How to Calculate Calories in Food

Counting calories is a useful strategy for weight loss. Since all packaged foods must have a nutrition facts label, this is fairly easy to do. If you need to know the exact number of calories from fat, protein, and carbs, you’ll have to do a bit of math. In case your food isn’t labeled, like at a restaurant, try looking up dishes or ingredients using an online food ingredient database or calorie calculator. After reading this article, you will probably want to calculate your total daily calorie needs.

Table of Contents

Add calories by nutrition facts

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Locate the nutritional ingredients on the package. In many parts of the world, food manufacturers are required by law to provide nutritional information on packaged products. This information is presented in a tabular form, which can usually be found on the back or side of the package. If you care about what you eat, the nutrition facts label is where you should look first. ^{[1] X Trusted Source US Food and Drug Administration Go to source}

A food’s nutrition facts can tell you everything there is to know about what’s in it, including a complete list of ingredients and an overview of each major macronutrient.

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Pay attention to the amount of protein, starch and fat in the product. When considering the nutritional value of food, you should look at the following three components: protein, starch, and fat. These macronutrients account for all calories in food (except calories from alcohol). As such, the exact amount of each macronutrient will indicate their proportion of total calories. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Alcohol also contains a significant amount of calories. Each gram of alcohol is about 7 calories.

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Multiply each macronutrient by the corresponding calorie count. One gram of protein is estimated to produce about 4 calories. A gram of carbs also produces 4 calories, and a gram of fat produces up to 9 calories. If the food you’re eating contains 20g of protein, 35g of carbs and 15g of fat, this means you would multiply 20×4, 35×4 and 15×9 to find out how many calories are contributed by each macronutrient, respectively. 80, 140 and 135. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Nutrients are always measured in grams. Make sure you’re using the correct standard when calculating calories in food yourself.

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Calculate total calories for each macronutrient. Now that you know how to divide calories, add each number together to get the total calories per serving. Going back to the previous example, 80 + 140 + 135 = 355 calories. This number should correspond to the estimated value stated on the packaging of the food.

Calculate the calories of each macronutrient rather than simply reading on a box that tells you how many calories are in a certain food, but also how to make them part of the diet. balance.
355 calories doesn’t sound like much, but if you’re trying to eat less fat, you may be alarmed to discover that the grams of fat make up almost half of the total.

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Take into account the portion size. Note that the calorie and macronutrient figures shown in the nutrition facts apply to the recommended serving size only. If there are more servings in the package, the actual total calories will be much higher. This can be an important fact to keep in mind if you’re tracking calories as part of a diet or exercise plan. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

For example, one dish contains 355 calories per serving, and with 3 servings per pack, the total would be 1,065 calories.

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Compare the calories of different nutrients to their recommended daily values. According to nutritionists and other food experts, 46-65% of your total daily calories should come from carbs, 10-35% from protein, and 20-25% from fat. The recommended daily value (DV) column shown in the nutrition table will tell you what percentage you’re getting from the food. ^{[5] X Trusted Source EatRight.org Go to Source}

For example, a snack containing 35g of starch, provides about 12% of your recommended daily value of about 300g. ^{[6] X Trusted Source Mayo Clinic Go to Source}
The Daily Value is an average based on the recommended dietary intake for adults, which is about 2,000 calories per day. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

Use a calculator or manual to determine calories

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Use an online calorie calculator to look up nutritional information quickly. If you have a computer or smartphone, you have many useful calorie counting tools at your fingertips. Resources like the USDA Food Ingredient Database ^{[8] X Research Sources} or WebMD’s Food Calorie Calculator ^{[9] X Research Source} stores the nutritional facts for almost any food product is imaginable and you can easily view it at the press of a button.

For foods that aren’t packaged, like fresh fruits, vegetables, and restaurant prepared foods, you won’t be able to consider the nutritional facts involved. Online calorie counters can be helpful when you want to know more about what’s in these foods.
Some calorie counters only provide calorie counts and recommended servings of the foods you’re looking for. Other machines can also give you macronutrient values. ^{[10] X Research Source}

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Carry a food ingredient guide with you when you go out. Besides online tools, traditional publications document the nutritional value of popular foods. Carry a guidebook with you to restaurants or grocery shopping to see how different foods are used in your body. ^{[11] X Research Source}

Some of the best known food composition guides include: “The Complete Book of Food Counts” by Corinne T. Netzer, “Nutritive Value of Foods” Nutritional Value of Foods) by Susan E. Gebhardt, and the USDA’s “Handbook of the Nutritional Value of Foods in Common Units”.
Some guidebooks even document the nutritional value of menus selected at popular restaurants. If you want to know the calories in Outback Steakhouse’s Bloomin’ Onion, now’s your chance! ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Search for a food or ingredient. Enter the name of the food or flip through the ingredients guide until you find the correct location. You’ll see USDA-recommended servings of calories, along with other information like key macronutrient values and recommended daily values.

Be sure to specify the exact serving size of the food you are studying. Servings are usually measured in cups, ounces, or grams. ^{[13] X Research Source}
The foods in the food ingredient guide can be listed alphabetically or grouped (such as fruits, vegetables, meats, breads, or snacks).

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Look up ingredients for homemade meals separately. If you’re concerned about the calories in an entire meal, you’ll need to record each individual ingredient. You will then add up the values according to the specific amount used in the dish. Get a pen and piece of paper to write down each value as you look up—this will make it much easier to sum them up later. ^{[14] X Research Source}

For example, to find out how many calories are in a bowl of homemade beef stew, you’d need to consult a list of beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and broth or broth, then look up the calories by amount of food required by the recipe.
Don’t forget to include ingredients like butter, oil, fat, and breadcrumbs. They are often not taken into account because they are not considered the main ingredients of the dish. ^{[15] X Research Source}

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Consider the nutritional differences between similar foods. Go through the nutrient list carefully and tick the ones that best match the ingredient you’re interested in. For example, a cooked chicken breast with skin is higher in fat and calories than skinless meat. Looking at the wrong ingredients can give you an inaccurate impression of how healthy the food you choose. ^{[16] X Research Source}

Foods such as fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts and cheeses in particular are varied. There are over 200 popular varieties of potatoes sold exclusively in the US!
Diversity is even common in packaged foods. In some cases, there may be three to four different varieties of the same product, including low-fat, high-protein and whole-grain variations. ^{[17] X Trusted Source Consumer Reports Go to Source}

Advice

Use a calculator to ensure that you get the most accurate results possible.
Look for food and other fresh items packaged in plastic bags or containers with clearly labeled nutritional values.
Apps like HealthyOut are created specifically to help diners stay informed about calories when ordering.
Pay attention to the fine print when you go out to eat. In some places, the law requires restaurants to list the nutritional value of menu items directly on the menu.
If you’re focused on maintaining your calorie intake, consider keeping a food diary to track what you eat over the long term.

Warning

Nutritional facts, even those calculated by the USDA, can only give rough estimates. There is no way to know exactly how many calories are in a certain food. By law, figures must only be accurate to +/- 20%.

Steps

Add calories by nutrition facts

Use a calculator or manual to determine calories

Advice

Warning

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