Nutrition Vs. Calories

I see lots of people going for the calorie-count diet. If it works for you, good. But I want to draw your attention towards the difference between nutrition and calories.

Nutrients are substances an organism uses to survive, grow, and reproduce. They are classified into carbohydrates, dietary fibre, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, and water.

Calories are a unit of energy, often used to measure the amount of energy food provides.

Nutrients and calories co-exist in any edible substance consumed by humans. Still, they represent different values to the body since nutrients consist of the necessary elements to stay healthy. In contrast, calories just provide the importance of energy a food substance carries.

A specific food substance can be more nutritious and less calorific, or it can be more calorific and less nutritious. For example, if you eat three heads of broccoli instead of one Mars chocolate bar, you will have more nutrients but fewer calories(energy), as tabulated below.

	Three heads of broccoli	One Mars chocolate
​Fats	0.34g	​9.9g
Carbohydrates	6.18g	​40g
Protein	​2.62g	​2.3g
​Calories	​32	​260

In the same way, if you eat one bar of mars chocolate over three heads of broccoli, you will have more calories(energy) but fewer nutrients, as shown in the table above.

By saying so, nutritional arrangements vary depending on your goal. For example, if you're trying to gain muscle or lose fat (or both), nutrition is a little more substantial than calories. Calories are all about how much you weigh, so if you eat over your maintenance, you will gain weight.

It is crucial to align your goal with your nutritional arrangement.

For more professional guidance, book your free discovery call to discuss your current goals and action plan.

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