Why You Shouldn’t Sweat Counting Calories!

May 17, 2021 0 Comments

Most of the time people’s mindset about calories is if you expend more calories than you consume then you will lose weight. This sounds simple but as many of you have personally experienced, it’s rarely ever that straightforward.

Counting calories can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and it also can lead to poor nutritional choices.

Below are the top three reasons that counting calories is not recommendable:

#1: When you count calories it teaches you to view food as a number

The problem with viewing food as a number is that it takes away from all of the other incredible components of food like the taste, smell, colour, freshness, and nutrients that any given food can provide. It gets worse when you translate the number of calories to a second number, the one that appears on the scale. When you think of food as either of these two numbers it creates a very linear experience that can ultimately make eating very stressful and depressing. On the flip side, when you focus less on counting numbers and more on how to appreciate all of these amazing characteristics of food, where it comes from and how to nourish your body, it makes eating foods and cooking extremely enjoyable.

#2: Food is a tool for creating health, not just weight loss

When it comes to treating or managing chronic disease food can be more powerful than some pharmaceutical drugs. About 70% of the patients that I’ve seen in functional medicine get better through changing their diet alone. Some of people’s most complex, debilitating symptoms can be controlled or mitigated by the food that’s on the end of their fork. When you witness the power that food can have on your overall functionality, levels of inflammation, sleep, mood, and wellbeing, you will never again be able to comprehend the concept of calorie counting.

This is a concept that I talk about when I teach weight loss classes. In the first week, I tell people, you are not here to lose weight. At that point, they get really confused and question whether they are in the right place. I follow it up with…I’m going to teach you how to eat to improve your overall health, manage your blood sugar levels, decrease joint pain, reduce anxiety, and live a more enjoyable life. If you think of food as providing an opportunity to improve your overall health, weight loss becomes a side effect of getting healthier. When you think of food as just being tied to weight loss, you miss out on all of the other beneficial properties of eating a whole food, nutrient-dense diet.

#3. Calories are not the only determinant of your weight

I often ask my patients “do you think that 100 calories of sauerkraut are the same as 100 calories of Oreos?” They immediately respond with, of course not. While these two foods may be equal in calories they are not equal in the number of anti-inflammatory messages that they send to your entire body. Sauerkraut is loaded with fibre, vitamins, and phytonutrients that send information that reduces oxidative stress nourishes your cells and makes you feel fuller. Sauerkraut is also loaded with healthy strains of bacteria that help create a healthy gut microbiome.

Researchers are becoming more aware of the role that the gut microbiome has on a healthy weight. They are finding that optimizing healthy strains of bacteria can increase your metabolism. This is exactly why eating fibre-rich plants and fermented foods that can feed a healthy gut are so much more important than counting calories. This in turn reduces the risk of autoimmune disease, depression, weight gain, and so much more. At the end of the day, your gut doesn’t care as much about the number of calories you are eating, it cares more about the quality of the calories.

Do yourself a favour and stop focusing on the number of calories in food. Instead, start feeding your body with more nutrient-dense foods and paying attention to where your food comes from. This will allow you to create a healthy gut microbiome and observe a shift in your mental, emotional and physical health.

Sources: BEING BRIGID

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