Editor’s Note: The following is the second in a 12-part series of columns from Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor. Move & Improve is an outreach program, promoting healtful lifestyles for Maine people, of EMMC’s Community Wellness Service.

Food provides energy for growth, maintenance and physical activity – in fact, everything that we do. The National Research Council recommends energy (caloric) intakes for all age groups and activity levels. A moderately active woman aged 25 to 50 who is 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 138 pounds should consume 2,200 calories a day. A man the same age who is 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 174 pounds needs 2,900 calories. Individual requirements depend on age, gender, height, body size and condition, and physical activity.

If you eat more calories than your body needs, they will be stored in your body as fat, regardless of the type of food the calories come from. For every 3,500 extra calories you eat, you’ll gain 1 pound of body fat!

Proteins and carbohydrates provide 113 calories per ounce or 4 calories per gram. Fats provide 255 calories per ounce or 9 calories per gram. Alcohol provides 198 calories per ounce or 7 calories per gram.

Example: One glass (8 ounces) of low-fat (2 percent fat) milk contains 8 grams protein, 12 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams of fat. This glass of 2 percent milk has 125 calories.

Example: A serving (3.5 ounces) of wine has 9.6 grams of alcohol, making 67 calories from the alcohol in the wine.

Make your diet healthy by eating a variety of nutrient-dense foods. If you are looking for ways to limit unwanted calories, try these tricks:

. Watch snack foods. High-calorie snack foods are quick and easy to grab, but often have few nutrients and lots of calories. A one-ounce bag of cheese puffs contains 160 calories. Try a medium apple at half the calories.

. Don’t eat while cooking or standing up. A couple of handfuls of peanuts (2 ounces) can add up to 330 calories.

. Read nutrition labels. “Low-fat” or “healthy” on the label doesn’t mean that you can eat unlimited quantities.

. “Fat-free” doesn’t mean calorie-free. Compare a fat-free fig cookie, with 70 calories, to a regular fig cookie, which has 50 calories!

. Eat at mealtimes and avoid unplanned snacks.

. Don’t deny yourself foods you like, but limit portion sizes.

Do you know what your healthy weight is?

Check your height in the information below. The weight listed is for a Body Mass Index, or BMI, of 25. You should keep your BMI between 18.5 and 25 to stay healthy. You will have less chance of developing disease. Keep in mind that muscular people with low body fat may have a higher BMI and still be at a healthy weight: Weights over the upper limits are a problem if the excess pounds are fat.

4 feet, 10 inches, 119 pounds; 5 feet, 128 pounds; 5 feet, 2 inches, 136 pounds; 5 feet, 4 inches, 145 pounds; 5 feet, 6 inches, 155 pounds; 5 feet, 8 inches, 164 pounds; 5 feet, 10 inches, 174 pounds; 6 feet, 184 pounds; 6 feet, 2 inches, 194 pounds; 6 feet, 4 inches, 205 pounds.

For information on this topic visit or call your local University of Maine Cooperative Extension office and ask for a copy of “Calories and Weight – The USDA Pocket Guide.”

Be the best that you can be, eat well, be active and enjoy moving to improve.

Nellie G. Hedstrom is a nutrition specialist for the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and a member of the Move & Improve Coalition. For information, contact coordinator Elanna Farnham at 973-7245.