Posted on December 30, 2015 by Kate Halsall

There’s no point shirking the issue – calories are important. They give us energy to live and move, even when you are asleep you are using calories to keep your body alive. For some people, counting calories is a kick start to their weight loss plans, a measureable method to help cut down on what they eat. But what calorie counting often overlooks is the amount of nutrition that a calorie brings to your body – counting calories could make you lose sight of what you’re actually eating. For example, you can eat a couple of bars of chocolate and get an entire day’s worth of calories (although please don’t) …….but you literally haven’t given your body anything worthwhile for it to use.

So before you kick off your “diet starts in the new year”, “new year new you”, “cutting down on carbs”, “clean eating” regimes make sure you consider these pros and cons for calorie counting first. Here we look at Is Calorie Counting Worth It to help you decide.

Pros

• If you have worked out your personal calorie needs (based on BMR, Activity Levels and Goals), calorie counting can help ensure you get the right nutrition to reach those goals through your food planning and prep.
• Can help with portion control, further understanding of what you’re eating, and better eating habits.
• Can help with weight gain as well as weight loss
• There are lots of trackers, apps and forums available to assist with calorie counting

Cons

• Can lead to eating more “bad” food because there is no focus on nutritional content of food.
• It’s more important to understand where the calories come from
• Calorie counting doesn’t distinguish between good and bad foods. We know that nuts and eggs are high in calories – but they are full nutritious goodness! But the thought of how many calories these good foods contain can often discourage people from eating them
• Can lead to feelings of guilt, binge eating and obsession (I actually found one article which considered calorie counting to be a type of eating disorder)

Simply put – your body doesn’t count calories, it simply responds to the quality of those calories. Not all calories are created equal. Don’t ruin your enjoyment of food by becoming obsessed with how much you are or are not eating.  If you eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise regularly, you shouldn’t need to calorie count.