A calorie, what exactly is it?
Kilocalories are used to measure the energy you consume and that your body needs in order to function. Scientists define kilocalories as the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one litre of water by one degree Celsius. The calorie content of a food tells us about the energy that product is going to provide you with.
The body continuously burns calories to carry out its vital functions (breathing, thinking, sleeping) but also during physical effort such as walking. It is important to meet your energy needs throughout the day with regular dietary calorie intakes. "How do I know whether I am eating too many or too few calories?" The energy the body needs depends on several parameters, the main ones being age, sex, weight, height and level of physical activity. When you eat an amount of food that provides you with as much energy as you burn during the day, you are in a state of balance. You then maintain weight homeostasis, meaning that your weight stays stable because all the calories absorbed have been expended.
In a situation where calorie intake is greater than daily energy expenditure, the nutrients absorbed in excess are stored either:
- In the muscles, in the form of glycogen and/or muscle proteins depending on physical activity, but in limited quantities
- In the adipose tissues in the form of triglycerides, known as body fat, which are responsible for weight gain.
Conversely, in the case where energy expenditure exceeds calorie intake, you are in a situation of calorie deficit, which will lead to weight loss.
Reminder.
A calorie is a unit of measurement of energy. All foods contain calories. However, although all foods contain calories, they do not all have the same calorie content. This difference in the energy value of foods is explained by the macronutrients that make them up.
What are the calories in our foods?
Foods are made up, for the most part, of macronutrients: carbohydrates, lipids and proteins. They are all sources of calories, but the amount each one contains varies.
- Carbohydrates: 4 kcal per gram
- Lipids: 9 kcal per gram
- Proteins: 4 kcal per gram
That is a total of 386 kcal, the rest being provided by fibre, which is slightly energetic.
1. Carbohydrates.
Too casually referred to as sugars, carbohydrates are an important source of energy that is easily used by your body. They are the fuels essential to your body.
There are two types of carbohydrates:
- Simple carbohydrates: They are a source of energy that is quickly usable by the body.
→ Sugar, honey, syrup, sweets, cans of fizzy drink, fruit, etc.
- Complex carbohydrates: They are made up of a long chain of sub-units. In order to be absorbed, the body has to break the chain to separate these sub-units and use them. This process slows down digestion, and their slow assimilation therefore limits blood sugar spikes.
→ Cereal products (oat flakes, rice), pulses (peas, soya), bread (white bread, wholemeal, etc.), etc.
For a daily calorie intake of 2,000 kcal per day, ANSES (the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety) recommends eating between 200 and 275 g of carbohydrates per day.
2. Proteins.
Present in every cell of our body, they play a crucial role in your growth, in the building and renewal of your muscles, your keratin structures (hair, body hair and nails), your bone matrix and your skin. "Amino acids are the beads of a necklace that form the protein." When you eat these foods, your body breaks proteins down into amino acids, the components of the protein. There are 20 amino acids in all, 9 of which are described as essential. The latter cannot be synthesised by the body, so they must necessarily be supplied by the diet.
There are two sources of protein: animal proteins and plant proteins.
- Animal proteins (meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, etc.) contain all the amino acids in large quantities.
- Plant proteins come from cereals (oats, rice, etc.) as well as from pulses (peas, soya, etc.). These proteins can be deficient in certain essential amino acids, which is why we combine pulses and cereals in our O.K.R recipes to guarantee them an optimal amino acid content.
ANSES recommends eating between 50 and 100 g of protein per day for a daily calorie intake of 2,000 kcal.
3. Lipids.
Commonly called "fats", lipids have a bad reputation because they are considered responsible for many illnesses (obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, etc.). However, depending on the type of lipid, they are just as important as the other nutrients because, as well as being very good sources of energy, they are part of the make-up of elements essential to the proper functioning of your body. The energy provided by lipids is stored in your body in the form of triglycerides. Although useful during endurance effort, their accumulation can prove harmful and be a factor responsible for obesity.
There are different types of fatty acids within the lipid family:
- Saturated fatty acids: an important source of energy, it is nonetheless recommended to eat them in moderation as they can raise the level of bad cholesterol.
→ Butter, cream, palm oil, coconut, chocolate, etc.
- Monounsaturated fatty acids: also known as omega-9 and often considered good lipids because they reduce the risks of cardiovascular disease.
→ Oilseeds, olive oil, avocado, etc.
Polyunsaturated fatty acids: also called omega-3 and omega-6, these are fatty acids essential to the proper functioning of the cardiovascular system.
→ Omega-3: oily fish (salmon, mackerel), walnuts, hemp seeds, linseeds, almonds, etc.
→ Omega-6: sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashew nuts, etc.
Reminder.
Foods are made up of macronutrients, sources of energy, essential to the proper functioning of our body: carbohydrates: 4 kcal per gram lipids: 9 kcal per gram proteins: 4 kcal per gram According to ANSES, and for an average need of 2,000 kcal per day, it is recommended to eat daily: 200 to 275 g of carbohydrates 70 to 90 g of lipids 50 to 100 g of proteins.
Are all calories equal?
"If I eat 200 calories of chocolate, is it the same as eating 200 calories of rice?" You will get the same amount of energy whether you eat 200 calories of rice or 200 calories of chocolate. However, as this energy is provided by different nutrients, the nutritional values will not be the same and you will not derive the same benefits from them. Chocolate provides more sugar, more lipids and has a high glycaemic index which will generate energy over a short period shortly after it is absorbed but will not give you a lasting feeling of satiety. Conversely, rice will provide more complex carbohydrates and fibre, thereby reducing the speed of absorption of these nutrients and so providing a feeling of satiety that will last longer. That does not mean you have to stop eating chocolate and eat only rice. However, regarding your daily calorie needs, you have to be aware of this difference in order to adopt a balanced, healthy and varied diet that supplies your body with all the nutrients it needs. You should not rely solely on the energy content (calories) of foods but also on their nutritional composition. But what does 2,000 calories actually represent?
Here, you highlight that eating 2,000 kcal of yoghurt or fizzy drink does not provide you with all the nutrients you need even if it covers your daily calorie intake, unlike O.K.R products, which are nutritionally balanced.
Reminder.
Not all calories are equal; you have to be aware of the type of nutrients you are eating to manage your diet better
Whether you are looking to slim down, to get back to your ideal weight, to gain weight, to build muscle mass or to maintain your weight, it is important to be aware of the calorie value but also of the nutritional quality of the foods you eat. This nutritional information allows you to optimise the number of calories per day that you eat as well as your nutritional intake through a healthy, varied and balanced diet. It is important to think of diet as a whole and not to demonise foods. They all have a role to play in our dietary balance and our health.
How do you work out the calories in your meal?
There are two ways to count your calories. It is possible to obtain the number of calories in a meal by calculating the exact quantity in grams of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and fibre contained in the foods. Knowing that 1 g of carbohydrates and proteins provides 4 kcal, 9 kcal for 1 g of lipids and 2 kcal for 1 g of fibre, you simply have to multiply in order to obtain the number of calories your meal provides you with. For example, O.K.R ready-to-drink shakes provide on average 430 calories. On average, there are 15 g of protein, i.e. 15 × 4 = 60 kcal provided by the protein. 15 g of lipids, i.e. 135 kcal of lipids, 55 g of carbohydrates, i.e. 220 kcal of carbohydrates, and 14 kcal provided by the fibre. If you add it all up, you do indeed reach 430 calories. A little complicated and time-consuming to do. You can also turn to apps that let you work out your calories more quickly. By taking a photo of your plate or entering the quantity of each ingredient in it, the app is able to tell you how many calories you are going to eat. Easy, isn't it?
How many calories in a glass of wine or a beer?
A glass of wine and a glass of beer do not provide the same number of calories. 100 ml of wine represents on average 79.5 kcal according to CIQUAL. 100 ml of beer is equivalent on average to 40 kcal. However, wine and beer are generally not drunk in the same way. A glass of wine corresponds to about 120 ml, i.e. 95.4 kcal. As for beer, it is usually drunk by the pint of 250 ml, i.e. 100 kcal, or 500 ml, i.e. 200 kcal on average. It should nevertheless be noted that wine contains neither lipids nor proteins. It therefore does not contribute to covering your nutritional needs even though it provides vitamins and minerals. Beer contains less alcohol (1 g of ethanol = 7 kcal) but more sugar than wine. Nutritionally speaking, alcohol (beer, wine or other) should be consumed in moderation because it is a source of so-called "empty" calories.
How many calories are burned during exercise?
When you do sport, the number of calories burned will depend on the intensity of your effort but also on your metabolism. However, the more intense the effort, the more calories you burn and therefore the more you make a situation of calorie deficit, and with it weight loss, easier to achieve. If you want to build muscle, it is important to be in a situation of calorie surplus. This is why it is generally advised to limit very intense physical activities if your goal is to gain weight. This could delay reaching your goal and so not so much burn the fat as build your muscles.
