Why Calorie Counting Bogus + 6 Tips to REALLY Lose Weight

The diet season is in full-swing. You know, the mad panic that goes along with upcoming bathing suit shopping and pulling out last season’s tank tops and shorts? Yeah, that one. Some people will practically sell their souls to slim down just in time for summer and resort to all kinds of strategies, diets, crazy workouts, or worse, pills, that ultimately backfire, and end up packing the pounds back on. Who needs that?

One of the longest standing adages of dieting is that “a calorie is a calorie” and the less we consume {and the more we expend}, the greater our weight loss. But what if everything we thought we knew about calories was wrong?

Last week I talked about the relationship that hormones play in our ability to lose weight and how stress and other things that affect our hormonal balance impact where our body burns calories from {fat, protein, or carbohydrates}. Miss that one? Read it here.

This week, I’m going to turn your world upside down once more and break the news to ya that all of the maddening calorie counting, measuring, and obsessing is simply nonsense. It’s quite liberating, no?

All Calories are NOT Created Equal

First things first. What the heck is a calorie, anyway? Without totally geeking out, it’s basically a unit of food energy. Kind of like how gas fuels your car. Fat provides 9 calories per gram and carbohydrates and proteins provide 4 calories per gram. Calories work differently in the body depending on what type of food they come from. Foods rich in protein like chicken, eggs, or beans, as well as those high in fiber, use a crap-ton of energy to digest {and chew}, whereas highly processed or sugary foods barely tax the system at all – meaning, your body isn’t expending any energy {or burning calories} to digest them. This is particularly the case with sugary drinks. This explains the blood sugar rush {and subsequent crash} that is associated with consuming these things. They enter your bloodstream at a rapid pace, do their thing, and then make their home in your midsection {making you fat}.

Of course, this is not knowledge you’ll gain from reading the calorie content on your food labels, boasting only 100 calories for chemical-laden processed crap {no disrespect, Twinkies}. Oh no, that would create a more informed and less food-addicted consumer, which is bad for business.

If you are only concerned with calorie-counting, it won’t tell you anything about the vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients you’re getting {or lacking} in your diet. 

Let me break it down for you…

A chocolate candy bar has roughly 250 calories, the same amount as 25 almonds PLUS an apple, which packs way more nutritional mojo than that Snickers bar, and fills you up for hours. The candy bar is basically all carbohydrates in the form of refined sugar, which after totally messing with your blood sugar, converts directly into stored fat, particularly in your belly. The nuts and apple provide you with a nice balance of healthy fats, protein, vitamins, and fiber. Yes, they both contain the same number of calories, but it’s obvious which is the better option.

Long story short, calorie counting alone tells you diddly squat about how your body will react to a certain food {or “food-like substance”}.  It’s about quality, not quantity. It’s for this reason that weight loss is not as simple as a strategic formula of calories in and calories out, and why so many struggle to lose weight and keep it off.

Adding insult to injury, counting calories is a big pain in the ass and a source of stress for many. Remember what happens when we get stressed out? Recall from last week’s blog post that too much stress in your life will cause an over-production of the hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which can kill your metabolism and trigger your body to burn proteins instead of fats {resulting in muscle loss, not fat loss}.

Now what?

Rather than being concerned with meeting or exceeding a certain calorie requirement each day, focus on making sure your diet is nutrient dense. Here are some tips:

1. Begin your day with a protein-rich breakfast, like eggs, nuts, seeds, nut butters, steel cut oats, or a protein shake. Skip the carb bombs like bagels, muffins, donuts, and processed cereals.

2. Balance your meals with nutrient dense-sources of proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats.

3. Eat enough healthy fats throughout the day. My favorite is virgin coconut oil. 

4. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies {at least 5 servings a day}.

5. Avoid refined sugar, flour, and particularly high fructose corn syrup.

6. Limit processed food {basically anything that comes in package with a bunch of ingredients you can’t pronounce}.

Still not sure where to start?

In my fully-supported program, Lose Weight, Feel Great: 8 Weeks to a New You, you will ditch calorie-counting for life easily and deliciously, without gimmicks, crazy diets, deprivation, or countless hours at the gym so you can lose those last 10-20 pounds and keep them off, while re-booting your metabolism. Pretty sweet, huh?

You’ll also reap these benefits:

• Become the master of your metabolism and never again succumb to the old wives tale that “weight gain is inevitable as we age”.

• Melt belly fat for good.

• Create your personal blueprint for living and looking your best

• Gain confidence in your kitchen so you can feed your family real, whole, nutritious, and delicious food without sacrificing taste.

• Never. Diet. Again.

You want in? Check it out here. The calorie counting officially ends NOW!

Join me 

What’s the craziest diet you’ve ever gone on? I’d LOVE to hear! Please leave a comment below.

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