Is Calorie Counting a good way to lose weight?

Day 143 / 365

I think that as a generation we are getting less and less physical exercise than our ancestors. We have jobs where we sit for several hours every day. We take a cab everywhere. We seldom walk, let alone jog. It’ s no wonder that obesity is becoming more and more of a concern.

When people don’t want to exercise, whether it’s due to a lack of time or motivation, they turn to a diet. And the most common way to that is Calorie counting.

The idea behind it is simple. Our body is like a machine. It takes in food as input, it spends some of it by working, and secrets some as waste. If we take more calories than we spend, we start building up fat. So if we take in fewer calories then we spend, we should start losing weight. Sounds simple right?

The problem with this approach is that you are looking at just the calories, not the source of the calories. Think about it, will eating 100 calories worth of broccoli have the same effect as eating 100 calories worth of candy? The answer is no.

Different foods have different pathways through your body. Your body reacts to them in different ways. For instance, fructose which is a source of sugar causes the release of the ‘Hunger hormone’ in the body and therefore reduces the feeling of fullness. On the other hand, protein is the most filling micronutrient.

Thus if you are thinking of starting a diet, don’t just go by plain calories. Choose the food which gives you the most bang for your calorie buck.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog —The Placebo Effect