Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Convert grams of fat to calories
• Method 2 of 3: Convert grams of carbohydrates and proteins to calories
• Method 3 of 3: Understanding grams versus calories

Learning to count calories is a good way to eat healthily. While most food labels list the number of calories in the product, they often do not specify the specific nutrients these calories contain. By knowing the difference between grams and calories and how to convert them, you will be able to easily calculate the number of calories in specific nutrients.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Convert grams of fat to calories

1. Check out the food label. Most food labels will state how many grams of fat are in each serving of that product. With this you can calculate the calories.
2. Multiply the grams of fat by nine. Each gram of fat contains nine calories. To know how many calories are in the fat content, you simply have to multiply the amount of fat in grams by nine.
   • For example, if something has ten grams of fat, then you would multiply ten grams of fat by nine calories and the total would be 90 calories. So there are so many calories in the fat content.
3. Calculate how many calories are in the entire product. To find out how many calories are in the product's total fat content, multiply the original number you just received by the number of servings indicated on the label.
   • If the label says there are three servings, then you should multiply 90 by 3 and get 270 calories in total.

Method 2 of 3: Convert grams of carbohydrates and proteins to calories

1. Know that a carbohydrate is an organic compound. Carbohydrates consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They always contain calories (4 per gram), but calories don't automatically mean they are carbohydrates as there are other macronutrients that contain calories.
2. Check out the food label. You will see how many grams of carbohydrates each serving contains. Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram. Multiply the number of carbohydrates by four to find how many calories there are.
   • For example, if a product contains nine grams of carbohydrates, 9 x 4 will give a total of 36 calories. You use four to multiply by because each carbohydrate has exactly four calories.
3. Calculate how many calories are in protein. Proteins are also indicated on food labels. Like carbohydrates, proteins contain four calories per gram. So again you have to multiply the number of proteins by four to get the total number of calories.

Method 3 of 3: Understanding grams versus calories

1. Know the difference between a gram and a calorie. A gram is a metric unit of weight and is equal to one thousandth of a kilogram. A calorie is a unit of energy that people get from food. 500 grams of body fat is equivalent to 3500 calories.
   • A gram and a calorie are different metric units that cannot be converted to each other just like that.
2. See which energy source you want to calculate the calories from. The amount of calories per gram of food depends on the ratio of the macronutrients. The human body can obtain energy (calories) from three major nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
   • You cannot weigh food and convert the number of grams into calories. You need to know how many calories are in grams of a particular macronutrient to calculate the total calories.
3. Multiply the number of grams by the conversion number. View the food label for which you want to calculate the calories. Each nutrient will be expressed in grams. When you've found what you're looking for, you can multiply that number by the number of calories each specific nutrient contains.