Weight loss is often determined by calories in vs. calories out, with the ultimate goal of a calorie deficit. Tracking macros is another similar ball-park, tracking both calories and how many grams of carbs, fats, and proteins are making up those calories for optimum energy balance. However, is it a good thing for everyone that wants to lose weight to be calorie counting? Is there another way to lose weight? Let’s get into it in today’s blog.
Please read my disclaimer here.
Why calorie counting has worked & gained traction
Before getting into whether or not you should download the latest calorie tracker to log your meals, let’s break down what it is and why it can be effective for some people.
1. It works because… “science”
“It works because of science or math” is something you will often hear from calorie counting gurus. That’s because, scientifically, yes! It does work… in theory.
With this proposition, we have to begin by understanding that a calorie is a measurement of energy. Over the next couple of paragraphs, please feel free to use ‘calorie’ and ‘energy’ interchangeably.
As a living human being, you’re burning calories. Yes, even during the simplest, most menial task. You’re burning calories whether you’re active or inactive, awake or asleep. You are an energy producer. Therefore, you’re a calorie burner!
The science of calorie counting for weight loss is based around the 2 factors that make up energy balance: energy intake and energy expenditure. In order to lose weight, your energy expenditure has to be more than your energy intake. You may have heard that your energy expenditure must be a higher number than your energy intake in order to lose weight. This is the well-known calorie deficit.
Why do you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight? Yes, for your energy expenditure to be greater, but let’s talk numbers. When converting calories to pounds, one pound is equal to 3500 calories. So if you want to lose 1lb per week, you need to have a total calorie deficit of 3500 calories for each week. This is a deficit of 500 calories per day.
See, mathematically, it works! However, that doesn’t mean it’s a surefire method for everyone to use. Keep this in mind as we move along. Later in the post, we’ll approach it a little bit more practically.
2. It may bring more awareness
Calorie counting can be beneficial because many of us aren’t paying much attention to our daily food intake. Sometimes, weight-gain seems to happen out of nowhere. Tracking your calories or macros can highlight current behaviors you may be unaware of.
For example, let’s say you are at a job that has a cafeteria lunch daily. They have a generally healthy lunch available everyday. They also have a drink vending machine available at every checkout. According to you, you’ve been getting your usual lunch and a soda or tea every once in a while. This is your familiar regular routine.
Fast forward to a few months later. You realize you’ve gained a few pounds but can’t quite understand why. You’re eating the same foods, staying active and getting enough sleep. So, you then decide to track your calories to be in a calorie deficit to lose the weight you’ve put on.
After tracking for a week or two, you notice the culprit. Sure, you’ve been eating healthy meals. But you’ve been getting a soda sometimes twice a day, ultimately adding lots of carbohydrates, sugars, and well… calories! Over time it’s added up, and now you know if you limit those sodas a bit, you can easily get back to a weight you’re comfortable with.
The soda is not so much the highlight of this story as much as the simple habit of getting it regularly. Many of us fall into behaviors we don’t even notice we’re doing. It soon becomes second-nature, and can affect our health long-term if we let it stay that way. Tracking your food intake can shed a lot of light on your regular behaviors.
With weight gain, the root cause is sometimes a calorie surplus over an amount of time. To lose the weight gained, as mentioned above, there must be a calorie deficit. If you begin to track and notice what caused the calorie surplus, that may be all you need to do!
Awareness is what makes calorie counting an effective tool. It allows you to take inventory of your eating habits, see where you are doing well and not so well, and alter accordingly.
Calorie counting in relation to eating disorder like behaviors
While being in a calorie deficit may do good things and, well, be “scientifically” what causes you to lose weight, tracking your calories isn’t always the answer to a healthy weight-loss journey. It is easy to become obsessive about numbers, and in this case that can turn into several unhealthy behaviors.
I have fallen into this trap many times. You go online, look up the latest calorie calculator. Then, you try to click all the right buttons: lose weight, 2 pounds a week, minimal activity, and so on. It gives you a (most likely way too small) number and you make that number your goal.
Unfortunately, we often trust this online calculator a little too much. We easily find ourselves looking up the calorie content at a restaurant, planning workouts to burn off excess calories from having a treat, or restricting our favorite foods until we just can’t take it anymore. These seem like relatable topics, but if they become regular and/or extreme, they are literally eating disorders.
For example, orthorexia is an eating disorder that stems from a hyper-focus on the foods you eat. According to WebMD, it’s “an unhealthy focus on eating in a healthy way.” While eating healthy foods is a good thing, the focus on eating healthy foods to the point it affects your social and mental health is not good. It’s easy to become hyper-focused on the number of calories we eat, rather than focusing on a balanced lifestyle or nutritional diet.
It is also possible to have anorexic or bulimic tendencies when you become attached to the amount of calories you’re eating. If you go over, you may get the urge to compensate with a workout or making yourself sick. Or, you may just skip meals so you know you can stay in that calorie deficit. These things are not good for your physical health nor are they good for your mental health.
When it comes to tracking your food to reach certain numbers, it can be easy to fall into the perfectionist trap. Calorie counting may have it’s successes, but it isn’t for everyone and it doesn’t have to be longterm. Let’s talk about how to track them without going crazy.
How to track calories without going absolutely insane
It’s easy to begin counting calories or tracking macros and feel restricted, limited or just plain frustrated. Here’s how i believe you should use calorie tracking: as a tool, not as a permanent way of living.
Remember when I mentioned counting calories can be good to bring awareness to your current behaviors? This always rings true. However, if you count calories for a long time and get stuck in the numbers game, your habits may change and become not-so-good. So how can we use this method in a short-term way?
If you’re trying to lose weight, track your calories for a consistent week or two, or however long you need to to understand how you eat with your current routine. Take lots of notes. Are there meals that repeat? Are there any over-eating episodes? If so, when and how were you feeling? Did something happen?
After this two weeks, look over your notes. Write down the things that are clear; bad habits, good habits, foods that make you feel good, foods that you overeat, etc. After you have these notes, try to plan the next week accordingly. Try to add in better food choices, or switch things up a bit if you feel your current routine isn’t working for you.
Once you can get into an average calorie range and become acquainted with how much food/what foods fit your regular routine, stop tracking. Keep up the good work. Don’t overthink the numbers. Let those habits become subconscious. Factor in those foods that make you feel good regularly. Continue to avoid overeating.
This way, you become acquainted with how you’re eating without being so worried about whether or not you’re in a 500 calorie deficit every single day. At the same time, you know you’re in a calorie deficit because you tracked before and are eating a similar amount of food. This may be the long game, but in my opinion, it’s better for the mind.
Also, if you do this and feel like you aren’t making progress, go back and do it again! You can use calorie tracking as a tool to find the happy medium you’re looking for. But no, in order to lose weight, you don’t have to track every calorie forever. In fact, there are a lot of things that are left our of calorie counting that contribute greatly to health and well-being.
Things left out of the calorie counting craze
1. Food quality
When you count calories, you aren’t always considering the actual food. It’s unfortunate that when you focus on the numbers so much, you can sometimes forget the actual food that’s going into your body. Counting calories doesn’t consider the ingredients, sourcing, or processing of food.
Nutrient density of the food you eat is important… extremely important. The calorie craze has shifted our focus from the ingredients of our food its caloric makeup. When you’re so focused on something having a high protein and low carb/fat or low calorie content, but forget about the artificial ingredients, fillers, oils, and so on… it’s obvious it’s not always about your health.
2. Allergies & Preferences
Allergies & preferences are never really added into the equation when it comes to calorie counting. These things are important and shouldn’t be avoided.
It’s easy to find something that’s low calorie but does it actually make you feel good? Does it give you energy or make you lethargic? Do you ever have an aversive reaction to it? There is the opposite as well. Eating lots of egg whites or boiled chicken to the average person with taste buds isn’t super enjoyable… but it’s definitely low calorie! Great… right?
If you’re eating something based solely on it’s caloric makeup and not whether it makes you feel good, tastes good or both… problems can easily arise with how you view food.
4. Other factors that contribute to weight management
Weight loss isn’t only about a calorie deficit. There are factors other than the food you eat and energy you spend, such as sleep, stress levels, hormones, and so on. Weight gain doesn’t only happen from overeating, and weight loss may not only be a result of under-eating.
While calories do matter for weight loss, they aren’t the only thing to consider. Whether or not you choose to use the tool of calorie tracking, take notes from these next tips to aid in your weight-loss journey.
Tips on losing weight without counting calories
1. Eat mindfully.
Eating mindfully is a game changer. This means to be present and aware of what food goes in your mouth, your environment, and how you’re feeling. Your habits around food can be a major factor that determines whether or not you are at a healthy weight. Here are some tips on staying mindful while you eat.
Limit distractions.
Our world is hyper-focused on technology: researching the internet, browsing social media or answering a few more emails after work. Many of us are glued to a screen for hours at a time. It’s extremely easy to let distractions like this seep into our daily habits.
There are many studies that link screen time and overeating, especially when done together. It’s easy to pay more attention to a show or video on your phone rather than the food on your plate. We’ve all done this before! Think about how fast the popcorn disappears when watching a movie.
Limiting distractions so it’s just you and your food (and of course family and friends) can be a pivotal factor in eating the portions your body needs.
Chew your food.
Another common tendency around eating is to eat extremely fast. When we eat big mouthfuls back to back, we’re most likely not chewing the food much. You may have heard someone say after eating a meal they were super hungry for “I totally inhaled that!”
Chewing your food not only helps you become more aware, but also aids in swallowing, digesting, and ultimately your body’s reaction to when it’s had enough. It also helps you to slow down when you’re eating, which is another factor that can help with weight loss.
Remember to chew your food well. After all, chewing is the first step of the digestion process!
Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues.
When you do the above two recommendations, you may soon become more in tune with your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Becoming aware of when you’re actually hungry and full is a great way to keep energized and know the right portions, meal timing, and foods that work for you. Over time, you can listen to your body and give it what it needs!
Eating while bored, emotional or both is a common practice for many. Unfortunately, if done regularly, this can lead to health issues and weight gain. It is also common to simply overeat and produce the uncomfortable ‘food coma’ we’re all acquainted with.
Your body gives your hunger and fullness cues for a reason: so that you answer to them. If you begin to feel full, stop eating. Or, if you feel like you’re hungry, have a nutrient dense snack or meal. Please remember that fullness doesn’t mean you’re lethargic; food should keep you feeling good and energized, not the opposite.
A tip I like to give someone looking to lose weight is at your big meals, eat until you’re about 80% full. This is basically when you begin to feel full. This avoids the itis and also allows for proper digestion and energy production.
While over-eating at meals or emotional/bored eating may be tough habits to break, it may need to happen if you’re looking to lose weight. Stick to the 80% full rule during your big meals. In your down time, try to find a hobby to replace eating when you get those feelings, or hire a professional to help you break the habit.
2. Focus on whole, nutrient dense foods.
Remember, the nutrient density of foods is more important than the calorie content! When you focus on consuming whole, nutrient-dense food, you will often be eating foods that are balanced and not extremely high in calories. They also happen to offer things like fiber, vitamins, and minerals as well.
There are so many natural, nutrient dense foods. Fruits and vegetables are extremely good for you and offer so many things other than being low-calorie. Nutrient dense foods also include animal products such as well-sourced meat, eggs, and dairy. Natural cooking oils (not canola or vegetable- learn more here), animal byproducts, herbs and spices are a great way to add flavor and texture to meals. Sprouted grains and legumes can add a lot of volume to meals. There are plenty of options!
The goal is to base your meals around something natural: did it come from the earth or have a mother? If not, how many ingredients does it have? Are you familiar with all of the ingredients? Get acquainted with all of the things going on your plate and into your body and rule out whether or not they are a nutritious choice.
3. Prioritize protein.
Prioritizing protein is an underrated method of losing weight. This is especially important if you’re doing strength training or intense workouts.
Protein is satiating (meaning it keeps you full) and also maintains and supports building muscle. I like to say fill up half of your plate with protein, a quarter with veggies and a quarter with whatever side you want. This way you know you aren’t skimping on your protein, will likely feel full and energized, and aren’t restricting!
I also like to eat protein first. That way, you know you’re getting adequate protein and can stop when you’re full. Yes, it’s good to have some at every meal and even in your snacks!
Proteins, fats and carbs are all great macronutrients, and it’s good to have a balance of them. It’s very easy and common to eat carbohydrate-rich foods- so adding in some good, natural protein sources (which many times also have healthy fats) in with snacks and meals is ideal not only for weight-loss but for blood-sugar regulation, digestion, and energy production.
Good protein sources include meat, eggs, cottage cheese, greek yogurt, some legumes, and of course protein-powders or protein-focused products. Some veggies and processed carbohydrates (such as bread or pasta) have a small portion of protein as well. It is good to focus on the sources mentioned in the first sentence of this paragraph, and veggies and sides be a little cherry on top.
4. Stay balanced.
Don’t restrict your favorite foods too much. With the above tips, such as prioritizing protein, listening to your hunger and fullness cues, and focusing on nutrient-dense foods, you will have room for a treat every once in a while. If you become very acquainted with your body’s cues, you may even know the perfect time to have one.
Restricting too much can make you resent healthy choices. Stay balanced, and allow treats or favorites every once in a while. I always say to focus on adding in the healthy foods, not subtracting the ‘bad’ ones. If you add new ones, there will only be so much room for the others. It’s okay for them to sometimes take up space.
5. Take your time.
While it’s easy for anyone to want quick results, they aren’t always the best (or healthiest) things to go after. Changing your habits around food is also something that takes time, effort and consistency. Give yourself grace and don’t expect to lose the weight in a week, or even in a month. Take your time with it, and you’ll be able to develop solid habits that not only help you lose weight, but keep you healthy & energized long-term.
There you have it, a post with all the ins and outs of calorie counting. I hope I could clear some things up for you. Thanks again for checking it out. Much love, and see ya next blog.
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