What is Caloric Density and Why is it Important for Weight Loss?

What is caloric density?

Caloric density refers to the number of calories in a given amount of food.

Caloric density = calories / weight of food

Foods that are high in caloric density contain a lot of calories per unit of weight, whereas foods that are low in caloric density contain fewer calories per unit of weight. For example, a small serving of chocolate cake contains many more calories than a large serving of salad.

In general, foods that are high in water, fiber, and/or air tend to be lower in caloric density, while foods that are high in fat and/or sugar tend to be higher in caloric density. For example, fruits and vegetables tend to be low in caloric density due to their high water and fiber content, while processed foods tend to be higher in caloric density due to their high fat and/or sugar content.

Why is caloric density important for weight loss?

By choosing foods that are lower in caloric density, we can consume larger volumes of food for fewer calories, which can help us feel fuller and more satisfied while maintaining a healthy diet. 

How can I use caloric density to lose weight?

We can use caloric density to understand how to put together a meal that will leave us satiated and satisfied. And leaving every meal satisfied is key to building sustainable eating habits, as you will not seek any other food afterward.

And yes, I said putting together… Because you don’t need to just have a salad and end it there. If I feel like having pasta for dinner, I will make sure to make the sauce from fresh tomatoes and add a lot of vegetables. That will increase the volume of my meal without adding many calories. This results in a HUGE bowl of food, but actually only 75 grams of it is pasta.

So what is the conclusion? The key is combining the food you want to eat with foods of low CI so that you can make a meal higher in volume without adding many calories.