Calorie content of foods and ready meals counter calculator. Correct calorie counting for weight loss. Calorie content of finished products. What you need to lose weight

Our calculator is designed for those who adhere to a flexible diet, or just want to switch to this nutrition system.

The basic principle of a flexible diet is that you can eat almost anything, as long as the following conditions are met:

  • it is necessary to adhere to your individual level of daily calorie intake;
  • the correct ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates is maintained.

That is, you must provide your body with a stable supply of the correct amount of calories and the required ratio of proteins, fats, carbohydrates (BJU), but the sources of these elements and energy can be represented by an endless number of foods and dishes.

When using a flexible diet, you not only count the total number of calories you consume, but you also need to manage your ratio of calories.

For example, you can spend your entire calorie budget on a pancake breakfast, but remember that you need to provide the right amount of fat and protein. And don’t be surprised that by lunchtime you may feel tired - you’ve used up all the carbohydrates and now you have no energy left.

Use this calculator to calculate your daily caloric intake and optimal macronutrient ratios based on your age, height, weight, gender and physical activity level. Apply these results to flexible dieting to lose weight, keep it off, or gain muscle.

Physical activity level

High levels of physical activity are accompanied by higher calorie expenditure. To accurately control the calories burned (and therefore calculate the daily caloric intake required for consumption), you need to determine how many calories you burn during sports activities: for this, use our.

Too much physical activity coupled with low calorie intake can lead to muscle catabolism (the breakdown of muscle tissue), which in turn slows metabolism and weight loss. Typically your metabolism starts to slow down after 3 days on a reduced calorie diet.

Weight loss and loss of fat mass do not always mean the same thing: weight can be lost due to loss of muscle mass, while the amount of fat tissue remains the same. To prevent this from happening, it is important to calculate the optimal ratio of macroelements - BZHU.

Incorporating regular exercise into your new lifestyle helps maintain your muscle mass levels even when you are in a calorie deficit.

But remember:

  • The body spends 5-25% of total energy expenditure on physical activity, and this is not only special fitness classes, this also includes walking, doing our daily activities, etc.;
  • about 10% of energy is spent on digesting food;
  • about 60-80% of energy is spent on the basic functioning of the body.

Therefore, physical activity will definitely help in the process of losing weight, but still, the most important thing is limiting calorie intake.

Moreover, it should be taken into account that the body can spend a limited amount of calories per day; it cannot work endlessly, even if we constantly throw new energy into it. Therefore, if you spent a lot of calories on sports today, your body will optimize your daily calorie expenditure and will spend fewer calories on other processes. As a result, the total daily calorie expenditure of this day will not be much more than yesterday.

Physical activity is very important in itself, for both physical and psychological health, but with its help we can regulate a maximum of 5-25% of our daily energy expenditure.

What happens if there are too few calories? And is it possible to lose weight through diet alone?

With an extremely low calorie intake, muscle catabolism begins, muscles melt, and accordingly, the body begins to spend less energy on its basic life activities. That is, your basal metabolic rate decreases. This means that as soon as you return to your normal diet, you will not only regain your weight, but you will also gain more. Therefore it is very important:

When losing weight, be sure to introduce physical activity; this will help you not to lose muscle mass while reducing your calorie intake or even increase it, which means increasing your basal metabolism. This will help you lose weight much more effectively and prevent you from gaining weight when you return to your normal diet.

Macronutrients: proteins, fats and carbohydrates

Squirrels

Proteins are important for the growth of new tissue as well as the repair of damaged tissue - this is what happens when you exercise.

Protein should be your best friend if you want to gain or maintain muscle mass.

But protein isn't just about muscle, it's also about satiety, which will help you stick to your diet.

Protein sources: eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, meat, fish, nuts, beans, peas, lentils, soybeans and other legumes.

Fats

Fat is often wrongly demonized.

Fats can be very helpful in achieving your body shaping goals, they also affect hormones - too little fat can be harmful to the body.

25% of all calories provided by a flexible diet are allocated to fat. This can be adjusted later, but this is what the initial proportion looks like.

Sources of fat: olive oil, coconut oil, natural peanut butter and other nut oils, avocado, almonds, walnuts, cashews, red fish, mackerel, egg yolks.

Carbohydrates

Your body uses carbohydrates to make glucose, which is our body's preferred form of fuel or energy. They are the ones who give us the opportunity to stay active.

Fiber, which is important to watch if you want to stay healthy, is also a source of carbohydrates, but it contains no calories.

Sources of carbohydrates: To cereals and cereals, bread, cereals, pasta, potatoes, fruits, vegetables, flour products.

Carbohydrates are simple and complex.

Complex carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates are digested more slowly, which means the energy released during their processing is distributed by the body evenly throughout its life activities, without turning into fat reserves. And what’s also important is that the energy from complex carbohydrates is evenly released over 3-4 hours, which means that all this time the body will have enough energy and will not require additional food.

Typically, foods containing complex carbohydrates are darker in color than simple ones.

Examplesoats, brown rice, starchy vegetables, whole grain bread.

Simple carbohydrates

Simple carbohydrates are absorbed too quickly, the body does not have time to use them up and they go into fat reserves. In addition, the body receives energy in the form of a short burst, and then a breakdown occurs.

Exampleswhite rice, white bread, cookies and sweets.

Serving frequency and size

A large portion for one meal, even if you meet the daily calorie intake, can trigger fat deposition.

This happens according to a principle similar to the assimilation of simple carbohydrates: the body immediately receives a lot of calories, a lot of energy, the body may not have time to use it all and then some of the energy may be deposited as fat.

If the daily diet is divided into a larger number of small portions, then each meal will contain fewer calories, which the body is more likely to absorb. Also in this case, the load on the digestive organs - the stomach, pancreas, etc. - is reduced.

In addition, it is recommended to eat before any active activity (physical: for example, before a walk, or just before going to work, or even mental - with increased mental activity, the body also spends more energy). But you shouldn’t lie on the couch or sleep after eating.

Calories for reducing fat mass

There is a belief that a pound of fat equals 3,500 calories, so a daily deficit of 500 calories should help you lose a pound of fat per week.

In fact, everything is not quite like that.

In general, the body's energy expenditure gradually decreases as a person begins to lose weight. This means that you will inevitably find yourself at the plateau stage - stopping weight loss. The amount of food that previously led to weight loss will one day lead to weight maintenance. What follows from the warning:

Always try to aim for your daily caloric expenditure at the "Normal Weight Loss" level.

The “Extreme rate of weight loss” level is the most extreme and dangerous to health. Don't try to switch to it right away in hopes of a quick effect. Ultimately, the result may be the opposite of the desired one. This option provides the lowest level of calorie intake that can be considered. It should be seen as the exception rather than the rule. It is healthier to burn fat than to get rid of it through fasting.

Weight loss plateau - why weight stops falling when you reduce calorie intake

Over time, the body adapts to the reduced amount of calories consumed.

The body begins to use energy more efficiently - it slows down metabolism, so it burns less fat. This is why many people reach a weight loss plateau.

At this stage, the only option is to speed up your metabolism by:

  • increasing cardio loads, strength training,
  • eating “deceptive” food (i.e. periodically introducing high-calorie foods into the diet);
  • periodic changes in the number of calories (the so-called “zig-zag” diet - used in our calculator, in a detailed calculation of calorie consumption by day); Link
  • changes in the proportions of macroelements.

Important:

Only reducing the number of calories, in the absence of physical activity, will slow down your metabolism, and the moment you return to a “normal” diet, the weight will return again. Try to pay more attention to the exercises.

Learn to eat slowly - Research shows that people who eat quickly tend to be overweight.

Zig-zag diet

For more effective weight loss, it is recommended to follow a zig-zag diet, that is, it is necessary to alternate days according to the level of calorie consumption - sometimes less than the norm, sometimes more than the norm, leaving the calculated number of calories on average. This prevents the body from adapting to the reduced calorie intake and slowing down the metabolism.

For effective self-control when losing weight, doctors and psychologists recommend constantly monitoring the caloric content of food consumed.

This free calorie counter will help you calculate the number of calories in your daily diet. Our database contains the most common products and their ingredients.

In addition to calorie content, that is, energy value, our counting machine also displays the nutritional value of the introduced portion of the product, that is, the content of proteins, fats and carbohydrates.

How to use a calorie counter

Even a child can use our online calorie counter. Follow these steps: show text


  1. First, select your products and enter their weight. To do this, use the search bar or select products from the list provided. You can also combine these methods.
    All your selected products will appear in the summary table on the right.
  2. Having finished selecting products, click the “Calculate” button, under the summary table - a page with the calculation results will open.

    You can use our service to calculate the calorie content of ready-made dishes. Some dishes are already in the database, and if not, enter the ingredients of the dish and their consumption and click “Calculate”.

    We tried to make the most complete version of the calorie counter. At the same time, only the most popular ones are included in the list of products. To find rare products, use the search bar.

    The calculated results do not need to be memorized or written down. You can send them to yourself by e-mail on the calculation results page.

Burning calories starts with counting them. Happy computing!

Each person is individual, and each formula may have errors. You need to choose the formula that will work for you.

Start with the average, or a formula approximating the average. If the results are not as effective as expected, try the following value: for weight loss - a lower value, for mass gain - a higher value.

Harris-Benedict equation

Basal metabolic rate according to the Harris-Benedict formula is determined taking into account gender, age and body size. The equation was first published in 1918. The formula is suitable for men and women over 18 years of age.

This formula has a fairly large error - according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 90% agreement between the results and real data was recorded only in 60% of cases. That is, in 40% of situations the equation may show incorrect data, and mainly in the direction of increase. That is, as a result of the calculation, it may turn out that the need for calories is overestimated and a person begins to consume more calories than he actually needs.

New Harris-Benedict equation

Due to shortcomings of the basic Harris-Benedict formula, an updated equation was published in 1984. Rosa and Schizgal conducted a study on a larger group, with data taken from the research materials of Harris and Benedict in 1928-1935.

This formula already takes into account the features that in the old formula led to excess calories and therefore this formula was most often used to determine basal metabolism before 1990.

Mifflin Formula - St. George

Over time, people’s lifestyles change, new products appear, nutritional schedules and physical activity change. A new formula has been developed; it does not take into account the body's muscle mass, and is also calculated based on height, weight and age. This equation is used in clinical settings to determine calories based on basal metabolic rate.

According to research by the American Dietetic Association, the Mifflin-San Geor formula turned out to be the most accurate. In other sources it is considered. that this formula is 5% more accurate than the Harris-Benedict formula, but can still give a spread of +-10%. But this equation was only tested on Caucasian patients and therefore may not be accurate for other groups.

Ketch-McArdle formula

The formula was not developed based on weight, but rather on lean muscle mass. Thus, this formula ignores energy aimed at maintaining fat and its accuracy for obese people is lower than for athletic people.

If you are in good physical shape, the result of this equation will be quite accurate for you. If you have just set out on the path to improving your figure, use the Mifflin-San Geor formula.

WHO formula

The World Health Organization formula is based on the Schofield formula (gender, age, weight) taking into account height, which is currently used. Previously used in US dietary guidelines. Based on basal metabolic rate, thermic effect of food, physical activity and thermoregulation.

Based on body area

The formula is suitable for people over 20 years of age. Energy expenditure (or metabolic rate) at rest is proportional to body surface area, usually expressed in kcal per square meter of body surface area per hour (kcal/m2/m). Body surface area can be calculated based on your height and weight.

Calorie calculation

Why do you need to calculate the number of calories per day?

The answer is simple - in order to maintain, gain or lose weight, you need to know how many calories your body consumes. If you want to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume. You only get calories if you eat or drink something. And you have to constantly spend calories - on the work of the body itself, on physical and mental stress.

Average number of calories per day

In general, women require 1500-2000 calories to maintain weight. For men, this value is higher - 2000-2500 calories.

How many calories do you need to lose weight or gain weight?

Using an online calculator, you can calculate the calorie needs that you need for your existence, and calculate the number of calories for losing weight, gaining or maintaining weight. Calories are calculated based on weight, height, age and activity. Based on the data received and your desired weight, the calculator will calculate the number of calories you should consume per day to lose, gain or maintain weight. As a rule, calculations are made using several methods that will show an approximate range. This is done to minimize the error of each individual calculation method.

Minimum calories per day for weight loss

The calculation of the number of calories is shown in the “Weight loss” column. "Extreme Weight Loss" will show you the minimum possible calorie values ​​for reference, but it is not recommended to use them. If you reduce your calorie intake below the minimum, your body will begin to burn not only fat, but also muscle to obtain energy. The metabolic rate will drop and even a slight excess of calories will be stored by the body. In addition, muscles consume several times more energy than fat cells. Therefore, burning muscles does not lead to positive results.

Zigzag calories

The calculation results contain a table for calculating calories by day, the so-called “zigzag”. It is believed that the best results are obtained if you vary your daily caloric intake slightly, maintaining an average value.

How to count kilocalories

A kilocalorie is a thousand calories. One calorie is how much energy is required to heat 1 ml of water by 1 degree. But there is also a food or dietary calorie, which is equal to a kilocalorie. Product packaging may indicate the calorie content of foods as either “kkak” or “cal”, and this will be referred to as kilocalories.

Calorie calculation example

Anna, office worker, two children. Does household chores when not at work. He goes in for sports three times a week. Height 163 cm, weight 65 kg, age 35 years. Wants to reduce weight to 57 kg. According to the Mifflin-San Jeor formula, the daily calorie consumption will be 1833 kcal, on average 1918. To lose weight, Anna needs to reduce her daily calorie intake by about 500 calories per day, that is, consume 1400 kcal.

Should you eat the same amount of calories?

You can stick to the same number of calories per day, or you can move 200-500 calories to the previous or subsequent day from the day of training. Also, if your weight suddenly stops (weight plateau), then consuming calories according to the Zigzag pattern will help move it off the ground.

Is it possible to lose weight only on a diet?

You can lose weight, but when you reduce your daily caloric intake, a person loses not only fat, but also muscle. Try to lead a more active lifestyle, do exercises, add small physical activities

Weight loss rate

Weight gain rate

The ideal amount for increasing muscle mass is 1 kg per month for men and 0.5 kg per month for women. A large increase will lead to an increase not only in muscle, but also in fat.

Should I drink water?

Drinking clean water is necessary when losing weight.

Warning

All calculations are based on mathematical and statistical formulas. But only a doctor can give an accurate assessment and recommendations. Please consult your physician before starting a diet or changing your exercise level.

How many calories does a person need per day? On this page you can calculate your basal metabolic rate (basal metabolic rate) and daily calorie needs to maintain your current weight.

Enter all the necessary data into the calculator and click the “Calculate” button. In the table below you will receive two important, strictly individual parameters of your body.

BX- this is the amount of energy (calories) required to maintain the vital functions of the body in a state of complete rest. This is the energy that you spend even if you don't move at all. If a person begins to move, his energy expenditure, of course, increases in proportion to the amount and intensity of physical effort. It is also known that the higher the muscle mass, the higher the basal metabolic rate, since trained muscles, even at rest, spend a lot of energy (about 50 kcal per day per 1 kg of muscle). Cm. .

How many calories does an average person need per day?

Daily calorie needs is the number of calories from food required to maintain current weight. If you are trying to reduce your weight, try to keep the calorie content of your diet at least 5-10% lower than this figure. If you need to gain weight, try to take in more calories than this figure. Cm. .

Take in as many calories per day as a person of your desired weight would take.

Enter your information here to calculate calorie content

Knowing your basic metabolic rate (BMR), you can intelligently calculate your diet to maintain your weight at the same level. Below is the Harris-Benedict table, which allows you to calculate the calorie content of your daily diet based on the value of your basal metabolic rate and the degree of physical activity.

This table is the basis for this calculator to determine how many calories a person needs per day.

The basal metabolic rate is calculated using a special formula. At the moment, the Muffin-Jeor formula, derived in 1990, is considered the most accurate formula:

P = 9.99 * weight (kg) + 6.25 * height (cm) - 4.92 * age (years) + constant (different for men and women)

Previously, the Harris-Benedict formula was used, which is now 90 years old. As a survey conducted in 2005 showed, due to significant changes in people's lifestyles in the last century, the old formula is 5% less accurate than the modern one.

Thus, the disadvantage of both formulas is that they do not take into account the percentage of muscle in the body, although, as we already know, it is muscle mass that directly affects the metabolic rate. Therefore, the Ketch-McArdle formula, based solely on this indicator, is more correct:

P = 370 + 21.6 * LBM(kg)

where LBM is body mass minus fat. All that remains is to estimate the amount of fat. This can be done (albeit very approximately) using the “YMCA formula”, based on 3 parameters (gender, weight, waist circumference). This formula looks like this.

For people who are familiar with diets and weight loss techniques first-hand, calorie counting becomes a useful tool in losing weight. The amount of calories consumed gives the body a supply of energy, but if it remains unspent, it is stored in the form of fat cells. A balanced diet allows you to regulate the ratio of calories in and out and control your own weight.

Calculating the caloric content of dishes and products is usually required to maintain athletic shape, in the process of losing weight or gaining weight. Calculating calories in foods entrusted to a computer avoids mistakes and saves time.

How to use a calorie calculator to determine the calorie content of one meal or find out how many calories you consume per day?

Using a Calorie Calculator

Table calorie content of food and ready meals is broken downinto two parts - “calorie content of dishes” and “calorie content of products”, each of which contains categories of dishes and products. When you click on a specific category, a list of corresponding dishes or products appears. For each dish, information is provided on calorie content and the content of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.

Select the dish or product you are interested in - this can be done in two ways:

  • enter the name of a dish or product in the search and select the appropriate one from the pop-up list;
  • select a product or dish from the list of the corresponding category from the table

Example: you are interested in how many calories are in 200g of pea soup.

  • in the “calorie content of dishes” part of the table, click on the “first courses” category - a list of first courses will open;
  • look for and select “pea soup” from the list provided;
  • indicate the weight of the portion in the box on the left;
  • After specifying the weight, this dish will be added to the list of selected products.

Thus, your total is formed at the top above the category table.Calorie table for food and ready mealsindicating the number of calories separately for each dish and the final total calorie content. In the final list, you can edit the weight of the product and delete unnecessary dishes.

Such online calorie calculator for ready meals and productsconvenient for analyzing calorie consumption if the goal is weight loss. During the day, you can add all your meals to the list and find outhow many calories per dayyou consume. A useful service for losing weight is also a calculator for calorie consumption for various types of activities, you will find it

How to calculate the calorie content of ready-made dishes?

  • summing up the kcal of each dish ingredient, which can be found in the calorie table;
  • by entering all the data into the calorie calculator.

The amount of calories in products is indicated in the table per 100 g. When calculating, you need to multiply this number by the actual mass of the specified ingredient, so you can’t do without a kitchen scale. Since we usually prepare a dish for several servings, the resulting amount must be divided by their number.

To find out how many calories you consume throughout the day, you will need to add up the calorie content of all the foods you eat. If you use for calculation food calorie analyzer , then all arithmetic operations are performed automatically. All you have to do is select a dish or product and indicate the portion eaten.

Calorie intake rate

Each person has their own norm. It depends on gender, age and activity. Women usually require fewer calories to function normally than men. People with reduced activity have less than those who play sports. With age, the required amount of kcal decreases.

Thus, if you are a man leading an active lifestyle and under the age of 30, then your bar will be the highest - 3,000 kcal per day. If you are an active young woman, then your norm is already lower - 2,400 kcal. If you are an elderly man who does not exercise heavily, but is moderately active, then your optimal calorie intake is 2,200 kcal.

Also, when calculating the norm, you can start from the ideal weight that you are striving for. You can calculate your daily kcal intake using the following average formula: desired weight * 14 / 0.453. The resulting number of calories is your daily requirement, which should not be exceeded, but it is also not recommended to underestimate it.

In addition to the calorie norm, there is an optimal amount of macronutrients consumed. Proteins make up 10-15% of the total amount of kcal, fats - 25-30%, and saturated ones account for only 7%, the rest is given to carbohydrates.

How much should you reduce your calorie intake to lose weight?

If you are focused on losing weight, then you cannot do without reducing your calorie intake. It is calculated using the above formula. But not every desired weight is considered safe. Experts do not recommend reducing daily caloric intake by more than 20%.

You can check this by dividing the resulting value by the total caloric content currently consumed. If the calculated number is greater than or equal to 0.8, then the reduction in kcal will not harm the body. Under no circumstances should you reach the dangerous limit of 1,800 kcal for men and 1,200 kcal for women. To strictly adhere to this acceptable level, use calorie counter for ready meals.

Ways to reduce caloric content of dishes

You can reduce the calorie content of ready-made meals and products per 100 grams not only by selecting low-calorie ingredients, but also by using special cooking methods. Products that are subjected to heat treatment already lose up to 15% of calories. A multicooker and a double boiler help to reduce the calorie content of dishes as much as possible.

Pre-treatment of foods is also important. By removing the skin from the chicken, you will end up with a lower calorie dish. And by eliminating processed foods and choosing to cook your own meals from scratch, you will reduce the amount of saturated fat you use. Another important point is the presentation of the dish. The smaller the plate, the smaller the portion you will eat.



What else to read