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 Healhty Weight - it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle
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Balancing Calories

photo of woman balancing a book on her headThere's a lot of talk about the different components of food. Whether you're consuming carbohydrates, fats, or proteins all of them contain calories. If your diet focus is on any one of these alone, you're missing the bigger picture.

The Caloric Balance Equation

When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime, the bottom line is – calories count! Weight management is all about balance—balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses or "burns off."

Caloric balance is like a scale. Calories in = food and beverages. Calories out = body functions and physical activity.

If you are... Your caloric balance status is...
Maintaining your weight "in balance." You are eating roughly the same number of calories that your body is using. Your weight will remain stable.
Gaining weight "in caloric excess." You are eating more calories than your body is using. You will store these extra calories as fat and you'll gain weight.
Losing weight "in caloric deficit." You are eating fewer calories than you are using. Your body is pulling from its fat storage cells for energy, so your weight is decreasing.

 

Am I in Caloric Balance?

photo of a man doing tai chi

If you are maintaining your current body weight, you are in caloric balance. If you need to gain weight or to lose weight, you'll need to tip the balance scale in one direction or another to achieve your goal.

If you need to tip the balance scale in the direction of losing weight, keep in mind that it takes approximately 3,500 calories below your calorie needs to lose a pound of body fat.1 To lose about 1 to 2 pounds per week, you'll need to reduce your caloric intake by 500—1000 calories per day.2

To learn how many calories you are currently eating, begin writing down the foods you eat and the beverages you drink each day. By writing down what you eat and drink, you become more aware of everything you are putting in your mouth. Also, begin writing down the physical activity you do each day and the length of time you do it. Here are simple paper and pencil tools to assist you:

An interactive version is found at My Pyramid Tracker.gov, where you can enter the foods you have eaten and the physical activity you have done to see how your calorie intake compares to your calorie expenditure. This tool requires you to register, simply to save the information you are tracking.

By studying your food diary you can be more aware of your eating habits and the number of calories you take in on an average day. Check out MyPyramid Plan to see how that number compares to the suggested food pattern for someone of your gender, age and activity level.

Physical activities (both daily activities and exercise) help tip the balance scale by increasing the calories you expend each day.

Recommended Physical Activity Levels

So the bottom line is… each person's body is unique and may have different caloric needs. A healthy lifestyle requires balance, in the foods you eat, in the beverages you consume, in the way you carry out your daily activities, and in the amount of physical activity or exercise you include in your daily routine. While counting calories is not necessary, it may help you in the beginning to gain an awareness of your eating habits as you strive to achieve energy balance.  The ultimate test of balance is whether or not you are gaining, maintaining, or losing weight.

Questions and Answers About Calories

Q: Are fat-free and low-fat foods low in calories?
A: Not always. Some fat-free and low-fat foods have extra sugars, which push the calorie amount right back up. The following list of foods and their reduced fat varieties will show you that just because a product is fat-free, it doesn't mean that it is "calorie-free." And, calories do count! See FAT-Free Versus Calorie Comparison for more information.

Always read the Nutrition Facts food label to find out the calorie content. Remember, this is the calorie content for one serving of the food item, so be sure and check the serving size. If you eat more than one serving, you'll be eating more calories than is listed on the food label. For more information about the Nutrition Facts food label, visit How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Food Label.

Q: If I eat late at night, will these calories automatically turn into body fat?
A: The time of day isn't what affects how your body uses calories. It's the overall number of calories you eat and the calories you burn over the course of 24 hours that affects your weight.

Q: I've heard it is more important to worry about carbohydrates than calories. Is this true?
A: By focusing only on carbohydrates, you can still eat too many calories. Also, if you drastically reduce the variety of foods in your diet, you could end up sacrificing vital nutrients and not be able to sustain the diet over time.

Q: Does it matter how many calories I eat as long as I'm maintaining an active lifestyle
A: While physical activity is a vital part of weight control, so is controlling the number of calories you eat. If you consume more calories than you use through normal daily activities and physical activity, you will still gain weight.

Q. What other factors contribute to overweight and obesity?
A: Besides diet and behavior, environment, and genetic factors may also have an effect in causing people to be overweight and obese. For more, see Other Factors in Weight Gain.

Want to learn more?

Cutting Calories at Every Meal
You can cut calories by eating foods high in fiber, making better drink choices, avoiding portion size pitfalls, and adding more fruits and vegetables to your eating plan.

Losing Weight
Even a modest weight loss, such as 5 to 10 percent of your total body weight, can produce health benefits.

Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight
Physical activity can increase the number of calories your body uses for energy or "burns off." The burning of calories through physical activity, combined with reducing the number of calories you eat, creates a "calorie deficit" that can help with weight loss.

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References
1DHHS, A Healthier You, page 19. Available online:
http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/healthieryou/html/chapter5.html

2DHHS, AIM for a Healthy Weight, page 5. Available online:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/aim_hwt.pdf  PDF file (PDF-2.17Mb)

PDF Document Icon Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.

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Page last reviewed: July 28, 2008
Page last updated: July 28, 2008
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion