Are You Counting Calories to Lose Weight?

The message of this entire blog post is found in the title: don’t count calories. Ok! Thanks for reading!

Ok, but seriously … counting calories gets a lot of attention. I mean, even Oprah counts calories. She’s on Weight Watchers, now marketed as WW (very sexy). And Oprah is the q-u-e-e-n. So, she must be right.

Oprah’s weight loss secret

Oprah confirmed that she lost at least 42 pounds over 18 months following the Weight Watchers SmartPoints plan. Points are based primarily on calories, but Weight Watchers doesn’t divulge their secret “points” formula. And Oprah wants you to know that she eats bread! Every day! And still loses weight.

Oprah has been remarkably transparent about her struggles with her weight. Her fight against obesity has lasted at least 30 years. And Oprah has more resources than almost any person on Earth … seriously! So, if the answer to her decades-long battle with weight gain was as simple as “count calories,” why did it take her so long to lose weight successfully?

I mean, really? Weight Watchers and Oprah don’t even sound as if they should be in the same sentence … unless the sentence was “Oprah would never do Weight Watchers.” But they did pay her over 12 million dollars. (Is that even a lot of money to Oprah?)

So, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I don’t think Weight Watchers was a magic bullet for Oprah. And I don’t think counting calories will be a quick fix for you.

“Calories count, but that doesn’t mean you need to count them.” - Dr. Eric Westman

What is a calorie?

A calorie is really a measurement of energy. In a lab, in the 1800s, the definition of a calorie was born. It's the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. That’s a calorie with a lowercase “c,” and it's pretty much useless in your day-to-day life.

What is a kilocalorie?

A kilocalorie, or 1000 calories, is a food calorie. A kilocalorie or kcal is also called a Calorie with an uppercase “C.” Again, it’s really describing the amount of energy required to heat water. This time, it’s heating a kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. A kilocalorie is also the measurement that a food manufacturer lists on the nutrition label.

So, how did calories from the lab become Calories on our food packaging? Remember that a calorie is a unit of energy. As the industrial revolution was rising, calorie studies were performed to identify the optimal diet to maximize the work output of laborers. Big companies invested in understanding how to fuel their workers (with calories, but really with food) in order to produce as much as possible.

Thin is in!

In the early 1900s, counting calories became more about being slim than being efficient. The US was yelling, “thin is in!” … especially the affluent. So, led by Dr. Lulu Hunt Peters, counting calories became the key to weight loss. More specifically, the idea of intentionally eating fewer calories than you burn became a goal of weight loss and weight maintenance.

Counting calories works

Oprah and her partners at Weight Watchers are right. Counting calories will help you lose weight as long as you burn more calories than you eat. This concept is a simple equation:

Calories in (what you eat) < Calories out (your activity and exercise) = Calorie loss

You will lose calories. That’s called a calorie deficit. You always have more calories going out (burning calories) than you have coming in (eating calories).

But, again, calories are really energy. So, counting calories to lose weight really means that you expect your body to use more energy than it actually has.

Energy in (what you eat) < Energy out (your activity and exercise) = Energy loss

So, if you eat less (less energy in) and exercise more (more energy out) you are leaving your body with … less energy! You may lose weight, but you’ll definitely lose energy.

Food is fuel.

To really drive this home, let’s think of calories (food) as fuel for your body. And think of your body as a car. Imagine yourself as an amazing sports car. [I’ve got a jaw-dropping, black Porsche 911 in my head.] If you fill up your Porsche with fuel, you can drive it - fast - around a track until the fuel runs out.

If you fill the tank with less fuel, can you drive it as fast? Sure, you can. But you won’t drive it as far, right? You run out of fuel more quickly. You can’t get more out of the 911 than you put into it. And you can’t get more out of your body than you put into it. At least, not for long. Or you’ll drive yourself right into the ground.

Do you want to go fast … or do you want to go far? Do you want a short-term fix or a long-term lifestyle change? Because you can count calories and you’ll probably lose weight. That’s what fitness professionals and body builders do. It’s called cutting, and it doesn’t last. I think you want to go far. If you want prolonged health, eat in a way that nourishes and respects your body for a lifetime.

So … don’t count calories.

Really … don’t count calories. It’s not a lifestyle that gives sustainable results. Remember Oprah and her lifelong struggle with her weight? The struggle is partly because your body has a natural set point. This set point, regulated by a part of your brain called the hypothalamus, determines your body’s energy need.

With a calorie deficit, your body thinks you’re starving.

So, if you take in less fuel (fewer calories), your brain tells your body to burn less fuel (fewer calories). This is why, after several weeks at a calorie deficit, your weight loss plateaus. Your body thinks you’re starving! And it’s trying to preserve energy.

Another thing - counting calories can’t be enjoyable! I honestly can’t imagine having a running tally of what I’ve eaten in my head … or in an app!

Lastly, when you’re counting calories, the focus is all wrong. Calories are focused on numbers. How much are you eating? How much do you weigh? Calories are all about quantity. When it comes to food, put quality first. Don’t count calories. Actually, don’t count anything. Instead, honor your body by giving it the best fuel you can.

Food is fuel. But it’s also information.

Now, that you don’t count calories. How will you master your eating? In order to do that, you should understand the basics of nutrition - how your body is using food.

Food is more than fuel or calories. It’s also information. And the information comes in big sizes (macronutrients) and small sizes (micronutrients). Leaving micronutrients alone, let’s focus on the three macronutrients.

The three macronutrients

The three macronutrients are carbohydrates (carbs), fat, and protein. All three are found in healthy-for-you foods. And your body can turn all three into fuel. So, to master your eating, pick your fuel wisely.

Your body most likely burns carbs as its primary fuel. The common sources of carbs are veggies, fruit and grains. Once you take a bite of carbs - veggies, fruit or grains - your body separates it into sugar and fiber. Sugar is really the fuel. Fiber keeps your gut healthy; it also helps keep your blood sugar level under control.

Sugar as energy

Sugar gives you energy, but you don’t need a lot of sugar. In fact, excess sugar in your body turns into fat. When you eat vegetables, especially green veggies, your body will turn them into very little sugar and lots of fiber. Whereas when you eat grains, like bread, your body turns most of it into sugar. So, if you want to eat to stay slim, watch your sugar (or carb) intake. You don’t have to starve yourself or deny yourself the foods you love. But, simply put - eating greens is better than eating grains. If you like to read more about how your body turns sugar into fat, click here!

Fat as energy

Fat can also give you energy! When your body has less sugar to use as fuel, it will burn fat - either body fat or dietary fat. The fat you eat turns into fatty acids which become energy! Eating food with fat doesn’t add body fat. As I mentioned up above, you can blame excess sugar for that. Still nervous about eating fat? Read this blog post.

Fat has so many healthy benefits. Some fatty acids are called “essential” because your body needs them, but you can’t make them. Therefore, you have to eat them. Have you heard of DHA, the omega-3 fatty acid that’s essential for brain health? Well, it’s an essential fatty acid. You have to eat fat-containing foods to get DHA in your body.

Fatty acids also become healthy cholesterol which is the backbone of important things like Vitamin D and estrogen. One more thing - fat satisfies you! So, when you eat a meal with fat, you won’t be looking for a snack in a couple of hours.

Protein as energy

Protein’s power is in providing structure to your body - like healthy skin and strong muscles. It’s a really terrible source of energy because your body is really inefficient at turning protein into energy. Put another way - you actually lose energy in the process. So, your body tries its best not to do it. But an energy side effect of having lots of protein in your diet is increased fat burning. As the percentage of protein in your meals goes up, the percentage of carbohydrate naturally goes down. It’s too hard for your body to make energy from protein; so, you rely more on fat for energy. That means more fat burning!

Quality, not quantity

Counting calories is not the way to fulfill your body’s potential. If you want to level up your eating habits, give more attention to the quality, not the quantity of food you eat. Feel free to eat for nourishment. Eat to feel satisfied. Eat for energy. And enjoy the actual act of eating! Feel free from counting calories, macros and pounds on the scale. If you switch your focus to eating foods high in nutrients, you will inevitably look and feel more comfortable in your skin.

The myth of counting calories has misled health and fitness journeys for at least a century. If your goal is a long, full life, I hope you’ll ignore this myth from now on. For 5 other fat loss myths, click here.