Q: If I balance my diet to roughly 2000 Calories per day can I be assured that I will not gain weight? I basically want to know that how does it matter whether I take fat or protein as long as my calorie calculator shows 2000 calories per day. Is 1 gm of fat exactly equal to 2 gm of protein in terms of calories and as far as weight gain is concerned? If this 2000 cal thumb rule does not work then what else can be the reasons for weight gain?

A:The amount of calories required per day vary according to your body weight, height, gender, activity level and also existing medical conditions, if any. As for example, a 45 year old male weighing 85 kg and with height 5 feet 6 inches does not require 2000 KCal. As you can see clearly this profile puts him in an overweight category and he may not need to take more than 1200 - 1500 calories per day, so that he can lose extra weight. You have not mentioned about your height, weight, age or activity level and so it is not possible to tell exactly how many calories do you need to take per day. It is suggested to take more calories as proteins and carbohydrates than fats. Fats are denser in terms of caloric content and also lead to deposition of these extra calories as fats in your body. Extra carbohydrates may also get converted into fats in your body and stored leading to weight gain.