Example: Chick Fil A nuggets (8 count)
Total carbs = 12 g x 4 Cal/g = 48 Calories
Total fat = 12 g x 9 Cal/g = 108 Calories
Total protein = 26 g x 4 Cal/g = 104 Calories
Total calories = 260 Calories (When I get 12 nuggets, I'm eating 390 calories!)
If you want the spreadsheet to sum your columns for you, type the following formula in.
=sum(E7:E28)
"=" tells the spreadsheet that this is a formula
"sum" tells it to add
"( )" the numbers in the parentheses indicate the range of cells that you want added. You may have to adjust the range of cells for each column. In my example, the formula will calculate the sum of cells E7 through E28)
Find the total carbohydrates and total protein off the nutrition label. Multiply the number of grams times 4 to get the calories.
Repeat the process for total fat, but multiply the number of grams times 9, instead. *Remember - "fat makes you fatter!"
This is the same process you used to create food profiles in the shopping activity. We want to find out what part of your total calories for the day comes from each macromolecule. Divide the calories from carbs by the total calories and then multiply by 100. Round to the nearest whole number.
Total calories from carbs / total calories eaten x 100
Repeat this process for protein and then fat. Your three percentages should add up to 100%.
You DO NOT have to do this on your Food for a Day Log. You only need to calculate these ranges on your Ideal Foods for a Day log, which is on the next page of this website.
To calculate plus or minus 5%: Multiply your RDA x .95 (95%) and that is the bottom of your range. Now multiply your RDA x 1.05 (105%) to get the upper end of the range. Your range might look like this 1900 - 2100 calories.
To calculate plus or minus 7%: Do the same as above, but multiply your RDA x .93 and x 1.07 to get your range.
To calculate plus or minus 9%: Do the same as above, but multiply your RDA x .91 and x 1.09 to get your range.
**Hint - some foods do not fall into any food group. This is because some things are just empty calories. These would be foods such as Little Debbie snack cakes, Gatorade, chips, candy, butter, and dips. You may certainly include a small amount of these foods in your ideal meals for a day log, but beware...as in real life, they add calories to your diet, without adding anything of nutritional value. This may cause you to go over on your RDA for calories. In real life, these empty calories contribute to weight gain, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke.