Hope Harrell: Personal Trainer + Nutrition Coach

Counting calories has long been a trend of the diet industry, and there is some relevance to it. A calorie is a unit that we use to measure energy in the body. So when you see the label on a food product, it is actually showing you the amount of energy that is in the food. Does this mean that it directly correlates to our energy levels? Are all calories the same? Am I supposed to be tracking them all the time? This post will answer all of these questions and more, so read along.

First and foremost, are all calories the same? Yes and no. The body doesn’t fully understand the difference between the calories in a potato chip versus a baked potato. Both provide energy to the body and can be beneficial at different times. However, when the potato is cooked, sliced, fried in oil, and made into a chip, then most of the nutritious benefits are taken out of it. It is not a nutrient dense food anymore. The frying process also adds on a lot of extra calories from fat. So what does this mean? It means that for one medium baked potato, the equivalent energy (calories) in potato chips is only 18 chips (which isn’t even a full serving size or bag of chips!)

With the baked potato, you will be fuller for longer and not desire other foods like you would if you had eaten the potato chips instead.

How does this relate to counting calories?

Calorie counters will say that you can eat the potato chips, and there is no difference between the chips and a baked potato, and they would be kind of right, but not really. When we eat foods that are less nutrient dense (processed foods, sugary foods, artificial foods, etc), then it requires us to eat a lot more of it in order to satisfy our hunger cues. This means that we end up having to eat a lot more calories in order to feel full.

This is why I do NOT count calories. Instead, I focus on incorporating nutrient dense foods into my clients diets over time. Nutrient dense foods include leafy greens, colorful fruits + veggies, protein, whole grains, and healthy fats. When most of what you eat throughout the day consists of these kinds of foods, you will naturally eat less than if you ate only processed foods because they keep you fuller for longer. In addition, a diet with these foods in it can decrease risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, hypertension, heart disease, and even brain diseases as well.

Another reason I do not count calories or encourage my clients to track calories is because as much as we want to control what our body needs and we want to tell it what to feel, we cannot accomplish that. Our bodies know what they need naturally. When we are thirsty, it means we need water. When we feels the urge to go to the bathroom, it means that our body has prepared for all of the waste to be eliminated and function efficiently. When we yawn, it means we need sleep. And when we are hungry, it means we need food to fuel us. Just like we cannot ignore the cue to go to the bathroom, we cannot ignore the cue to eat!

When we try to control what our bodies want, we try everything we can to overcome our natural cues and instincts and tell our bodies that what they are telling us is wrong. Control is what leads us to binge/stress eat/emotionally eat: when we can’t control our diet, our circumstances, or our feelings, we try desperately to regain control of our bodies by bingeing. (I’ll eat all of it now so that I can’t eat it later… does that sound familiar?)

To stop tracking calories is to trust that our bodies will tell us what they need. Sometimes, people lose how to listen to their hunger/fullness cues and are not sure what they feel like. A nutrition coach can teach you how to safely and effectively regain the ability to listen to your body’s natural hunger/fullness cues.

It IS possible to live a healthy, balanced life without having to write down everything you eat. In fact, it is possible to lose weight without tracking calories…. say whaaaat?! If you want to learn more about how to rediscover your hunger cues, or how to lose weight and feel great without track calories, then visit my homepage and sign up for a free consultation TODAY and subscribe to weekly posts like this one to show up directly in your mailbox every Tuesday!