The mere fact of living involves an expenditure of energy. We need a variable amount of fuel depending on our age, our body size, our activity. Our body transforms the food we eat into energy, which is measured in calories. We each have daily calorie needs that can be calculated.

A calorie is a unit of energy

Our energy expenditure is for the maintenance of the functions of our body (heart, brain, temperature) to 70%. Digestion represents 10% of our needs. Finally, physical activity represents 20% of our energy expenditure. It is interesting to determine the number of calories according to the profile (sex, age, activity) without being too attached to it, the important thing being to consume healthy foods.

Full calories and empty calories

There are two kinds of calories, in the first place full or useful calories: they bring us, in addition to energy, essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fibers ...).

The other category is empty calories. Foods do not provide the nutrients essential to our health and tend to make us fat. These are often industrial products and spirits. For information, we can note that 1 g of carbohydrate equals 4 Kcal, 1 g of lipid at 9 Kcal, 1 g of protein at 4 kcal, 1 g of alcohol at 7 Kcal. It can be seen that alcohol, which does not provide nutrients, provides more calories than a carbohydrate, and that lipids are consumed in small quantities.

With nibbling and the consumption of porn food, we sometimes tend to consume more calories than we need. It is important to be careful not to take this overeating as a habit to avoid overweight. Regular physical activity will compensate for food that is too high in calories.