Please stop counting calories to lose weight! When you count calories, you’re ignoring quality of the food you’re eating. And you’re treating calories from junk-food the same as calories from nutrient-dense fruits and veggies.
News Flash: Not all Calories are Created Equal!
In concept, we know that calories from fruits and veggies have a lot more nutrients and good-for-you stuff in them than the same amount of calories in chips, cookies, or cake … BUT we fall victim to our thinking that the calories in chips, cookies or cake will be more satisfying than those in fruits and veggies. And that it doesn’t really make a difference as long as we stay within our calorie deficit goal for the day (if we are trying to lose weight). Am I right?
Have you ever reached for that 100-pack of baked chips and mentally high-fived yourself when you opened your calorie counter app to record the 100-calorie snack? I have!! I used to think “good job finding a healthy low-calorie snack. These chips are baked and the bag is only 100 calories! I’ll be able to stick to my calorie limit for the day no problem!”
But then what happened? I usually found myself reaching for another snack soon after because that 100-calorie pack of baked chips just didn’t do it for me and I was still hungry. Maybe I stayed within my calorie goal for the day. Maybe not. Either way, I was hungry!!
If you’ve done this, then the next time you find yourself reaching for that 100-calorie pack, I challenge you to reach for a 100 calorie portion of strawberries instead.
You’d have to eat about 25 strawberries to equal 100 calories! 25! That’s A LOT of strawberries! I have a 16 oz container in my fridge right now and I counted out 25 strawberries and guess what? It’s almost the entire container! 25 strawberries weighs about 14 oz (that’s only 2 oz shy of a full pound). And it takes up about 70 cubic inches! 100 calories of strawberries is going to take up a lot of room in your stomach. Plus, how long would it take to eat 25 strawberries? Certainly a lot longer than the maximum of 3-5 minutes it would take to eat 100-calories of baked chips!
I don’t have any 100-calorie packs of baked chips in my pantry to do a comparision, but based on some online snooping, that bag of chips would likely be less than 1 oz. versus 14 oz of strawberries and take up less than 9 cubic inches (and I am being generous here) versus 70 cubic inches of strawberries.
Which do you think will fill you up longer? Which will be more satiating? And which will do your body more good? (How many cubic inches of food can a stomach handle at one time, I wonder?)
Haven’t convinced you yet to stop counting calories to lose weight and focus on quality of the calorie instead? What if I told you that strawberries have fiber, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium (and the list goes on)? They also contain chemicals found to protect cells against cervical and breast cancer. They may even improve short-term memory (according to a study performed by researchers at Tufts and the USDA)! Baked chips, on the other hand, have sodium, carbs and fat … They’re ultra-processed (the same kind of ultra-processed foods that have shown to cause weight gain!).
Strawberries aren’t your jam (pun intended)? Here are some other possible swaps:
- 129 blueberries (full of antioxidants and inflammatory compounds, they also help protect your brain and keep your memory sharp and fight cancer)
- 2 cups of watermelon (high volume, mostly water, full of vitamin A and carotenoids (including lycopene which has been shown to help fight cancer)
- 1 cup of kiwifruit (the most nutrient-dense of all fruits with high levels of vitamin C, potassium, and fiber and helps fight cancer and heart disease)
- 16 medium stalks of celery or 2 teaspoons of peanut or almond butter with 6 stalks of celery (has vitamins K, A and C, folate and potassium and helps with high blood pressure)
- 4 medium carrots or 2 medium carrots and 2 tablespoons of hummus (great source of vitamins A, K and B6, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and helps prevent cancer)
All of these travel well and can be eaten on the go.
Bottom line: Don’t waste your time and energy counting calories and thinking that will be your ultimate weight loss solution. Like I’ve said before, I hate diets! And I consider calorie counting a major part of “dieting” to lose weight. It is not necessary. And is counter-productive in the long run. Counting calories without focusing on the quality of your calories will not help you achieve long-term weight loss success. You may lose a little weight in the beginning, but your body will adjust to the new lower amount of calories, you will plateau and then you’ll have to cut even more. Continuing to cut calories is not the solution! Focus on real food instead. Real, high-quality food will win every time. I promise.
So, please, stop counting calories to lose weight!
If you want help losing weight without counting calories, schedule your free call with me to find out if coaching is right for you.
