Yeah I know: ANNOOOOYING! :-o
BUT: It seems to work!! I am doing this counting thing for a week now and I've already lost 3kg. Not too bad, right?
Well, I have to admit though that it would have been three weeks if I would have actually managed to keep up with it the first week (which only went till wednesday) and then the second week (which only went till tuesday) :-o Just imagine how much it could have been by now if I only had the willpower right from the start... But I am on the right track now, so YEEEY ME! :-)
Counting the calories is a bit of a fuss but if you see results you don't mind doing it. This way I am forced to keep track of what I eat and be more conscious of those 'small things' you don't even realize you've eaten and which usually have loads of calories that are so not worth it!
It's also pretty cool to realize the calories you burn: Even a small stroll is worth counting if it helps to motivate you to not mess the day up with some unnecessary snacks and 'exceptions'... I feel that it helps me not to get off the track... And I do get off track easily.
I have a pretty good App (MyPlate) that helps with this tracking so you know exactly how much calories you consume and burn per day. This makes the tracking really easy!! I think if I had to keep a hand-written food-journal and look up each and every item for its value online it would drive me nuts...
But now back to the question: Calories VS Nutrients?!
You could easily eat 2000 calories worth of junk a day without it being a nutritious and healthy diet. Would you loose weight anyway? Well, simple math tells us clearly YES!
There are certain variables that need to be considered: age, fitness level, etc to determine what the healthy amount of calories per day should amount to. Let's just say, that there is this person who entering all the variables figures out that to loose 1kg a week he should eat 2000 calories a day. Now let's say you eat only and exclusively 2000 calories worth of processed white sugar a day. Will this person loose that 1kg by the end of the week? YES! Numbers don't lie...
BUT
What is sugar? Unless it is naturally occurring (like in fruit and veggies) it does not provide any nutrients in the form of vitamins or minerals. Processed white sugar is purely calories a.k.a. 'empty calories'. 2000 calories would represent half a kilo of sugar. It might seem a lot in quantity, but because of the lack of nutrients it would not make you feel full. It would ruin your teeth, put you at risk for diabetes, probably even change your behavior... and I dare say, that in the long run it would just plain kill you - from lack of necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients for your body to function...
So let me ask again: Would you loose weight if you ate the right amount of calories every day no matter what kind of calories they were?! YES! Would you put on weight if you ate way more calories than your limit even if you ate only good, healthy, nutrient calories?! YES!
So what is the solution!? Obviously the combinations of Calories and Nutrients.
It is not Calories VS Nutrients
BUT
it's Calories AND Nutrients that make all the difference in the world!
So what now? Keep tracking calories every day but beware not only of the quantity of the calories but also the quality of them to maintain a healthy diet whatever your goal: weight gain, loss or maintenance... Just stay healthy and fit!
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