Unless You Are Getting On Stage, Counting Calories Is Not the Way to Healthy Weight Loss
Forget about whether or not counting calories actually works for a second and riddle me this…who has the time to count the calories on every food or drink they put in their mouth each day? Not too many people! That alone, keeps counting calories from actually being a real solution!
If you have read anything I have previously written, you already know, our position is quite simple. If the plan or program you are using, or thinking about using, is not one that can be used for a lifetime, it is NOT the answer to your weight management goals or issues. Plain and simple! There truly is nothing else to debate!
We do not gain excess weight overnight and will not lose excess weight overnight. At least not in a healthy manner anyway. For most people, those excess pounds begin to creep up, year after year, until they have reached a point of being downright unhealthy and unsightly! This is the real reason you need to have a solution that will bring your weight back down in a healthy manner, not some gimmick, scheme or process that only works for a short time!
So there is no mistake, while this unwanted weight can certainly have a negative impact on your wardrobe, as well as, your self-esteem, study after study has proven that excess weight carries far more troublesome health issues. Women with increasing weight, for example, have much higher risks of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and breast cancer, while men, see greater risks of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer.
With that said, even more unhealthy than simply carrying the excess weight, is going through the common yo-yo effect of weight loss, weight gain, weight loss! This has been proven to be worse on the heart than simply carrying more weight throughout. Quite often, those who dive into “calorie counting” end up on this yo-yo because it is not a sustainable plan of attack.
Now, to be clear before we go on, counting calories, if done properly, with the correct starting points, targets and, most importantly, the right type of calories, can in fact work. It can also fail miserably however, due to these variables and the misconception that when counting calories, it does not matter where the calorie comes from….food or macro-nutrient type! Unfortunately, this is yet another false idea floating around out there after the hundreds of books written over the past 20 years or so about weight loss.
Recent research at Harvard University proved that specific foods were more important to weight gain, loss or maintenance than amounts! Wow! Shocking! Not!
“This study shows that conventional wisdom — to eat everything in moderation, eat fewer calories and avoid fatty foods — isn’t the best approach,” Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and epidemiologist at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study, said in an interview. “What you eat makes quite a difference. Just counting calories won’t matter much unless you look at the kinds of calories you’re eating.”
Not only that but guess what, it is also possible to exercise regularly and still not reach your weight management goals! Tell me all those people in my gym that have look the same for years don’t already know this?
“Both physical activity and diet are important to weight control, but if you are fairly active and ignore diet, you can still gain weight,” said Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health and a co-author of the study.
What does all this mean in the end? It simply means that the right, the healthy approach to weight loss or weight management, is a combination of real-world tasks, not some singular, tedious, unreal means such as “counting calories”. It means, managing your weight, throughout life, i
Dr. Frank B. Hu, a nutrition expert at the Harvard School of Public Health and a co-author of the new analysis, said: “In the past, too much emphasis has been put on single factors in the diet. But looking for a magic bullet hasn’t solved the problem of obesity.”
Just in case there is any question, foods like french fries, potato chips, sugar-sweetened drinks, red meats, processed meats, potatoes, sweets and desserts, refined grains, fried foods, 100-percent fruit juice, and butter, typically had the greatest impact on weight gain! Again, shouldn’t be too shocking!
The foods that resulted in best chance for weight loss or management, during the study, were fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Dairy products had a neutral effect, which might prove shocking to some! Even more shocking to a greater number of people…those who ate more yogurt and nuts, including peanut butter, were among the greatest in weight loss.
This study once again proves that the foods themselves, more so than the number or type of calories, is actually more important! Does this mean you can’t enjoy the foods you love so much that typically won’t be good for you? Not at all! It means you merely have to be cognizant of your choices most of the time! If you are good with your nutrition 80% of the time, you will most likely have earned the 20% of freedom!
Controlling your weight for a lifetime or shedding those unwanted pounds, should not be that difficult, if you have the right plan and a much-needed support system in place to help you through! It is not about counting calories or points, but those are great ways to tap into someone’s heart and motivation with excellent marketing, now aren’t they?
You can change all that! Get started on the 24 Day Challenge today!
Sandy
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