Knowing how to count calories is a great way to help you eat a healthy diet. Although most food labels have listed the number of calories in the product, the details of which nutrients the calories come from are often not included. By understanding the difference between calories and grams, and knowing their conversion rates, you can easily calculate the number of calories in a given nutrient.
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Method 1 of 3: Convert Grams of Fat Into Calories
Step 1. Look at the nutrition label
Most food labels will list the number of grams of fat in each serving of a particular product. This is how you calculate the number of calories.
Step 2. Multiply the number of grams of fat by nine
Each gram of fat contains nine calories. To find out how many calories are in fat, simply multiply the number of grams of fat by nine.
For example, if there are ten grams of fat, multiply ten grams of fat by nine calories, so that the total is 90 calories. This is the number of calories in these grams of fat
Step 3. Calculate how many calories are in the whole product
To find out how many total calories are in the fat content of a product, multiply the previous calculation by the number of servings on the label.
If the label says there are three servings, multiply 90 by three for a total of 270 calories
Method 2 of 3: Converting Grams of Carbs and Proteins Into Calories
Step 1. Recognize that carbohydrates are organic compounds
Carbohydrates are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. These compounds always contain calories (4 calories per gram), but the presence of calories does not automatically indicate carbohydrates because calories are also present in other major nutrients.
Step 2. Check the nutrition label
You will see how many grams of carbohydrates are in each serving. Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram. So, multiply the number of carbohydrates by four to find the number of calories.
For example, if a product contains nine grams of carbohydrates, use the (9 x 4) formula to get a total of 36 calories. Use the number four as a multiplier because there are four calories in every gram of carbohydrates
Step 3. Find the number of calories that come from protein
Protein is also listed in grams on food labels. Just like carbohydrates, protein contains four calories per gram. Again, multiply the number of grams of protein by four to get the number of calories.
Method 3 of 3: Understanding Grams vs Calories
Step 1. Know the difference between grams and calories
A gram is a unit of weight equivalent to one thousandth of a kilogram. A calorie is a unit of energy received from food. One pound (about 0.5 kg) of body fat equals about 3,500 calories.
Grams and calories are different units of measurement that cannot be converted into one another
Step 2. Find out which energy source you want to measure calories
The number of calories per gram of food depends on the ratio of its main nutrients. The human body can obtain energy (using calories) from three main nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.
You can't weigh food and convert the grams into calories. You must know the number of calories in a particular type of primary nutrient to calculate the number of calories in it
Step 3. Multiply the number of grams by the conversion value
Look at the label of the food you want to count calories for. Each nutrient will be listed in grams. Once you find the number of grams you're looking for, you can multiply that number by the number of calories contained in each gram of a particular nutrient.
