Are you still counting calories? Do you obsess over how many calories you eat each day? If you answered yes, then this article Why Calories Don’t Matter, is perfect for you!
Don’t worry, I used to spend my days counting calories too because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. But not anymore. As a registered dietitian and nutrition expert, I am here to explain to you Why Calories Don’t Matter, and what actually does.
Nutrition is Like an Onion
I want you to think of nutrition like an onion. Calories are like the outside papery peel of the onion – the first thing to get thrown away.
Because when it comes down to it, calories consumed are the least important factor when it comes to nutrition.
Calories consumed are the least important factor when it comes to nutrition.Click To TweetYes, eating too little* or too many calories is detrimental to the body in their own respect, but if you’re following a nutrient dense diet approach and learn to fuel your body with quality foods over quantity foods, I promise that you will never need to count calories again.
*Eating too little calories is the #1 thing I see women doing that is sabotaging their healthy lifestyle.
If you need help calculating your energy requirements, contact a professional (AKA registered dietitian) – but for the love of nutrition, please do not aim for a 1,200 calorie diet!
Let’s get one thing straight:
Yes, technically calories in must equal calories out in order to maintain weight loss.
And yes, you must burn off more calories than you consume in order to lose weight.
But when it comes to health and nutrition, understanding what works and what doesn’t for each individual person goes WAY BEYOND calories.
And that’s exactly why I am telling you that calories don’t matter.
Restricting your daily caloric intake to anything less than 1,500 calories per day does much more harm than good and will cause physiological changes that will slow down your metabolism and cause your body to hold onto excess weight. I want you to understand that food should not be used as a form of punishment.
Food should be used as fuel for your body. Everything you eat should be carefully chosen as a means to fuel your body, to provide your body with all of the nutrients that it needs to function properly; happily & healthy on a day-to-day basis.
Macronutrients
The next layer of the ‘nutrition onion’ is what is known as macronutrients: the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins – or as the Instagram world likes to call it ‘macros’.
These are the larger components our food. All food is composed of these three things in different quantities. Ideally, I like to see these macros consumed in an equal one-third ratio meaning that 33% of your intake is from carbohydrates, 33% from fat and 33% from protein, give or take.
These macronutrients are the fuel that the body uses to carry out all of our daily activities, build muscle, help the brain function and so much more. Monitoring your intake of these three components is more important than monitoring your intake of calories.
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Micronutrients
The inside of the onion, the ‘meat and potatoes’ if you will, is what we know as micronutrients: the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and various nutrition compounds that keep our bodies healthy.
Micronutrients are the most important components of good nutrition. These are what the body uses to perform every minuscule operation we need to live and function properly. From hormones to brain signals and function, micronutrients will keep us functioning properly. These micro-nutrients are only found in whole foods, the closer to nature the better.
Why Calories Don’t Matter
The reason that I believe that counting calories is not important is no doubt complicated.
For one, did you know that by law the information listed on a nutrition facts panel are allowed to be up to 20% incorrect?
That’s right, INCORRECT. Why? Because nutrition is a science and it is nearly impossible to get an accurate answer when there are SO many factors involved. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult to estimate the number of calories in, for example, a cup of spinach, because when I measure as one cup may not be the same as when you measure a cup of spinach.
It is extremely difficult to calculate how many calories a person needs each day for a variety of reasons, and it is never the same from day-to-day. The methods used to calculate caloric requirements are nothing more than an educated guess unless you have access to indirect calorimetry – which I have yet to see in my 7 years of in the field of nutrition.
If you follow a 1,200 calorie diet, which is far too low for anybody, your body will not be able to lose weight. I promise you that.
Your body will react as if it were starving – because it is. It will hold onto every last calorie and paste it right onto your hips, ass and thighs. You will feel hungry and deprived and miserable. I don’t ever suggest anyone drop below 1,500 calories per day even if your goal is weight loss.
What I really want you to take away from this is that it is not how many calories you consume, it is what makes up those calories is critically important. Take this example:
Which diet would you prefer?
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The difference between these two diets, while calorically the same, if the quality and a number of nutrients found in the second diet.
The first diet, composed mainly of refined carbohydrates, unhealthy fats and processed foods will not do your body any good. The second diet, full of fruit and vegetables, all natural ingredients and minimally processed foods will provide your body with all of the micro-nutrients needed to not only function properly and make you feel good, but also help you to lose the unwanted weight as well
Your body will not lose weight if you are starving it or feeding it crap.
I promise you will feel happier, look better, achieve your goals quicker and faster when you start to count nutrients and not calories.
I am dedicated to helping you understand the nutrients you need from your food, but here is a good place to start.
Ask yourself: When you’re eating something, can you determine where it came from? What plant did it originate from? How it was made and how many steps had to be taken before it arrived to you?
You deserve a life of health and happiness. I can help.
Together, I will help you to break free from the diet mentality and calorie trap. I will show you how to choose quality foods over quantity foods, how to enjoy eating again and how to love yourself, flaws and all.
I want to help you learn how to listen to your body and hear what it needs, to trust your natural hunger cues and to trust yourself to make the right choice.
If you’re ready to make a change today, I invite you to start my FREE three day online video course to help you start to become a mindful eater. All of the lessons will be sent directly to your inbox, so you can learn whenever and where ever you are.
I would love to know what you think about the concept of Why Calories Don’t Matter, so please feel free to share your thoughts below!
Here’s to staying happy & healthy. Together.
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Thank you for the article, there’s a lot of conflicting information out there. I put on a few extra pounds after the holidays and started tracking everything I ate and counting calories to get back on track. After months with no results, and in fact clothes getting tighter (despite working out consistently), I met with an RD and had my basal metabolic rate and thyroid tested. My BMR was 1300 so the RD suggested reducing my 1500 calorie daily limit to 1200- I told her I knew from experience that wasn’t enough to fuel my workouts, so she suggested 1400. After several months at 1400 calories a day and no results I gave up and ate intuitively. After just a month or so my clothes are already fitting better. But it’s so frustrating when a clinical RD at a university system doesn’t have better advice than to reduce to 1200 calories a day for someone working out 5-6 days a week.
UGH I am so Sorry to hear this Emily! That sounds so frustrating, but I am SO glad that you were able to discover Intuitive Eating <3 I hope you are doing well xoxo