Should we stop calorie counting? The short answer for most of us is yes. Counting calories is increasingly becoming controversial in the weight loss world. While some insist on the simple formula ‘eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight’, for many this just does not seem to work. Here’s why:
- The body is great at adapting. If you give your body less calories it will simply slow down and use less energy for its internal processes. If you are following a low calorie diet you may notice weight loss at first but once the body gets used to the calorie reduction the weight loss tends to plateau.
- The quality of calories is important. If you eat nutrient-dense foods it will boosts your metabolism and provide your body with a rich supply of nutrients to maintain and repair tissue, all of which takes energy. Focus on quality natural food and you can still lose excess weight and be healthier.
- Calorie counting can result in poor food choices. For example, having a biscuit with your afternoon tea break might mean a calorie counter denies you a proper meal to ‘make up’ for it. Calorie counting may also cause you to avoid healthy snacks like nuts and avocados because they are high in calories, so instead you may opt for nutrient deficient, heavily processed or ‘lite’ foods which the body has little use for.
Science tells us that eating less calories should lead to weight loss, but in reality this only works to a certain extent. If instead you follow the general principles of a healthy balanced diet, then obsessing over the calorie content of foods becomes unnecessary.
