight, fitness level, metabolism, muscle development and gender.

Burning fat vs. burning carbohydrate

During exercise and physical activity, the primary fuels used by muscles are carbohydrate and fat. When mild exercise is performed there is a tendency to burn relatively more fat and less glucose, but as exercise becomes more intense, a higher fraction of the energy demands of the muscle are supplied by glucose, until at the highest intensities almost only carbohydrates are used. Is this shift in fuel source a property of the muscle itself, or does it represent the interplay between what is happening in the muscle and the exercise-related responses in the rest of the body?

The study, performed at the Copenhagen Muscle Research Center at the University of Copenhagen, examined muscle fuel utilization in response to graded exercise performed with only one leg. Nine healthy males performed one-leg exercise at 25, 45, and 85% of maximal workload. Their results showed that, when only a small mass of muscle is contracting, and blood flow and oxygen supply are not limited by central circulatory capacity, the shift in fuel source from fat to glucose as exercise intensity increases does not occur.

Helge et al.'s findings show that the adaptations in the rest of the body are the key to this fuel source shift during whole body exercise. They also help scientists understand why athletes "hit the wall" during events like the marathon, and they have implications for the adaptations made in middle-aged adults who are using exercise to prevent or treat conditions like diabetes and obesity. If the mechanisms can be fully understood, it may be possible to develop agents that allow fat oxidation to be maintained even during intense exercise with a large muscle mass.

Calorie Intake in Female-Headed and Male-Headed Households in Vietnam