Calorie density measure the number of calories that are contained within a specific amount of food. The concept of calorie density is important in that calorie density determine the amount of food that you can eat before you consume a certain number of calories. Some foods contains low levels of calorie density, meaning that the food contains alot of water and dietary fiber, and that you can eat a lot of that food without consuming many calories.
Other foods contains high levels of calorie density, meaning that the food contains a lot of fat and sugars, and that it provides a lot of calories in a small volume. Because low calorie density foods contains a lot of water and fiber, they can be used to eat a large volume of food while maintaining a low calorie intake. Volume eating is a method of eating that encourage the consumption of a large volume of food while maintaining low calorie intake.
What Is Calorie Density
Foods like celery and cucumbers is low in calorie density, so you can consume large amounts of these foods while still consuming few calories. However, it is not possible to eat foods that contain only low calorie densities, as the body requires various nutrient for normal function. For instance, the body requires proteins to maintain muscle tissue, and carbohydrates are required to provide energy to the brain.
Proteins contains varying levels of calorie density. For instance, lean proteins like chicken breast contains low levels of calorie density because they contains very little fat. Therefore, you can consume large portions of chicken breast while still ingesting relatively few calories.
In contrast, fatty proteins like ground beef contains more calories per gram than lean proteins like chicken breast. Thus, diets high in ground beef will contain more calories then diets high in chicken breast. Carbohydrates also contains varying levels of calorie density.
For instance, when measuring carbohydrates like rice or oats, it is common for individuals to make mistake in the way in which the food is weighed. For instance, rice weight will increase when you cook it in water, but the calorie content of the rice will remain the same. Therefore, if an individual measured the weight of cooked rice but calculated the calories of dry rice, there calorie count will be incorrect.
Fats are the most calorie-dense type of macronutrient. Fats contains more calories per gram than proteins or carbohydrates. For instance, olive oil or butter are fat that contain very high levels of calorie density.
A small portion of olive oil or butter will provide a large number of calories. Therefore, precision is necessary when adding fats to food, as there is a risk of consuming too much calories if you guess the fats content of a food. Many processed snack and sugary drinks are high in calorie density.
Snacks that contains sugar and fat are difficult for the body to recognize as full. Drinks like soda contains a high level of calorie density, but the brain does not register the calories from liquid beverages as a meal. As a result, an individual can consume many calories from a liquid without feeling full.
If you dont have access to a digital scale to weigh the food that you eat, there are method to estimate the portion size of certain food types with your hands. For instance, the palm of your hand is a good portion size for protein, a cupped hand is a good portion size for carbohydrates, and the width of your thumb is a good portion size for fats. While not nearly as precise as a digital scale, this method can help to visually estimate the amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat that you are consuming.
You do not have to eliminate any food group from your diet. While it is important to eat some foods with high levels of calorie density, like cheese or nut, it is also important to eat some foods with low levels of calorie density, like vegetables or lean proteins. By consuming foods that are high in calorie density and low in calorie density, you can eat a large volume of food while maintaining control over the number of calories that you consume.
