Eat energy-rich – but low in calories

How do you eat as energy-rich but low-calorie as possible? It’s a question we often get from our members who worry about calories. How does it actually work? This is how we reason.

If you exercise a lot or train hard, it may be desirable to get as much energy as possible in order to last as much as possible. At the same time, many are afraid of taking in too many calories. Especially if the goal is to lose weight. How does that actually go together? And how to think?

Energy and calories the same thing

The observant may feel confused here, as the answer is that it is really just a matter of different definitions of the same thing: Energy is precisely measured in calories*. If you say that a raw material is high in energy, then it is automatically also high in calories. What is important to understand, however, is that there can be a big difference between different calories. For example, consuming 500 calories from a plate of boiled potatoes, salmon, gravy and peas contains significantly more nutrition than 500 calories from a piece of chocolate cake.

High in calories, but good food

So how to think? Well, while the plate of food in the example provides both carbohydrates, protein and good fat, the chocolate cake rather only provides a sugar rush that will make your blood sugar first shoot up and then fall. The key if you want to eat energy-rich but low-calorie food is to invest in “better” energy that gives you more energy and keeps you full longer. So what is “good” energy?
Below we have listed some examples divided into our three most common nutritional categories:

• Proteins provide good satiety, which makes it easier if the goal is to lose weight. Found in meat, chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, beans, grains, nuts and seeds.
• Carbohydrates are usually divided into fast and slow carbohydrates. The most useful are slow carbohydrates with a lot of fiber. Found in some vegetables and root vegetables as well as in whole grain pasta, brown rice, bulgur and semolina.
• Fat is usually divided into saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat. The most useful are the monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in, among other things, fish, rapeseed oil, olive oil and nuts.

Source: Swedish Food Agency

*Calorie (cal) is the unit that measures the energy level in what we eat. However, when talking about “calories” in everyday speech, most people are referring to the concept of kilocalories (kcal) (1,000 cal = 1 kcal). And in order not to create confusion, we at Wellobe have chosen to do the same. Both units thus measure the same thing, much like grams and kilograms.