People calculate nutritional information for a variety of reasons: weight loss, weight gain, weight maintenance. It is a simple skill that can be done with a nutrition label and, in some cases, a calculator.
Instructions
How to Calculate Nutritional Information
- Knowing conversions. One gram of carbohydrate has four calories. 1 gram of protein has 4 calories. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. One gram of alcohol has seven calories.
- Use the label. Nutritional labels show the total calories and calories from fat, but using conversions allows you to calculate the number of calories from protein and carbohydrates. For example, if an article has 49 grams of carbohydrates, multiply 49 by 4 calories for 196 calories from carbohydrates.
- Find the percentage of calories from food. To do this, divide the calories of a nutrient (fat, for example) by the total calories and multiply by 100 For example, if your favorite snack has 200 calories, with 50 calories from fat, divide 50 by 200 to arrive . 25; multiply this by 100 to get 25. That snack has 25 percent of calories from fat.
