Whelehans Pharmacys Aisling Murray:calories part 2

CALORIESpart 2

Last week I discussed what calories are, how to check calories on food labels. This week I concentrate on burning calories.

Burning calories

How many calories you burn in a day depends on a number of factors including your age, height, weight and activity level; the more active you are the more calories you burn off. Weight gain is due to eating or drinking more calories than you burn off.

 

Calorie in vs calorie expenditure

Knowing your calorie intake and how much extra fat you may be consuming is essential. Over consumption of calories is the biggest reason for weight gain. If calorie intake coming from your macronutrients (protein, fat, carbohydrates) is at its optimal percentage, you are eating the right calories in the day. You will lose fat and/or build muscle (with exercise), this is why knowing the calories content of your Macronutrients is vital.

 

Calories in: All food and drink contain calories (except water) and contribute to our daily calorie intake. As these calories are consumed they are referred to “calories in”.

 

Calories out: Calories are a form of energy and can never disappear or be destroyed, instead they change form. Our bodies convert calories to heat energy, electrical energy, sound energy, and kinetic (movement) energy. If calories are not burned they are stored in your body as glycogen or fat to use at a later time. These compounds get stored in your liver, muscles and fat cells. This is known as “calories out”; activity contributes to your “calories out”.

 

Burning calories: Your body burns calories everyday on its own just to keep us functioning properly; functions like breathing, talking, making new cells etc. all contribute to “calories out”.

 

Calories in > Calories out = calorie surplus: This means there are calories which are unused and you are eating more calories than you burn in a day. If your body has no immediate use for these calories (no exercise etc.) then it will store them for later use as either fat or muscle. The consumption of extra calories is not always a bad thing if you are trying to support muscle growth but not exercising can lead to weight piling on in the form of fat.

 

Calories out > Calories in = calories deficit: This means you have burned or used up more calories in the day than you take in, leading to insufficient calories. You have not fuelled your body with enough calories to support it. Your body will then look for an alternative energy source again being either fat or muscle. Again reducing calories may seem like a great idea if you wish to lose weight however if not combined with exercise then you may end up breaking down muscle and be left with fat stores.

 

Calories in = calories out = maintenance:

This means there is no calorie surplus or deficit; no energy is stored (as muscle or fat) and there is no need to tap into stored energy (fat or muscle). This calorie maintenance means an individual can calculate exactly what their daily calorie intake should be when no activity is undertaken.

 

Aisling moving on from Whelehans

Aisling Murray is moving on from Whelehans this week; Eamonn and the team at Whelehans wish Aisling the best in her future career and on behalf of the loyal customers and staff at Whelehans, we would like to thank Aisling for her superb service and expertise, especially in relation to all things nutrition over the next few years. The team at the Westmeath Examiner thank Aisling for her excellent and informative nutrition articles over the last two years and wish her the best in her career.

 

Meet the new Nutritionist at Whelehans Nutrition Service

Whelehans Nutrition are introducing our new nutritionist this week. Keep an eye in the Westmeath Examiner and on Social Media for more details in the coming weeks. We are proud to continue the excellent service Aisling has provided over the coming months and years. Whelehans Nutrition Column in the Westmeath Examiner will be continuing so Whelehans look forward to bringing you informative nutrition advice on a weekly basis.

 

Whelehans Nutrition Service offers one to one specialist nutrition service at Whelehans Pharmacy. Call Whelehans at 04493 34591 for a nutrition appointment.