Calorie Density – The Easiest Calculation for Weight Loss
Here at Eatiquette, we love to eat! Heck, it’s in our name. But when we eat, we like to get the most bang for our buck. Or, per the 1950’s Pepsi slogan, “more bounce for our ounce.” To put it in nutritional terms, we like to eat low-calorie dense foods and high-nutrient dense foods. So what do these terms mean?
Nutrient Density = Nutrients/Calories
Nutrient Density is the number of nutrients in a food relative to the calories that food provides. So the more nutrients per fewer calories equal a higher nutrient density.
Calcium Per Calorie in Yogurts
To understand nutrient density, let’s use yogurt and the micronutrient calcium as an example. One brand of plain, full-fat Greek yogurt has 180 mg of calcium per 160 calories (one serving), whereas the same brand of plain, non-fat Greek yogurt offers 190 mg of calcium per 100 calories (one serving).
The non-fat yogurt has a nutrient density of 1.90 mg of calcium per calorie (190 divided by 100), which offers more calcium per calorie than the full-fat yogurt with a nutrient-density of 1.12 mg of calcium per calorie (180 divided by 160). So you can get your nutrients without adding too many calories. Sounds like a win-win!
Compare Across Foods
Comparisons for nutrient density can be both like-for-like, i.e., yogurt-to-yogurt, or yogurt-to-greens. For example, do a nutrient-density comparison for calcium between yogurt and collard greens. You’ll find that one cup of collard greens provides 7.7 mg of calcium per calorie, vs. just 1.9 mg for yogurt! Fruits, vegetables, and low- or non-fat dairy are ideal examples of nutrient-dense foods.
Calorie Density = Calories/Weight of Food
Calorie Density (or Energy Density which is the same) is the number of calories a food provides relative to the food’s weight. So foods with high-calorie density deliver more calories per bite than foods with low-calorie densities. If you’re trying to lose weight, choosing low-calorie dense foods (foods that will fill you up for fewer calories) is the way to eat!
What Does 100 Calories Look Like?
We put our favorites snacks on a plate to illustrate the difference. Scroll through to compare.
Apple Vs. Apple Pie
Let’s take apples and pre-packaged apple snack pies as an example of calculating calorie-density. An apple with 52 calories per 100 grams has a low-calorie density, while a pre-packaged apple snack pie with 400 calories per 100 grams has a high-calorie density. All those bites of snack pie will add up quickly!
Low-Calorie-Density & Nutrient-Density
Low calorie-dense foods are often, like the apple, also very nutrient-dense. You’ll find that most low-calorie dense foods include whole foods like fruits, vegetables, eggs, and low- or non-fat dairy. High-calorie dense foods are often items like desserts, pastries, as well as a lot of processed and ultra-processed foods.
Calorie-Density and Weight Loss
Eating low-calorie-dense foods can aid in weight loss because it keeps you feeling fuller on fewer calories. Many people have quit diets due to feeling hungry, but when you eat a large volume of food with fewer calories, you’ll feel satisfied rather than deprived.
The Volumetrics Diet – Eat for Satiety
The Volumetrics Diet, created by Barbara Rolls Ph.D., focuses on satiety (feeling full) and low-calorie-density. This calorie-density-focused plan is more of an approach to eating than a traditional, restrictive diet.
For the Volumetrics Diet, Rolls divides foods into four categories based on their calorie-densities. Remember, you’ll divide the number of calories in a serving by its weight in grams to calculate calorie density. While Rolls’ density is by 1 gram, all our comparisons are by 100grams. The principle is the same just our numbers are 100x.
Category 1 – Very-Low-Calorie-Density (less than 60)
Rolls recommends eating generous portions of foods in Category 1, such as non-starchy fruits and vegetables, non-fat dairy, and broth-based soups.
Category 2 – Low-Calorie-Density (60 – 160)
The Volumetrics Diet suggests eating reasonable portions from Category 2, consuming foods such as starchy fruits and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and low-fat meats.
Category 3 – Medium-Calorie-Density (160 – 400)
Foods in Category 3, like cheeses and baked goods, should be eaten in moderation.
Category 4 – High-Calorie-Density (400 – 900)
Foods in Category 4, like candies and fried foods, should be limited.
Grouping foods into these different calorie-density categories is a clear and simple approach to choosing healthy foods for your plate.
The Volumetrics approach to eating doesn’t require the purchase of any supplements or additional foods; it’s just about filling up on low-calorie-dense foods so you can easily meet your nutritional needs while still feeling full and consuming fewer calories.
How Can Eatiquette Help?
Beyond choosing fruits and vegetables, what about understanding the calorie-density of packaged foods you’ll find in your local grocery store? That’s where Eatiquette can also help! All the items in our database are measured by 100 grams (around 4oz). Measuring all the foods at the same weight means it’s easy to compare calorie-densities across all food items. Personally, this is just one of my favorite aspects of the Eatiquette app.
Calorie-density of Cold Cereals in the Eatiquette App
So let’s say you’re looking for a low-calorie-dense cereal to start your morning. You simply go to the “cold boxed cereals” category in the Eatiquette app and sort by “calories.” (You can filter the search from lowest calorie content or highest calorie content.) Then divide the calories by weight.
Currently, the highest calorie-density cold cereal in the Eatiquette database weighs in at 500 calories per 100 grams. If you’re following the Volumetrics diet, a calorie density of 5 (500 in our case) would land you in Category 4! The lowest calorie-dense cereal in the Eatiquette database provides a reasonable 238 calories per 100 grams. This cereal would be in Category 3.
As another example: granolas can range widely in calorie density, with some brands (KIND coming out best) with a density of 169 and other brands have calorie densities above 600.
Seeing these differences in calorie-densities can help guide you to the best cereal for your lifestyle.
Fiber Per Calorie in Cold Cereal
Following the same logic, you can calculate the ‘fiber’-density, by dividing by the fiber content by the number of calories.
“Get more fiber” is a smart and popular piece of advice among nutritionists. If you are trying to compare breakfast cereals to choose the one with the most fiber, then the Eatiquette app can help. With over 2,800 cold cereals in our database, you’ll be able to find the right cereal for your bowl.
To discover the cereal with the greatest amount of nutrient density (specific to fiber) you can sort specifically for fiber and compare cereal-to-cereal.
When you sort for “fiber,” you’ll find that MoM (MaltOMeal) Crispy Rice Cereal has 0 grams of fiber per 389 calorie serving, whereas Nature’s Path Organic Smart Bran cereal has 42.5 grams of fiber per 275 calorie serving. The MoM cereal has a fiber density of 0 (0 per 389 calories) and Nature’s Path cereal has a fiber density of 0.15 (42.5 per 275 calories).
While this is a pretty easy comparison on sight alone, based on the 0 grams of fiber in the MoM cereal, you’ll be benefited by knowing the nutrient-density calculation (nutrients divided by calories) for other harder to compare options.
We created the Eatiquette app to be a useful tool in your nutritional toolbox, and searching by calorie density or fiber density is a great place to start your journey to healthy eating.
