Calories refer to the amount of energy released by food, which is determined by the content of carbohydrates, protein and fat. You can either use that energy through physical activity or the body stores it in the form of fat for future use. The nutritional value of food has an effect on your overall health, but the key for maintaining a healthy weight is to watch the total number of calories consumed.
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Every printable calorie chart you might find is most likely based upon information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture. The website of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service includes several printable calorie lists. Begin with the nutrient list, which allows you to choose a category such as calories, proteins, carbohydrates, fats or individual nutrients. Then you can produce a list for that category that is organized either alphabetically by foods or in descending order according to the category. The calorie list includes portion size by weight and common measure and then tells the "content per measure," which is the amount of calories in that food item. If you want to know which foods have the highest calories, then choose to sort by content and that will produce a list that begins with high-calorie foods.
