kcal vs. cal PLEASE HELP!

Can anybody tell me what the difference is between kcal and regular calories? and how can I convert kcal into cal?
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Replies

  • mrau719
    mrau719 Posts: 288 Member
    1 kcal is the same as 1 calorie with a lowercase "c" 1 Calorie with an uppercase "C" is equal to 1000 cals (or 1000 kcals)
  • yeahfatty
    yeahfatty Posts: 228 Member
    isn't it the same thing..?

    i mean kcal is short for kalorier .. atleast in my world (the danish one) .. & calories is the english word.

    if it's not .. i'm in huge trouble! :(
  • airycha
    airycha Posts: 135 Member
    the way food is labled 1 kcal is 1 cal
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    Kcal stands for kilocalorie, which equals 1000 calories. Those are scientific terms. The Calorie that applies to food is actually a kilocalorie. So from a food standpoint, it's the same thing.

    1 kilocalorie = 1000 calories = 1 Calorie
  • JennsLosing
    JennsLosing Posts: 1,026
    Kcal stands for kilocalorie, which equals 1000 calories. Those are scientific terms. the calorie that applies to food is actually a kilocalorie. So from a food standpoint, it's the same thing.
    i was getting scared there for a minute...lol...
  • MandaLen13
    MandaLen13 Posts: 151 Member
    isn't it the same thing..?

    i mean kcal is short for kalorier .. atleast in my world (the danish one) .. & calories is the english word.

    if it's not .. i'm in huge trouble! :(

    I am an American living in Germany and everything here is measured in kcal, so I just didnt understand if maybe the measurement was off slightly from the American calorie. I think now that I read more that it is the same measurement. Just two different names. Thanks everybody for the help! :)
  • yeahfatty
    yeahfatty Posts: 228 Member
    Kcal stands for kilocalorie, which equals 1000 calories. Those are scientific terms. the calorie that applies to food is actually a kilocalorie. So from a food standpoint, it's the same thing.
    i was getting scared there for a minute...lol...

    me too! phew crisis averted. :D
  • statia152
    statia152 Posts: 558
    From what I remember from Biology, a Kcal is 1,000 calories. Food packages go with regular calories, not Kcals. But it's been a long time since college, so I would google the formula to be sure.
  • tigersword
    tigersword Posts: 8,059 Member
    1 kcal is the same as 1 calorie with a lowercase "c" 1 Calorie with an uppercase "C" is equal to 1000 cals (or 1000 kcals)

    You're reversed, Calorie is the food term, and calorie is the scientific measurement.
  • cheryls1020
    cheryls1020 Posts: 1 Member
    Just bought a heart monitor that shows calories burned. Shows as kcals.
    Do I need to convert to calories to keep my counting accurate?
  • scottaworley
    scottaworley Posts: 871 Member
    no
  • TaintedVampyre
    TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
    If this were true, I'd be morbidly obese.
  • Of_Monsters_and_Meat
    Of_Monsters_and_Meat Posts: 1,022 Member
    This is why it should be measured in joules!
    I am so sick of the Kcal Illuminati.
  • lisaabenjamin
    lisaabenjamin Posts: 665 Member
    This is why it should be measured in joules!
    I am so sick of the Kcal Illuminati.

    As a scientist, I kind of agree. But no-one in the real world really knows what a joule is, whereas they do vaguely understand what a calorie is, so I guess we're stuck with calories.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
    This is why it should be measured in joules!
    I am so sick of the Kcal Illuminati.
    You're just a shill for the Big Metricists obviously.
    ...and if Canada is on the metric system, why is it still using Calories on nutrition labels? hmmmm...
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    As an American I insist that my food energy be measured in BTUs.

    Alternately I could live with electron volts, just for the amusement factor. I can't eat that doughnut! It's 9E16 GeV!
  • mbeuchert24
    mbeuchert24 Posts: 204 Member
    Kcal stands for kilocalorie, which equals 1000 calories. Those are scientific terms. the calorie that applies to food is actually a kilocalorie. So from a food standpoint, it's the same thing.
    i was getting scared there for a minute...lol...

    I know right?
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
    As an American I insist that my food energy be measured in BTUs.

    British Thermal Units ? Shome mishtake, shurely ?
  • Bagelsan
    Bagelsan Posts: 49
    Little "c" calories aren't technically food calories; we measure food in kcal or big "C" Calories, because an adult human needs a lot of energy to live and writing out all the little "c" calories we need would be a pain. If we were truly eating little "c" calories we'd need about 2,000,000 cal each day ie. 2,000 food kcal!