Colding calories is still a helpful weight loss strategy. You can find out here exactly how the technology works, what advantages and disadvantages it harbors and what science says about it.
To lose weight, we have to consume fewer calories than we consume. Most scientists agree on this: inside. For a successful diet it seems to be obvious to count calories every day. This strategy is particularly tempting because it does not exclude food: we can also consume chips, chocolate, soft drinks and ready meals every day. As long as the calorie balance is right, it doesn’t hurt. But it’s not that easy with the counting of calories.
Count calories: the basics
We use the unit “kilocalories” to describe how much energy our body absorbs from food or consumes in activities. This is given as a calorie (cal) and joules (j). We not only consume calories through physical activities such as sport: our organism also needs energy to keep our organs going and to digest and metabolism. If we absorb calories, they come from a group of three macronutrients:
- Fat
- Proteins
- Carbohydrates
If we take fewer calories over a longer period of time than we consume, we lose weight. We achieve this by eating less and/or physically more active. If we take more calories every day than we consume, our body stores the excess energy – especially as fat cells. Then we increase.
How does calories count?
To count calories, you can now use a variety of tools. So there are numerous apps in which you can enter exactly what you ate when and when: when during the day:
- Lifesum or Myfitnespal are particularly well known, for example.
- On online platforms you can also research how many calories a product has (for example on FDDB.de).
- Apps and fitness watches tell you how many calories you burned in one day. So you can particularly keep your calorie consumption in mind without much effort.
Of course you will find a calorie specification of a product on the packaging and you can note it and add your daily consumption later. You don’t need aids for that.
Calorist counting: calorie equal calorie?
The problem: The pure focus on the number of calories is usually not sufficient. This applies in particular if you not only want to lose weight, but also want to eat healthy. The principle of “calorie is the same” does not work. So it makes a difference whether you consume 100 kilocalories in the form of an apple, a donut, a handful of nuts or a soft drink:
- 100 kilocalories made of donut and soft drink are so-called “empty calories”. They contain a lot of sugar (i.e. quickly digestible carbohydrates), but no or only a few vitamins, mineral and fiber. Therefore they are not very filling.
- On the other hand, apples and nuts contain important micronutrients and are free of additives. Thanks to the fiber, healthy fatty acids and the protein content it contains, the nuts in particular also make you faster and longer than sugary snacks.
Count calories: is important what you eat and not how much of it
Of course, this does not mean that sweets cannot be part of our diet every now and then. The assumption that you can also lose weight with chips, frozen pizza and chocolate bars, but if you only pay attention to the calories, you will usually not open. This is the following reasons:
- Some people avoid food and calorie-containing foods when counting calories. However, this also includes healthy foods such as nuts, seeds or herbal oils. Nuts can even keep slim.
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However, highly processed ready meals, which contain high amounts of sugar and strength, favor cravings and thus overweight. The so -called Diet Soft Drinks, which contain sweeteners instead of sugar, also suspects. Instead of gripping for so -called “junk food”, it is better to eat unprocessed food.
- In addition, we do not burn the same number of calories every day. Apps and fitness watches also only provide guidelines for this. It therefore does not make sense to want to consume the same number of calories every day. Rather, it gives us how much energy our body needs on a certain day through the feeling of hunger and satiety. For example, if you were hiking all day, you need more food than after a lazy day on the sofa. Logically, you also feel hungry if you have moved more.
- In addition, every body “works” differently. How the metabolism works depends on our genes. Age can also affect the metabolism. A slow metabolism burns fewer calories.
- If we count calories to lose weight, there is a risk that we will consume too few calories. We may then take off at short notice, but we also feel tired and without drive. Our metabolism also drives down. This means that our body stores energy faster in the form of fat cells. If a cravings then come, we increase even faster than in front of the diet. That is the yo-yo effect.
Does calories count? These are the advantages
In science, too, counting calories is a controversial topic because of the points mentioned above. Some nutritionists: Inside, however, gives advantages that the counting of calories brings with it:
- So it can help us develop a feeling for how much energy certain foods contain. Grade conventional snacks that we often eat unconsciously are very high in calories. But since they hardly saturate, we don’t feel much of it. This also applies to soft drinks.
- By counting calories, you pay more attention to what, when and how you eat. Perhaps you will discover, for example, that you always develop a strong craving at lunchtime because you don’t eat enough in the morning.
- In connection with a healthy diet, calorie counting can actually lead us to lose weight. We can also use the technology to guarantee that there is no too strong calorie deficit. This is how we avoid that our metabolism drives down and cravings arise.
Note: How many calories you are eating per day depends on your age, gender and your daily level of activity. Therefore, no flat -rate information about calorie consumption can be given. You can roughly calculate how many calories you need a day. Always keep in mind that this depends on a number of individual factors. To make sure, the best way to get is from nutritionists: personally advised on the inside.
When calories count becomes compulsion
When we start counting calories, we deal with our meals particularly strongly. We may even weigh everything we eat. This can promote unhealthy eating behavior. Various studies (from 2017, 2018 and 2019) confirm a connection between the use of fitness trackers, apps for counting calories and the permanent weighing of food and disturbed eating behavior.
Especially people who have already suffered from an eating disorder should therefore avoid the strategy or only carry out under medical or therapeutic supervision.
But calorie counting can also be dangerous for all other people:
- We can easily lose the joy of eating if we no longer see the meal itself, but only their calorie number.
- If you notice this behavior on yourself, you should take a distance from the diet technology. This also applies, for example, if you become restless because you do not know the exact number of calories in canteens or restaurants.
- Then put fitness trackers, app and scale aside and attempts to eat more intuitively again. So you will find your way back to your original hunger and satiety and develop the food again.
Conclusion: counting calories has advantages and disadvantages
Colding calories is not fundamentally good or bad. Depending on how you implement it, it can support you in a healthy diet or favor cravings, obesity and even eating disorders.
Always remember: it’s not just about how much, but what you eat. Losing weight without counting calories is therefore also possible. And the number of calories itself is always only an approximate estimate and not carved in stone. If you decide to count calories, you shouldn’t neglect your feeling of hunger – just as little as your mental health.
Revised by Lea Hermann
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