A calorie, is a calorie, is a calorie.  Morning, noon or at night, a calorie is a calorie.  Some other basic facts about calories include:

• A calorie is a unit to of energy supplied by food. 
• Carbohydrates and proteins each contain 4 calories per gram; fat, 9 calories per gram; and alcohol, 7 calories per gram. 
• Foods and beverages contain nutrients as well as calories.  Calories provide the fuel for our body and nutrients (water, carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins) provide the tools for growth, maintenance and repair of our bodies. 
• There are 3,500 calories in 1 pound of body fat. 
• When we consume more calories than our body needs for basic functions and energy expenditure, excess calories are stored as fat; we gain weight.  When we expend more calories than what we need for basic functions and energy expenditure; we lose weight.   
• As we age, our nutrient levels for the most part remain the same, while our calorie needs generally decrease. 
• “Fat” or “sugar-free” does not necessarily mean the food is “calorie-free”.  Sometimes fat or sugar may replace one or the other for flavor or product production. 
• Nutrition labels list the calories and selected nutrients for an individual serving; most packages contain more than 1 serving. 

With these thoughts in mind, you can purposefully plan a diet for yourself or family members which balance calories needed for weight maintenance, loss or increase, and includes the nutrients for growth, maintenance and repair of body tissues. 

There are a number of menu planners and calorie counters available on-line as well as for various mobile devices which can assist you in counting calories and tracking nutrients.   An adult BMI (Body Mass Index) and calorie counter is available Adult Energy Needs and BMI Calculator (http://www.bcm.edu/cnrc/caloriesneed.htm).  A calorie counter is available at “MyFood-a-pedia” (http://www.myfoodapedia.gov/).  For further reading you may also access the Centers for Disease Control, “Balancing Calories” (http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html).