Calorie chart to help you lower and maintain your calorie intake through fruits

Health benefits of fruits need very little introduction, and globally fruits are rightly considered as one of the best sources of nutrition. Additionally, fruits enhance the experience through the distinct taste, flavor, fresh earthy fragrance and visual appearance of each fruit variety. Apart from being one of the finest sources of nutrients, fruits have zero cholesterol and are low in fat, and calories. It is the low calorie count that makes fruits a great choice for individuals on a diet plan. If you happen to be on one, it helps to actually track the amount of calories in each serving size of various fruit varieties. This is essential to execute your diet plan for optimized benefits in the shortest possible time. Here’s a little information that will help you understand the big picture easily.

Evidence supported weight management

The easiest, evidence supported weight management program involves changes in dietary intake. The whole idea is to bring down undesirable craving for food, reduce weight and improve health. Targeting carb intake helps in weight loss, and reduce appetite which in turn helps achieve the objectives. Fruit has turned out to be a good replacement in diet plans, delivering superior nutrients without topping up the calories or cholesterol. However, it is important to ensure that fruits are not mixed with other ingredients that can increase the calorie intake. A significant percentage of individuals make this mistake – mainly because of lack of information about the calorie value of all ingredients, including fruits.

A quick look at calories and impact on health

The human body requires energy for performing functions. The need for energy exists in all cells of the human body – from brains to muscles. The body receives this energy in the source of food – from fat, sugar, carbohydrates and proteins. Calorie is a unit of energy, it refers to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. In nutritional value this is typically referred in terms of kilocalories which are units of 1000 small calories. Small calories are the amount of heat required to raise one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.

Tip – Whenever any food product is labelled as having a particular amount of calories, and the representative symbol is “C” (capital C), it indicates that the number is kilocalories. Food products are typically labelled as multiples of kilocalories and not small calories.

What is the ideal intake of calories per day for male/female?

The ideal calorie intake for males/females depends on various factors – the age of the individual, the routine activities in which the individual is involved, and the resting metabolic rates. Resting metabolic rate refers to the amount of calories that an individual burns up doing nothing. Every individual burns up a specific amount calories, even when completely at rest – this is essential to support various involuntary functions of the body such as blood circulation, normal breathing and the various neurological functions, apart from essential organs functions.

Therefore it is hard to actually put a number to the ideal calorie intake without looking at the various factors. However, for the purpose of an average to use as a standard, here are general averages that can be used as a ballpark. Remember, the requirements will actually differ from person to person, though this is generally agreed to be an average.

Here, it is important to understand that the calorie intake is generally advised to not dip below 1500 calories per day for males and 1200 calories per day for females. This is essential to ensure that the required amount of nutrients are delivered to the body.

What do weight loss programs and diet plans aim to achieve?

Weight loss programs typically work out a targeted intake of calories per day. This is intended to reduce the calories per day and in combination with moderate workouts/activities, the individual gradually loses weight, working towards the desired/targeted weight.

Here is a look at the calorie value of various fruits that are commonly consumed. For the purpose of comparison, a standard serving size of 100 mg is considered. The values indicated for each fruit include the calories, fat, carbohydrates and proteins in each serving.

Amanda Collins

Education: Master’s in Clinical Nutrition from Tufts University. Experience: 6 years of experience as a registered dietitian and freelance writer, creating content on nutritional science and weight management for various health websites.