School Challenge - Calories in, calories out

Calories in, calories out – find the balance!

Achieving a healthy weight is a balancing act. Food is the fuel that our body uses for energy. The amount of energy contained in food is called calories. The more calories you eat, the more energy you get. Your body burns calories all the time – when you are running, cycling, walking, and even when you are sleeping.

Your weight is consistent when the amount of calories you eat equals the amount of calories you burn. The more you exercise, the more calories your body burns. When balancing your diet and exercise, you need to look at calories in and calories out over an entire day. Remember that it is OK to treat yourself once in a while as long as you make up for it with healthy food and exercise the day after.

How to lose weight?

When you eat too many calories compared with your activity level, the extra calories turn into fat. If you want to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories and be more active. For example:

You should be active for 60 minutes every day. Riding your bike or playing instead of watching TV will also help. Even cleaning your room is healthy – and fun too! Isn’t it?
Some foods contain more calories than others. Chips and sweets contain lots of calories, whereas fruit and vegetables contain few calories. You can control your calorie intake by choosing less rich food products.

Easy calorie-cutting tips

If you cannot do without your burger, sweets and chips once in a while, eat half of what you usually do. That will halve your calorie intake.
Drink water instead of fizzy drinks or juice, which are rich in calories.
Eat fruit instead of chocolate bars. Nothing beats fresh fruit!
The most important thing to remember about weight and food is that you should always compare your calorie intake with your activity level.