A calorie is a unit of energy. Food gives your body energy, and your body uses it to breathe, think, move and exercise. On food labels, "calories" really means kilocalories (kcal), and that is what Get2Shape shows.

Every gram of protein gives about 4 kcal, every gram of carbs about 4 kcal, and every gram of fat about 9 kcal. For example, one egg has about 6 g protein, 0.5 g carbs and 5 g fat: 24 + 2 + 45 = about 71 kcal.

First we find your resting burn (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor formula, using your age, sex, height and weight. Then we multiply it by your activity level to get your maintenance calories (TDEE). To lose about 0.5 kg a week we take away around 550 kcal a day, as 1 kg of body fat holds roughly 7,700 kcal. We never go below 1,500 kcal for men or 1,200 kcal for women.

From standard food tables such as USDA FoodData Central, using common home portions. Homemade food changes a lot with the amount of oil and ghee, so treat the numbers as a good estimate, not an exact count.

For weight change, mostly yes. But they do not fill you up the same way. 300 kcal of chicken and salad keeps you full for hours, while 300 kcal of biscuits does not. Protein and fibre help you feel full on fewer calories.

Build each plate the same way: a portion of protein (chicken, fish, eggs, daal, paneer), half the plate vegetables, a fist-sized portion of carbs (roti or rice), and a little healthy fat. The Diet plan page does this for you.

This is called a plateau. As you get lighter, your body burns fewer calories, so update your details in the calculator after every 4 to 5 kg lost. Also check for hidden calories like oil, chai and snacks, and remember that water can hide fat loss for a week or two.

Not without a doctor's care. Very low calories can make you lose muscle, miss important nutrients, feel weak and even raise the risk of gallstones. Slow and steady loss lasts longer.

Your activity level setting already includes your usual exercise. Fitness watches and machines often overestimate calories burned, so don't eat them all back.

Simple carbs are sugars that digest fast and raise blood sugar quickly, like sugar, mithai, soft drinks, juice and white bread. Complex carbs are starch with fibre that digest slowly and keep you full for longer, like whole wheat atta, brown rice, oats, daal, chana and vegetables.

Fibre is the part of plant food your body cannot fully digest. It keeps you full, helps digestion and keeps blood sugar steady. Try to get at least 25 g a day from vegetables, fruit, daal, beans and whole grains.

Net carbs are total carbs minus fibre. Fibre hardly raises blood sugar, so keto and low carb diets often count net carbs only. Example: 100 g of boiled chana has about 27 g carbs and 8 g fibre, so about 19 g net carbs. Note: US labels include fibre in total carbs, while UK and EU labels already leave it out.

No. Carbs are your body's main fuel, especially for exercise. The problem is too much sugar and refined flour, and very big portions. Choose complex carbs and keep to your portion.

It depends on your diet. A balanced diet gets about 45 to 55% of calories from carbs, low carb about a quarter, and keto under 50 g a day. The Macros page shows your exact grams.

GI shows how fast a food raises your blood sugar. Low GI foods like daal, chana, oats and most fruit raise it slowly. High GI foods like white bread, white rice and sugar raise it fast. Eating carbs with protein, fibre or a little fat slows the rise.

Brown rice has more fibre and a few more vitamins, so it keeps you full longer. The calories are almost the same, so the portion matters most. Basmati rice is a better white rice choice than sticky rice.

No. Whole fruit also gives fibre, water and vitamins, which slow down the sugar. Two servings of fruit a day is a good target. Fruit juice is different: it loses the fibre and is easy to over-drink.

Only a little. They have tiny amounts of minerals, but almost the same calories and the same effect on blood sugar. Count them as sugar.

Unsaturated fats are the healthy ones. You find them in olive, canola and mustard oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish like salmon, which also gives omega-3. They help your heart when they replace less healthy fats.

Saturated fat: ghee, butter, cream, fatty red meat, cheese, coconut oil and palm oil (found in many biscuits and snacks). The WHO advises keeping saturated fat under 10% of your daily calories.

Trans fat, the worst kind. It is found in banaspati or vanaspati ghee, foods made with partially hydrogenated oil, some bakery items and oil that is reused for frying again and again. The WHO advises keeping it under 1% of calories, so as close to zero as you can.

Not by itself. Fat has 9 kcal per gram, more than double carbs or protein, so it is easy to eat too much. But your body needs fat for hormones and to absorb vitamins A, D, E and K. Most people do well with 20 to 35% of calories from fat.

About 120 kcal in one tablespoon, and ghee is about the same. A curry made with half a cup of oil adds almost 1,000 kcal to the pot. Measure oil with a spoon instead of pouring from the bottle.

Omega-3 is a healthy fat that supports your heart and brain. The best sources are oily fish like salmon, sardines and mackerel. Walnuts, alsi (flax seeds) and chia seeds also help. Try to eat fish twice a week.

Ghee is mostly saturated fat. A small amount for flavour is fine, but use healthy vegetable oils for everyday cooking and measure with a teaspoon.

Canola, mustard, sunflower and olive oil are all good choices. Avoid banaspati. The most important thing is to use less, whatever oil you choose.

For most healthy people, one egg a day fits well into a healthy diet. Saturated and trans fats raise blood cholesterol more than the cholesterol in eggs. If you have diabetes or heart disease, ask your doctor.

Either works, as long as it matches the calorie number you use. Rice and pasta soak up water, so 100 g of raw rice becomes about 300 g cooked. Meat loses water, so 100 g of raw chicken becomes about 70 to 75 g cooked. The Food picker uses cooked home portions, shown under each food, like "1 cup (160 g)" for rice.

Count only the meat you eat. Either weigh the meat without bones, or weigh your plate with the bones, then weigh the bones after eating and subtract. Bones can be a large part of the weight of chicken or mutton pieces.

Oil is the hidden calorie. Note how much oil went into the whole pot, divide it by the number of servings, and add about 120 kcal for each tablespoon per serving. Taking curry from the top, where the oil floats, adds a lot more.

It helps a lot in the first 2 to 3 weeks, to learn what a real portion looks like. After that you can use your hand: your palm is a portion of protein, your fist a portion of carbs, a cupped hand a portion of fruit, and your thumb a portion of fat.

Use a measuring cup. Drinks add up fast: a cup of doodh patti with sugar is about 110 kcal, a can of soft drink about 140 kcal, and a glass of juice about 110 kcal. Water, black coffee and plain tea have almost none.

Pick the closest food in the Food picker. Restaurant food usually has more oil, salt and sugar than home food, so for curries add about one extra tablespoon of oil (120 kcal).

Look at the serving size first, because all the numbers are for that amount. Then check calories, protein, carbs (including sugar) and fat. To compare two products, use the "per 100 g" column.

No. Counting for a few weeks teaches you portions and where hidden calories are. After that, most people only check now and then to stay on track.

Adults need at least 0.8 g per kg of body weight a day. When losing weight or exercising, 1.2 to 1.6 g per kg or more helps you keep muscle and stay full. Your exact target is on the Macros page.

Chicken breast, fish, egg whites, Greek yogurt or thick dahi, and low-fat paneer. Daal, chana and rajma are good too, but they also bring carbs.

Yes, it is a good plant protein. A cup of cooked lentils has about 18 g of protein, but also about 40 g of carbs. Eat it with roti or rice over the day for complete protein.

Yes. Having 20 to 40 g of protein at each meal helps your muscles and keeps you full, better than eating it all at dinner.

Healthy kidneys handle high protein well. But going above about 2.2 g per kg gives little extra benefit and can push out vegetables and fibre. If you have kidney disease, follow your doctor's advice.

No. It is only a convenient option. Chicken, eggs, dahi, paneer, daal and chana can meet your needs.

About 0.5 to 1 kg a week is safe for most people. Faster loss often means losing muscle and water, and the weight comes back more easily.

Water, salt, the food in your stomach and, for women, the monthly cycle can change your weight by 1 to 2 kg in a day. Weigh at the same time each morning and look at the weekly average.

No. You cannot choose where fat comes off. As you lose fat overall, your waist will shrink too. Measuring your waist is a great way to track it.

Food matters most for losing weight, but exercise helps you keep muscle, stay healthy and keep the weight off. The WHO advises at least 150 minutes of activity a week, plus strength training on 2 days.

A planned treat meal now and then is fine if it fits into your week. A whole cheat day can easily cancel out a week of effort.

Yes. Poor sleep raises hunger and cravings, and stress makes it harder to stick to your plan. Aim for 7 to 9 hours of sleep.

About 30 to 35 ml per kg of body weight a day, more in hot weather or when you exercise. Water has no calories and helps you feel full, especially before meals.

Keep the habits that worked, weigh yourself once a week, and slowly raise your calories to your maintenance level from the Calories page.