Should I Count Calories or Just Eat Healthy For Weight Loss?

Are you wanting to lose weight and wondering whether you should count calories or just eat healthy?  These are the main reasons why counting calories is the best practice if you want to lose weight.  

Beginning a new diet or weight loss plan can be both exciting and a little overwhelming.  If you’re anything like me you are doing all the research you possibly  can to make sure you are very prepared - after all, if you are going to sacrifice, you want to succeed! As a repeat dieter myself, I am here to tell you why calorie counting is likely to lead to you to the best path of success.  

You are going to learn about all about what calories are, why they are important to weight loss success, and the easiest ways to count them.  And, if after reading this, if you still don't want to count calories I have a couple suggestions that should still help you with you get to the healthy weight you are looking for.  

After learning about all of these calorie counting tips, you are  going to be a pro and extra prepared when you start your new diet. 

This post is all about whether you should count calories or just eat healthy for weight loss!  

If you're looking for a way to lose weight, the first question that often comes up is "should I count calories or just eat healthy?" This blog post will help answer that question and give you some other options as well. If you want to know more about how counting calories can help with your weight loss goals, read on!

Why count calories?

We all know that weight loss is hard. Most people who try to lose weight fail, because they can't stick to their diets or exercise routines.

The truth is when it comes to weight loss you must create a calorie deficit in order to lose weight.

Calories and calorie counting have become something of a dirty word in the dieting world but that is really unfair. Calories are just the unit of energy to measure energy intake and energy expenditure in the human body.

Calories are important for two reasons. First, calories are fuel and are necessary for basic bodily functions, moving throughout our day, breathing, and digesting food. Second, our food contains calories. If we eat more calories than we need to fuel, then we store those extra calories as fat on our bodies for later use. If we eat fewer calories than we need to fuel our bodies then we have to tap into those fat stores and burn off some fat to fuel our body.

If your goal is weight loss, this is definitely an important step in the journey. To reduce weight, you must create a calorie deficit by consuming fewer calories than you burn. This may be accomplished by keeping track of your calorie intake and counting calories.

There are established guidelines for how many calories you must reduce each pound. You will lose a pound for every 3500 calories you burn off. As a result, it will take approximately 7 days for that person to lose 1 pound if they have a 500 calorie deficit per day. If they have a 1000 calorie deficit per day, it will take one week to lose 2 pounds.

Counting calories refers to the process of determining a calorie goal to eat each day (for example "I am going to eat 1400 calories each day"). Then, in order to determine how many calories you eat, you log your food. So if your breakfast was 300 calories you subtract that from your daily calorie goal and now you know that you have 1100 calories left for the day.

It is important to know how many calories are in each meal you eat because that gives you the information to determine how much more you can eat each day. Some people don't like to count calories because they find it to be a pain or a "diet thing" but really it is just important information that lets you determine whether you are creating a calorie deficit or not.

Also, related to knowing how many calories you are eating it is important to know how many calories you burn each day.  To read how I use my Fitbit to ensure that I am in a calorie deficit for weight loss click here. 

All Diets Work By Creating A Calorie Deficit (No Matter What They Claim)

It's no secret that people don't like counting calories. So, most popular diets have people focus on things other than counting calories. But the sneaky truth is that all popular diets work by limiting calorie intake. Whether it's the Atkins diet, the Mediterranean diet, or the Paleo diet, they all involve eating fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight.

Many of them actually play into people's aversion to counting calories and promise that you can lose weight on their diet "without counting calories." Ironically, all of these diets work by actually creating a calorie deficit in one way or another but they have us focus on different things [instead of calories] while in the diet.

As the chart above shows, weight watchers for example, focuses on points rather than calories. They give you a daily point allotment and then assign points to each food instead of calories. They then steer you toward low point or zero point foods. 

Now, points aren't magic.  Ultimately, the zero and lower point foods are lower-calorie foods. So, at the end of the day weight watchers encourages you to create a calorie deficit by focusing on points instead of calories.

Another example is a low fat diet.  When you look at the calories per macronutrient you see how limiting fat intake can easily create a calorie deficit.  Of all the macronutrients, fat has the most calories per gram so by limiting fat intake you naturally reduce calories overall.  

This is true of all diets. Even if they say they are not, they work by creating a calorie deficit and just having you focus on something other than calories.

When it comes to losing weight, I have found the easiest way to count calories so that you can create a calorie deficit. I count calories because there are no other steps involved. Some people count points, macro grams, fat grams, or carbs but in the end, they're still counting calories.

I count calories by weighing my food and then look at how many calories are in each serving size. I then log the number of calories that I eat at each meal and subtract that from my daily calorie total. It doesn't take any time at all!

Calorie Counting is Important For Those Of Us Over 40

After age 40, it becomes increasingly important to count calories in order to lose weight. This is because the body's metabolism starts to slow down, making it more difficult to burn calories. In addition, the body also begins to lose muscle mass, which also makes it more difficult to burn calories. By counting calories, you can ensure that you are creating a calorie deficit and losing weight.

Additionally, counting calories can help you to make sure that you are getting the right nutrients for your body. When you count calories, you can also make healthy swaps for unhealthy foods, which will help improve your overall health. So, if you're looking to lose weight after age 40, counting calories becomes even more important!

What is the best way to count calories?

There are two ways to count calories.

One is the old school way to buy a calorie counting book and a food journal. A food journal is a great way to count calories. You can count calories by weighing your food and then multiplying that weight by the number of calories in the serving size. A typical calorie count for any food item is on its label, but it can also be found in a calorie-counting book, online, through an app, or using one of the many calculators available.

Here's how to count calories with a food journal:

1) Take the weight of your food and multiply it by the number of calories in one serving size. This will give you how many calories are in one serving of your food.

2) Record this number in your journal (along with what you ate).

3) Calculate the total

The Second way to calculate your caloric intake (and the way I use) is with an app.  With apps it is even easier to count calories and track your food.

My favorite app for counting calories is Myfitness pal. It's easy to use and has a huge database of food items. You can also scan the barcode of a food item to add it to your food diary. You can also import recipes from the web or add your own to determine the calories in anything you eat.

This is so much easier than handwriting in a food journal and it does all the math and calculations for you! It's really simple and doesn't take any time at all.

Also, if you eat similarly or the same thing each day it's even easier. You can just copy your previous day's meal to today and make any change if you ate a bigger or smaller portion than the day before.

Myfitness pal has a premium version which requires a subscription but the free version has a lot of function and access to their database. For basic calorie counting the free version is probably all you need.

The other benefit to using an app like Myfitness pal is that if you use it for a long time as I have, you can look back and see what you were eating when you were losing weight which is helpful if you start gaining weight or hit a plateau.

What if I don't want to count calories?

I completely understand that some people don't want to count calories. I have two friends who are really against it and they just are not going to do it. If that's the case, then you have to find another way to create a calorie deficit.

Some people count points, macro grams, fat grams, or carbs but in the end, they're still counting calories.

You could try one of those methods if you don't want to count calories but I would recommend starting with counting calories and then switching if you don't like it.

The best way is to find an approach that you can stick with long-term so that you can see results.

Intuitive eating

Intuitive eating is an approach to nutrition that encourages people to listen to their bodies and eat what they want when they want. Intuitive eaters believe that this allows them to have a better relationship with food and ultimately leads to better health. Basically, just eating healthy.

This sounds heavenly especially for those of us who have tried many diets and failed. The idea is to train our minds to listen to our bodies and eat what we need. The problem is that if you are trying to lose weight you have to actually go against your bodies needs and eat less calories than what your body needs each day.

I briefly tried intuitive eating and it did not work for me. I started gaining weight and while I think it is really great for weight maintenance it did not work for me for weight loss. Also, I was in several online intuitive eating groups and weight gain seemed to be a common complaint.

Calorie Density

If you are really against weighing food and tracking calories, then I think focusing on calorie density is a realistic approach that helps people create a calorie deficit without weighing and logging food.

The calorie density approach is a realistic way of creating a calorie deficit without weighing and logging food. Calorie density is an easy way of creating a calorie deficit without counting every single thing that goes into your mouth.

If you focus on eating foods with low-calorie densities, then you'll create a caloric deficit without having to count anything at all! This approach works well, especially on a plant-based diet.

The following chart is what I used when I focused on calorie density. It was so helpful I just focused on eating up to a pound of the foods above the red line. It was so easy (and so much food). So for example a large potato and a pound of green veggies was about calories. This was so filling!

I thought I first saw this chart used by Dr. McDougall but I could only find it on Jeff Nelson's site who is an adherent of the McDougall plan.  So, I am not sure who created this chart, but I used this exact chart when I switched to a plant based diet. 

I just ate everything above the line basically to the point of being full and ate very little below the line. 

This was a stress free way of transitioning to a new diet.  But, I only lost a few pounds, it was when I really focused on creating a calorie deficit each day that the weight started to really come off.  

McDougall Maximum Weight Loss

I LOVE Dr. McDougall.  I first followed his Starch Solution and lost 20 pounds.  I just finished reading his book Dr. McDougall's plan for Maximum Weight Loss.  It is a really great book and a lot of people have had success following this plan.  I am going to start it this month to try to lose the last 15 pounds and will update my results soon!  If you want more information on Dr. McDougall here is his website where he provides a lot of great information for free.  

The McDougall plan for weight loss or McDougall plan for Maximum weight loss has helped people lose a lot of weight without focusing on counting calories.

His plan focuses on what he calls the 50/50 plate. At each meal, fill your plate with half starch (potato or rice) and half non-starchy vegetables. This allows you to eat very healthy without a lot of calories at each meal. You are so filled up that you naturally eat in a calorie deficit.

For a more thorough discussion of Dr. McDougall's plan you should read his book.

Conclusion

In most cases count calories is the best way to ensure a calorie deficit and lose weight. It can be difficult for people with busy schedules or those who don't have time to count every single thing they put in their mouth, but it's worth it in the end.

If you're struggling to count your food intake accurately, try using a phone app like MyFitnessPal that makes counting easier by calculating how many calories are contained in each item of food based on its nutritional value. You could also think about shifting towards low-calorie dense foods which will create a caloric deficit without having to count anything at all! 

If you liked this post, you may want to read on with the following posts:

THE GENIUS WAY TO USE YOUR FITBIT FOR WEIGHT LOSS THAT YOU’LL WANT TO TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!

NON-EXERCISE ACTIVITY THERMOGENESIS: A NEAT WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT OVER 40

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT EFFORTLESSLY ON A PLANT BASED DIET