Enjoy Food - But Say No To Calories

Food is an integral part of life and holds first priority among the hierarchal needs of human being. The complicated biological system in a human body is run by the food it consumes and this is because the human body is itself composed of the constituents of the food it consumes. But the mantra to good health is balanced nutrition of protein, carbohydrates, vitamin content in food and a realistic calorie count.

It is essential to know the calorie levels and macro-nutrient amounts of certain foods groups when you are trying to set your own calorie-controlled diet. Instead of depriving yourself from food which are high in calories you can satisfy yourself with the low-calorie alternatives like low calorie cakes, chocolates, sweets and diet soft drinks. The calorie intake in different food groups makes a difference to in our diet.

• Vegetables are high in nutrition and low in calories and keep you healthy. Vegetables like carrot, tomatoes and beetroot mostly used as salads can be eaten heartily as they act as cleansers and appetite suppressants.
• Fruits are usually very low in calories and often contain a large percentage of water which can help you feel fresh and ready for work-out. It is also hard to over eat fruits as the large water and fiber makes you feel satiated. But portion size may vary for each individual depending on calorie and nutrition.
• Nuts are a good source of protein, fiber and essential oils however, to keep nut calories low only a small handful should be consumed less frequently. Nuts have very high calorie content. Up to 50% of the weight of nuts is oil and oil contains more than twice the number of calories per gram compared to carbohydrates and protein. The nutritious ingredient in nuts can be replaced by other foods.
• Meat has high protein content and often high fat levels which takes them to the category of high calorie food. The leanest portions in meat are low in calories and all meats are recommended to be cooked by roasting, grilling, boiling to maintain a low calorie count.
• Beverages like soft drinks have no nutrition value and are the source of empty calories. A 330mlcan of soft drink can provide up to 139 calories. Same with alcohol which contains 7 calories per gram but has no nutrition.
• Ready-to-eat and junk foods are main source of calorie though with very minimum nutritional value.

Calories in food are the source of energy and our body needs 1500 calories per day to keep ourselves in perfect shape. But intake of less than 1000 calories might aggravate the situation. The body being used to minimum calorie gets into a famine mechanism and begins to convert and store the minimum calorie intake as fat, thus making weight loss a difficult proposition even if you are taking diet pills.

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