How to Measure Calorie Count

Although the nutrition label will usually tell you how many calories are in your food, there is a certain leeway in the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration requirements, that allow food companies to disregard some minimal calories in their ingredients. One example of this is when the calorie count is considered negligible, the label will say 0. However, if you eat more than one serving, the count will not be negligible. If you are on a strict low-calorie diet or want to know how many calories you are really eating, the best way is to figure it out yourself.

Things You'll Need

• Food scale
• Calculator

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Instructions

• 1

  Weigh your food so you know exactly how many grams you are eating. In any given food, carbohydrates will give you 4 calories per gram, fat gives you 9, protein gives you 4, and alcohol gives you 7. Fiber detracts from the total amount of calories, so it should be subtracted from the total.

• 2

  Look up how many grams of carbohydrates are in your food and multiply that number by 4. Take into account how many grams you are eating as compared to the serving size on the label. For example, if the serving size is 40 grams and you are eating 60, then you should add another 50 percent to the number you get.

• 3

  Multiply the amount of protein by 4, taking into account the size you are eating as opposed to the serving size.

• 4

  Repeat with grams of fat and alcohol and add all of the numbers together.

• 5

  Subtract any grams of fiber from the total number. For example, if there are 6 grams of fiber in one serving, figure out how many grams of fiber are in the amount that you are eating, such as 9, and subtract 9 from your total number.