How Counting Calories Is Ruining Your Health and Your Diet?

Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/augustaerin

Calories… I am not gonna lie to you, I have never thought about the calories in my food until 8^th grade. One of my best friends used to be a synchronized swimmer and she was always on a diet. She thought me how to read food labels and how to calculate calories. From then on I was obsessed with calorie counting. That was the first thing I read on the labels and the only thing I cared about. The less the calories the better and healthier I thought it was. Good Lord I am smarter than that now! If you are not familiar with my view on food and calories you better start with reading this article and then come back and finish this one!

If I had to describe my nutrition philosophy in one sentence it would be to eat as much natural, unprocessed food as possible by trying to make fats be at least 60% of your dietary intake!

That means, that not quantity or calorie value of food matters but QUALITY! But let’s see how counting calories can make you take some really bad and unhealthy food choices.

1)Choosing low fat products. Keeping in mind that 1 gram of fat is equal 9kcal and 1 gram of carbs equals 4kcal it is logical that low fat products will contain less calories. But is that really healthy? Did you know that in order to take out the fat out of food, they are supposed to replace it with something, and that something is sugar=carbs= not good for your health! So you are buying low fat products with low calories, but you are only harming your body and most likely not achieving your weight loss goals!

2) Choosing fitness desserts, desserts with added fiber, additional vitamins and other junk like that. Yes, I know they are low in calories and they are advertised as healthy and the best pick if you want to be slim, thin and other crappy words like that! But did you forget that health is achieved only if you eat NATURAL foods. And how could foods that have artificially added ingredients be considered healthy? That is impossible! So stay away from everything that comes in a package and claims to be the best pick for a fitness enthusiasts!

3) Choosing low calorie snacks over natural snacks that contain more calories. Ok, we all know the fitness desserts that contain less than 100 calories, “that satisfy your hunger and keep you active all day”. Blah, blah! I’d much rather eat some nuts as a snack no matter if the portion will be over 100 calories, because they won’t mess up with my insulin and other hormones in my body, that will make me want more food and feel crappy! So when faced with a choice to ea a natural snack that is rich in calories and a processed snack that is less than a 100 calories, for God’s sake pick the NATURAL SNACK!

Do you count calories? What i smore important to you- quality of food or calories of food?