Weight Management
The talk about contemplating the weight will never end. This has been discussed by every one and probably one of the most burning issues among all ages. Some want to reduce weight, some increase and others maintain the present one. Here let us analyze how many calories we take in and what we burn out. Before that let us find out the distinct components of food.
Carbohydrates – These are required to provide energy to our body. One gram of carbohydrate gives out 4 calories of energy.
Proteins – These are required to build and repair tissues in the body. One gram of protein gives out 4 calories of energy.
Fat – They store energy in our body. One gram of fat gives out 9 calories of energy.
It is seen from above that all the above three components are required for our body to preserve a complete health. Promptly, we will have to balance these in a right way.
Now coming back to weight management, the following three formulae will clearly apprise us where we stand.
1. Calorie intake more than calorie expended – weight increases
2. Calorie intake less than calorie expended - weight decreases
3. Calorie intake is equal to calorie expended – weight remains the same.
Just looking at the above equations, it is pretty effortless to regulate one's weight. You will have to record the complete intake as well as the energy expended.
Promptly, let us see how to find out the calorie intake. For this, one will have to document what they eat/drink between getting up and retiring. Record for a minimum one week time and calculate the average. If it warrants, we can utilize a weighing scale. You may look for the help of these websites to record the calorie and also the list of nutrients in the food.
1. www.medindia.net/patients/calculators/daily-calorie-counter-result.asp
2. recipenutrition.com/
To check the calories expended in a day, document the activities and calculate with the help of this website
www.acaloriecalculator.com/calories-burned-calculator/
As an example a typical calculation of calorie intake and expended is shown below:-
Calories intake
Morning Coffee 100
Breakfast 550 to 600
Lunch 380 to 430
Evening snack/milk/fruits 370 to 410
Dinner 320 to 380
Misc like seeds/husk etc 80
Total 1800 to 2000
Carbohydrates 60 to 65 %
Protein 15 to 20 %
Fat 15 to 20 %
Fiber 30 to 40 grams
Calories Burnt
Walking Average 10,000 to 11,000 steps
Distance Average 7 to 8 KM
Calories burnt average 300 calories
Walking 1 hr 30 min 300 to 330
Exercise/yoga 1 hr 220 to 250
Bathing/shaving & other chores 2 hrs 150 to 180
Walking around house 1 hr 30 min 180 to 200
Eating 1 hr 100
Sitting 10 hrs 450 to 500
Sleeping 7 hrs 400 to 440
Total 1800 to 2000
Now, based on the need, adjustment can be made to decrease or increase calorie intake. Few examples of variation in foods to decrease or increase the calories are given below.
Calories in foods
1. Calories in typical whole wheat wrap (Chapathi/phulka)
(Assuming ½ cup(60 grams/2.1 ozs) of flour makes 2 wraps/phulka)
Sl No
Sl
No |
Type of wrap/phulka |
Calories |
1 |
Plain whole wheat |
200 |
2 |
70%Whole wheat 30% wheat bran |
150 |
3 |
70% Whole wheat flour plus 30% chickpea flour (Besan) |
180 |
4 |
Whole wheat plus one spoon oil |
240 |
5 |
Whole wheat plus 20% chickpea flour (Besan) |
245 |
2. Various types of milk for 250ml/ 8.1 ozs
Sl No |
Fat % by weight |
Nandini Equivalent |
Calories |
|
||
Total |
From Fat |
Fat % |
||||
1 |
Half and Half Milk 12% |
- |
335 |
270 |
80% |
|
2 |
Full Cream Milk 6% |
Samrudhi Milk |
218 |
135 |
62% |
|
3 |
Rich cream Milk 4.5% |
Shubham Red packet |
182 |
101 |
56% |
|
4 |
Whole milk 3.25 % |
Tones blue packet |
155 |
76 |
49% |
|
5 |
Milk 2% |
- |
129 |
46 |
36% |
|
6 |
Milk 1.5% |
Yellow packet |
121 |
36 |
30% |
|
7 |
Milk 1% |
- |
108 |
23 |
21% |
|
8 |
Milk Fat free |
Good life slim |
95 |
<4.8 |
<5% |
|
3. Various grains 100grams cooked
Sl No |
Grain |
Calories |
1 |
White rice |
130 |
2 |
Brown rice |
111 |
3 |
Quinoa |
120 |
4 |
Amaranth(Rajgira) |
102 |
5 |
Millets |
120 |
6 |
Hulled Barley |
350 |
In this way, one can adjust the input and output so that the weight is controlled.