The question popped in my head while I was Spinning last week. The little screen on my bike was on and I was tracking distance and time, but I didn’t bother with my heart rate strap and the calorie box was steady at zero.
Which made me think: do calories matter? Do I even care anymore?
Many of the popular diets these days don’t even track calories. Weight Watchers uses points, but if you don’t want to follow the point system, you can just eat foods from a list heavily stacked with veggies and lean proteins and not count anything.
“The 4-Hour Body“ and “The Smarter Science of Slim,” both diets I’ve done, also don’t count calories, but instead focus on what you’re eating, not how much.
This is the crux of it, isn’t it? … If we eat high-quality foods such as fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins, then we really don’t have to worry about the calories at all.
In other words, our body’s health is probably 80% the fuel we give it and 20% how we move it.
One Time Magazine article back in 2009 actually quoted an expert as saying that “exercise is useless” in lowering the scale. And even world-class institutions like the Mayo Clinic say that exercise is more effective for maintaining weight than it is for getting down to your ideal number.
Calorie counting definitely comes out of the research in this field. Scientists need to quantify things and they stabilize calorie counts when looking at diets because it gives them some goal posts to work with.
- General aerobics burns 384 calories per hour for a 130-pound person.
- 3,500 calories will burn off a pound of fat (sorta, see below).
- There are 490 calories in a Big Mac, hold the fries.
It’s an easy measuring stick from which outcomes can be drawn. The problem is calories are not “lay there and play nice” numbers. They’re rascally suckers who will not behave when told too.
Do calories matter?
When we starve ourselves on a diet, our metabolism slows down and the calories we do get have a bigger impact on our body. When we overfeed ourselves after starvation, our body hordes those calories, packing them into fat cells to prepare for the next unwanted self-inflicted famine.
But if we continuously overeat, the body eventually figures this out and starts to up the metabolism so we burn off more calories than we would at other times. Although the body is happy to do that when we’re obese, it doesn’t turn up the fuel burn when we’re still in single-digit dress sizes.
That’s why calories have so much flexibility to them. You can’t just look at a number and assume it will have a specific impact. Plus, a calorie for you isn’t processed quite the same way as a calorie for me. It depends on so many factors including DNA and what starve/feed mode your body has been in lately.
Should we give up on calorie counting?
I think so, yes. Here’s why …
1. You have to keep track of every morsel of food, which is maddening. And what does that do? Increases anxiety, which means you’re more likely to get stressed out and eat. And the circle continues.
2. It focuses on quantity, not quality of food. This may be fine for human lab rats and the scientists who love them, but this is not okay for you. You are simply a human trying to live a better life. Eat spinach and don’t worry about the calories in that Big Mac.
Do you count calories anymore? Do you remember having discussions with your girlfriends about how many calories “such and such” contains and if you should order it for lunch? Do you stare at your heart rate monitor solely focused on the “burn” and not on whether or not you’re having fun?
Yep, I’ve done all of those, and no, I don’t count calories anymore.
Cheers,
Lisa
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i’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. i’ve been trying the whole30 and sort of into paleo concept of eating and it’s done wonders for me in terms of not only the quality of what i eat but also the variety. i’m kind of sort of proud of myself in that regard. but for the life of me, i cannot stop counting calories. i don’t know if it’s just the lifelong connection to the number but i always use it as a gauge for how i did in a day. i need, need, need to get over it. i also track everything i eat on sparkpeople and although the macro counts have changed substantially, the calories haven’t varied all that much. i definitely feel fuller, though. :)
Staci I was a diehard calorie counter and then I spent a week in Toronto Canada living with a host family while I trained for my Pilates certification. This was way back in 1999 and I was in the grocery store freaking out because they didn’t have nutrition panels on the side of the box. I had no idea what I was eating! I had to let it go, I had no choice. It was a remarkably freeing week, I ate what I wanted to and didn’t worry about the calories at all (I couldn’t). It did help that I was doing 4 hours of movement a day, I came home and was definitely trimmer, but I always remembered that feeling of just eating what I liked and when I stray into calorie counting again I try to shake it off and remember my trip. Same thing happened when we spent two weeks in Costa Rica a couple of summers ago. I just ate good food. :)
Thanks for this, Lisa. I read so many articles that say to follow a mathematical formula to figure out a deficit of that 3500 magical number and SO many other factors need to be taken into account. If we could follow a mathematical formula, people wouldn’t have so much trouble staying in their “ideal range”. However, it IS hard to stray from good ole calorie counting. I really try to focus on food that’s good for me – lots of fruits and veggies, lean protein and treats now & again and when I do, I feel so much better and have more energy (usually). The part that gets tricky is if in weight loss mode vs maintenance mode. When I’m maintaining (like now), I find it easier to follow my gut and eat what’s right versus what the calorie count is but when I’m in weight loss mode, it is SO hard to not track the numbers …..especially when the darn scale won’t move. Im definitely one for measuring inches vs pounds but it’s like some ingrained notion that you need to create this calorie deficit to lose (tho it rarely has worked for me). I think it must have to do with needing to see the numbers written down so you don’t go bananas and think you haven’t been doing things correctly? I’m not sure but it sure can drive me batty!
I am counting calories right now. It’s driving me mad, mainly because I am not seeing results and it makes me mental having to weigh everything out, and still not knowing 100% if I’ve measured it right or entered something wrong. I don’t want to have to cut calories any more b/c I feel I won’t have the energy to go to the gym on less than 1500 calories a day, especially when lifting. I know it works, because I have seen SO many people have results with it. I just wished it worked for me, a bit quicker. :)
I do count my calories religiously. I actually find it an enjoyable activity, and for me it is a mental check. There are days when I realize that I could go on a seemingly endless eating spree, but knowing the calorie count of the proposed feast helps keep me in check. There is something about entering all the information that helps me be more responsible to myself.
Whenever I’ve decided I will simply “eat right”, the number on the scale goes up. It works for me, and I don’t want to mess with what is working!
I just eat what my body wants and go with that.
I’ve always been bad about counting calories when eating…
though I do like to see what i’m burning! lol
I was using My Fitness Pal for a while to count calories. I like that it also focused on the quality of food, but I did feel hungry and started to hate calorie counting. Now, I am reviewing the Weight Watchers approach. Their point system is very interesting. I am not as hungry and I’m losing weight. This system does not focus on “quality” as much per se, but they do have a little reminder section to get in enough water, fruits/veggies, a daily vitamin, etc.
Sarah, yes the calorie counting can drive anyone batty and it’s almost useless. Your body will adapt, you’ll need to restrict more etc. If you focus on health and good food the rest will follow naturally … I keep relearning that one myself. L–
Cindy, just keep listening to your body and remember you and your weight loss journey are unique, what works for your friend might not be right for you for a variety of reasons including genetics and lifestyle choices. :)
Tammy, you definitely don’t have to mess with what’s working … if you’re happy and healthy that is the most important thing. And I know what you mean about just glancing at food an automatically having a pretty good idea of what the calories are. L–
I’m a truck driver, and I have to pass a physical as part of my profession. They measure BMI, and and once you hit 30 they start to restrict your medical card, which is necessary for my ability to earn a living, pay the bills and feed my family.
I’m 6′ and at the time I was 215, which put me right around 29. Close enough to get my attention.
i started asking the doctor about ways to get that number down, and I wanted to keep it simple.
He told me 3 things that stuck.
1. Calories are calories, no matter where they come from.
2. Take whatever I normally eat and reduce it by half. Either order less, put half back, or toss the other half. I hate the idea of wasting food, but if it will help me lose weight, I’ll consider it part of the cost of doing business.
3. Drink 8oz of water before eating to aid in fighting hunger.
Being on the road makes it a challenge to have total control over what I eat, when I eat, and where it comes from. The only thing I can really manage is “how much,” which is where I have to start. For me, the key is portion control.
I’ll skip to the end and say that I decided to count calories and stick to 2000/day. 500 breakfast, 1000 lunch, 500 dinner. Water to feed the hunger.
My weight loss since I started has averaged 1 lb/week. There was one week where I was flat, but the next week I was down 2.
The key, I have found, to weight loss, is patience and DISCIPLINE. Nothing gets on your body without first passing through your mouth. It doesn’t come out of thin air. We do it to ourselves. I found a website with a calorie calculator that takes age, weight, height, and gives you a rough calorie count to lose or maintain weight. By my math, it will take 6 months to reach a “healthy” weight.
What I have discovered is that I am able to live my life comfortably while eating less. I’m not starving, I’m not weak, I’m not malnourished. But managing raw portions alone can do a lot to help manage weight. Temptation and not paying attention to intake are the enemies. Fortunately, I’m not a foodie. Food is fuel for me. I don’t need to constantly stuff my face, and I’m not dying because I’m denying something I used to love but can’t control my intake. I had a custard cookie dough shake the other day. Small, not medium. ;)
Fortunately I can control my environment, and I’m not surrounded by people eating whatever they eat, tempting and distracting me. I believe that a diet will work if we use it correctly. But impatience, temptation, cheating, those all break the diet, and we have only ourselves to blame.
Counting calories has shown me that I can not only lose weight, but I can have a blueprint to never gain weight again. Once I reach an acceptable target weight (170?), I will focus more on the quality of what I eat. But for now, as long as the numbers are working, I’m going to stick to the plan.
And, also, to keep things simple, if I can’t quantify the calorie content, I simply don’t eat it.
Lisa,
I really enjoyed your article!
In my opinion, the most important thing to remember is that calories equal energy. In my practice, I don’t teach calorie counting, I teach energy enhancing. How nutrient dense is that calorie you are consuming? It has been a very successful method for weight loss.
Blessings for excellent health!
Diana
Thank you Diana, what a nice way to put it … energy enhancing. That is how we should think of it isn’t it? And that automatically pushes sugary/processed crap off the plate … :-)
Hi Phred,
I do know this article is all about throwing away the calorie counters but I did also say if it’s working for you, keep doing it. Ultimately weight loss and true health is what works best for the individual. So just keep chugging along and good luck on your weight loss goals. I would say if you hit a plateau look at two things, see if you can up the quality (this might make things start moving again) and look at opportunities to add a little extra activity in your day. Probably pretty tough given your job … but maybe an extra lap around every truck stop? Thanks for sharing your path, always good insight for anyone. L–
My question is what do you do instead of counting calories to make sure you’re getting proper nutrition??