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What Are Calories And How Do I Count Them?

If your fitness goal is to lose weight, counting calories is a common way to track your progress (because no thank you scales!).

If your fitness goal is to lose weight, calorie counting is a common way to track your progress (because no thank you scales!). But before downloading that app and diving in, it’s good to start with a foundational understanding of a) what calories are and b) how to count them. So, here is your essential guide to calories and how they can help you stay on track with your health, fitness and weight loss goals. 

What are calories?

Simply put, calories = energy. When someone is talking about the calorie content in food, they’re essentially talking about how much energy that meal or food type is providing. For example, 1 gram of carbs or protein has approximately 4 calories whereas 1 gram of fat has about 9 calories. [2]  

Technically speaking, a calorie is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 degree celsius. [1]

Why should I count calories?

Although weight loss isn’t quite as simple as eating less and exercising more, having an understanding of how much energy (i.e. calories) your body requires is a good starting point. Knowing what your body needs will help you realign your energy balance to reach your weight loss goals. 

How to count calories 101

Step one: Estimate how many calories your body needs per day. The best way to do this is to talk with a Personal Trainer. A PT will work with you to determine your individual daily calorie intake and give you some specific goals to work towards.

Step two: If you’re wanting to lose weight, start to reduce your daily calorie intake by:

  • Eating less calories per day.

  • Exercising to burn off more calories than you eat per day.

  • A combination of both eating and exercising to reduce and burn calories. 

Step three: Repeat steps one and two every week. 

The best apps to help you count calories

The best part about counting calories, is that with the right app you actually don’t have to do a thing. Here’s what we’re using across mobile and smartwatch:

  1. My Fitness Pal 

  2. Apple Health app on iPhone 

  3. Google Fit

Our friendly team of Personal Trainers are always here to offer personalised guidance when it comes to calorie counting and your weight loss journey. 

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