Calorie Tracker
To track your consumed and expended calories, pick a day that has your usual amount of physical activity and food that you eat. Record your results in step one through five and complete the reflection questions in step six.
Step 1: Log your food (all meals, snacks and beverages) and activity (exercise) for one day in the chart below.
Step 2: Using the charts below, search the MyFitnessPal Food Search Tool for the calories consumed and Exercise Search Tool for the calories expended.
Sample:
Calories Consumed Calories Expended
Meal Type Food/Beverage Portion Size Caloric Value Physical Activity Minutes Caloric Value
Lunch turkey sandwich 1 sandwich 230 Basketball 20 min. 92
Calorie Log Date:____________________________
Calories Consumed Calories Expended
Meal Type Food/Beverage Portion Size Caloric Value Physical Activity Minutes Caloric Value
DAY ONE TOTAL CALORIES CONSUMED = ________ DAY ONE TOTAL EXPENDED ACTIVITY CALORIES = ________
Step 3:
Use this calculator to find your BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR)
Step 4:
ADD your BMR calorie total to your TOTAL EXPENDED calories for the day:
BMR calorie total + Expended Activity calories = Total EXPENDED
______________ + ______________________ = ______________
Step 5:
SUBTRACT your TOTAL EXPENDED calories from your TOTAL CONSUMED calories for each day:
Consumed calorie total - Total EXPENDED calories = Calorie difference
______________ - ______________________ = ______________
Step 6:
Answer the reflection questions using complete sentences.
Define calories and explain how the body gets energy.
What are your total calories in and total calories out?
According to your total calories in and out, will you gain weight, lose weight or maintain your weight over time? Why? If you will gain or lose weight, how long will it take you to gain or lose one pound of body fat?
Let's say you start jogging every day, burning an additional 300 calories a day. At this rate, how long would it take you to lose one pound of body fat?
Let's say you start drinking a soda from the school vending machine every day, taking in an additional 200 calories a day. At this rate, how long would it take you to gain one pound of body fat?
Reflection Questions:
1. Calories are a unit of measurement used to quantify the amount of energy in food and drinks. The body gets energy from calories by breaking down the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in food through a process called metabolism.
2. My total calories in (consumed) and total calories out (expended) for the day are calculated in Step 5.
3. Based on the total calories in (consumed) and total calories out (expended), I will either gain weight, lose weight, or maintain my weight over time. If my total calories in are greater than my total calories out, I will gain weight. If my total calories in are smaller than my total calories out, I will lose weight. If my total calories in and out are equal, I will maintain my weight. The time it takes to gain or lose one pound of body fat depends on the calorie difference calculated in Step 5. To lose one pound of body fat, a calorie deficit of approximately 3500 calories is needed. To gain one pound, a calorie surplus of approximately 3500 calories is needed.
4. If I start jogging every day, burning an additional 300 calories a day, it would take approximately 11-12 days to lose one pound of body fat. (3500 calories divided by 300 calories burned per day).
5. If I start drinking a soda from the school vending machine every day, taking in an additional 200 calories a day, it would take approximately 17-18 days to gain one pound of body fat. (3500 calories divided by 200 calories consumed per day).