What is a calorie?

A calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a gram of water by 1 degree celcius. With regards to fat loss, theoretically, calories in > calories out = fat gain calories out > calories in = fat loss In English, if you consume more calories that you require in a day, it turns into fat. If you create a caloric deficit by consuming less calories than you require, fat is lost.

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It should also be pointed out that "Calorie" on nutrition fact labels often stand for kilo-calorie (1000 times more) with respect to the above definition.

For instance a yogurt which is labeled 100 Calories should actually be labeled 100 kcal with the above definition.

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For further information, 1 calorie is equivalent to 4.18 joules
Joule is the Standard International unit of work and in other words is the amount of work done to lift and object of mass 1 kg to a height 1 metre on the earth's surface.

for those of you interested in nutrition or are calorie conscious, check out the calorie calculator at this site
http://www.stevenscreek.com/goodies/calories.shtml

 

 

 

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It is the energy that produces foods when they are metabolizados by the organism; they appear like heat that is moderate in calories, that are the amount of heat necessary to elevate 1º C the temperature of 1 gr. of water. (7)

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A Calorie is an energetic value that stands for the "heat" that is produced by the nutrition you eat, and if not "burnt" turns into fat. The Daily recomendation of calories is around 2000, so you shouldn't eat mor than that calor means heat in spanish and in latin too i believe, so the word is pretty much self-explanatory <- That was my own definition of the word calorie, if you wish a dictionary definition:

(small) calorie: (abbr: cal) the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 ºC (now usually defined as 4.1868 joules)

(large) calorie: (abbr: Cal) the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 ºC, equal to 100 small calories and often used to measure the energy value of foods.

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I would say it differently. If calories in are more than necessary, your organism will create fat.
If, very soon, calories out > calories in, your body will use the fat recently created in order to recover the lack of energy.
Unfortunately, if you eat too much for a very long time (several years), fat will become permanent, and you will need chirurgy to remove it.
Yes, yes, energy is one point, but time is a second one, don't forget about time consumption when talking about energy consumption.
Time, Distance, Energy : Thanks to Einstein.
Weight ? Not very important, provided that you stay healthy!

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Well, most people say, oh, calories, I am going to get fat, not neccesarily, calories won't make you fat, unless you are eating too much of the wrong foods, chocolate cake is a prime example, all the calories in that could fatten you up in no time.

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I thought it was enough to rasie the temperature in a litre of water, not a gram.

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Well, a single calorie is not that large, so I don't think it would raise the temperature in an entire litre of water, but I could be wrong, should look it up, research it.

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He was right initially: a calorie is the energy required to heat one gram of water by one degree celsius. This is what the textbooks say, and is "roughly" correct. The first assumption is that 1 ml water = 1 gram water, which is true when the density of water is 1 gm/ml. The density of water varies with temperature and pressure, so this is only true sometimes. And the energy required to heat a gram of water by one degree is not actually a constant, since the specific heat of water also varies with temperature and pressure. Most measurements on water are assumed to take place at 1 atmosphere of pressure (i.e. sea level) and at 4 degrees celsius, which is the temperature where water is the most dense (if pressure is constant). It is actually very interesting and very rare for a substance to have a temperature of maximum density.

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