Do you think you have to count calories to lose weight? That’s why it’s useless and misleading. The experts explain it
Calorie counting is universally recognized as an effective method of keeping weight in check when dieting. Weight loss indeed it’s based on eating fewer calories of those that burn, as those in excess are stored in the form of fat.
Some studies, however, stand questioning the effectiveness of calorie counting in the slimming diet, with amazing results. But first, what is a calorie? Calorie is aunit of measure of energyand in chemistry it is used to calculate the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C.
Stop counting calories: they are an inaccurate measure and a source of stress
In nutritional terms, the foods we eat provide calories that we use for all our daily activities: from physical activity, through digestion, to the production of hormones. Calories are vital to keep our bodies functioningand higher calorie foods provide more energy.
Counting the calories we ingest, weighing food and calculating the right portions, can be a good practice to be aware of what we eat and help us lose weight, but we shouldn’t rely too much on it.
An American nutrition expert and dietician, Robin Foroutanis convinced that counting calories is useless:
“It is an inaccurate measure, and an exercise in frustration”
Why should we stop doing it? Foroutan cites a number of studies conducted in 2018who revealed that the Food and Drugs Administration, the body responsible for correct nutrition information on food labels, allows a quite high margin of error: up to 20%. The energy bar that declares 100Kcal could actually make you ingest as many as 120which can affect your weight loss goals.
You’re not safe even if you rely on an app to delegate calorie counting: a 2019 study showed that of the top 20 apps, 65% either over- or under-report their calorie intake of their users.
Losing weight is possible even without counting calories: focus on the quality of food
Furthermore, explains the expert, not all people absorb or burn calories in the same waye different kinds of calories affect metabolism in different ways. If even the genetic makeup plays an important role, there are many variables to consider: studies on identical twins have shown that even if they eat the same amount of calories, the pre-existing health conditions and prescription drugs may impact your ability to lose weight.
In general, the quality of the food and its richness in macronutrients is more important than the quantity: 100Kcal of bagged chips have very different properties from 100Kcal of broccoli!
Not to mention the psychological effects: Calorie counting can trigger or worsen disordered eating habitsleading us to obsess or stress unnecessarily about a measure that, among other things, we have just shown to be quite unreliable.
Trust your intuition, eat plenty of the right foods, forget the calculator.