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Counting Calories to Lose Weight: What You Need to Know

One of the hottest debates in the nutrition world is whether or not calorie counting is the best way to lose weight. We’ve all heard the expression “a calorie is a calorie.” And to a certain extent, there’s no arguing with this, as a dietary calorie that comes from a Twinkie versus one that comes from a sprig of broccoli both contain 4,184 Joules of energy. What it comes down to is how each of these calories functions in the body.

Our bodies are incredibly complex biochemical webs of processes that are affected and controlled by hormones, and this is where the very real differences in calories come into play. The type of calories you eat has a major impact on the processes that control appetite, cravings, and much more. Here, we looked at some specific ways that a calorie is not just a calorie.

 

Calories and metabolism

Every food has a thermic effect, meaning that each food affects energy expenditure differently. According to a study conducted by the Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders comparing the thermic effects of all three macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates, protein requires more energy (calories) to metabolize than carbs or fat, so it greatly boosts your metabolism and, therefore, your weight loss.

macronutrients

 

The Hunger Hormone

Understanding why the type of food you eat should be prioritized over the quantity boils down to actual hormonal reactions that occur in your body upon eating certain foods.

apple vs donut

Glucose and fructose are two sugars metabolized very differently. For example, the production of ghrelin, the “hunger hormone,” is increased when you ingest fructose much more than with glucose. This means (and studies show) that you are more likely to overeat and succumb to cravings if you have a diet high in fructose. Conversely, glucose has a bigger impact on the satiety center of our brain, meaning we feel fuller longer, again generally causing us to eat (less) more. Also, studies have proven that diets high in fructose have been shown to lead to increased belly fat, insulin resistance, and high triglyceride levels. This means that even if you log time each day tracking your calories, you very well might be fighting an uphill battle against your hormones if eating a high refined sugar and carbohydrate diet.

vegetables nuts marble

Foods high in glucose include vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans, legumes and whole grains.

Foods high in fructose that should be largely avoided include sodas, processed baked goods, candy, agave syrup, fruit juice and dried fruits (among others). But note that fructose from whole fresh fruit is less worrisome, as it comes along with fiber and other important nutrients that slow down the absorption of fructose and offer other benefits.

 

Calories and feeling full

Why is it so easy to stuff yourself full of 1,000 calories worth of ice cream and cake, while eating 1,000 calories worth of grass-fed steak and steamed vegetables seems impossible? Because the protein and good fat from steak and vegetables has a much higher satiety index, which measures how much foods increase our feelings of fullness and reduce hunger.

half eaten cake slice

Naturally, a diet high in foods with a low satiety index will usually lead to overeating and weight gain since you have to eat more of them to feel full. Foods with a low satiety index include refined carbs such as baked goods and processed sugars.

Foods with a high satiety index include starchy vegetables, whole grains and legumes, red meat, eggs and fruit.

 

So, should you count calories?

If the foregoing is largely new information for you, it is best to try changing your diet model before you begin counting calories. Many people find that they lose weight by simply making these dietary changes alone. However, if you have already adopted the type of eating style discussed here and have found that you are not losing weight, then counting calories could definitely help.

couple running stairs

As with most nutrition “rules,” there is no exact answer that will work for everyone. Calorie-counting could be exactly the right strategy for some individuals, and exactly the wrong strategy for others. The bottom line is: the quality of your food matters more than the quantity. With that said, if you are already eat a healthy diet and want to take your weight loss efforts up a notch, calorie counting could be quite beneficial.

Will Exercise Actually Help You Lose Weight?

Basic science tells us that to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume. With that reasoning, it seems logical  to assume that you will shed pounds  if you work out  because exercise burns calories. And while there is some truth to that statement, it’s not quite so simple. Yes, some form of physical activity on a regular basis is essential for health. However, if weight loss is the main reason that you exercise, you may be misleading yourself.

Here are some points to keep in mind if you’re considering including exercise in your weight loss plan.

girl exercise

 

Exercise and hunger hormones

Let’s start by taking a look at how exercise affects your hormones, thus influencing the relationship between exercise and weight loss. While you do burn calories through exercise (the amount will depend on what type of exercise you do), exercise doesn’t only affect the “calories out” end of the equation.

Studies have shown that exercise can have a pretty hefty impact on your hunger levels and appetite, often leading you to eat more. Not only that, but studies also suggest that on a psychological level, you are more likely to overeat after exercise, because you think that you can  reward yourself with that cookie, extra serving, etc.

girl donut craving

The primary hormone we’re talking about is ghrelin, otherwise known as the “hunger hormone.” T he manner in which ghrelin affects your appetite after exercise varies from individual to individual. Studies show that for some it might cause major surges in appetite, whereas for others it will have no effect, or could even reduce appetite after exercise.

The point here is to be aware of this possibility and make sure that you’re not significantly increasing your calorie intake after exercise, as this may negate any weight loss benefits.

 

Don’t lose weight, lose fat.

If you reduce your caloric intake without doing much exercise, you are likely to lose weight that consists of both muscle and fat. In fact, studies show that when you lose weight by calorie cutting alone, about 1/4 of weight loss is muscle. This happens because your body is forced to find other fuel sources, so it turns to not only fat stores, but muscle protein.

Including exercise in your weight loss plan will make sure that you are losing more fat than muscle mass, which is usually the goal. While it’s not exactly true that muscle weighs more than fat (a pound is a pound), the important difference is that muscle is about 18% denser than fat, so it takes up far less physical space in the body.

girl black and white muscle

Paying attention to body composition via measurements and fat composition is much more accurate in determining how your body is changing than simply going by the number on the scale alone.

 

What matters more for weight loss, exercise or nutrition?

This might be hard to hear, but the amount of calories you burn via exercise alone is relatively small in the scheme of things.  You burn most of your calories by naturally going about your daily activities. The rate of calorie burn is influenced by your BMR (basal metabolic rate ), which is the amount of calories you burn while at rest. In addition, you burn calories through the thermic effect of the foods you eat, i.e., calories burned just digesting and processing your food.

One study took a group of people who had just exercised to a buffet and asked them to eat the calories they thought they had burned during their workouts. Results showed that subjects ate about three times more than they had actually burned. This demonstrates that we tend to drastically overestimate the amount of calories burned during exercise, and increase our calorie intake according to this skewed perception.

girl protein shake

Nutrition accounts for the majority of weight loss (perhaps as much as 70%), so while you should certainly keep exercising, be clear that nutrition is key.

 

Losing weight with cardio vs. weight training

Muscle is more metabolically active than fat, and burns far more calories when at rest. Many people wanting to lose weight (especially women) narrow in on cardio, often missing out on the massive weight loss benefits provided by strength training. Yes, cardiovascular activity is important for many reasons such as increased heart health and improved recovery time. But, if you think of calories in/calories out, you are simply not going to burn enough calories for effective weight loss only focusing on cardio. Instead of being shortsighted, understand how you can mold your body into a long-term, calorie-burning machine via weight training.

runners feet

The impact that cardio has on your metabolic rate (the rate at which you burn calories) doesn’t extend far from the treadmill or stationary bike. When you strength train, however, you are actually changing your metabolic rate, which means you will burn more calories outside of your workouts in each and every one of your daily activities.

 

Weight loss issues: over-exercise, stress and weight gain

It is also important to understand that certain types of exercise can actually cause weight gain. While this definitely varies across people (due to genetics, metabolism, stress level, and diet), frequent, long distance, medium- to high-intensity  cardio workouts can be particularly stressful to the human body. This has to do with the body’s cortisol reaction, your primary stress hormone. When our adrenal glands are under stress, they release a boost of cortisol to allow us to react accordingly. Cortisol is a fat storage hormone that stores fat especially around the mid-section.

sneakers in bed tired exercise

If you are constantly and exclusively engaging in this type of extreme cardio, you could be prompting a chronic release of excess cortisol, which can actually cause weight gain or prohibit weight loss. This does not mean that you shouldn’t do cardio, but try working out in different ways, such as HIIT (high intensity interval training).

 

Other health benefits of exercise

Even though exercise is not necessarily a shoo-in for losing weight, you will still benefit from including it in your daily routine. Studies have concluded time and time again that exercise helps to prevent serious diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and more. In fact, one study revealed that regular exercisers have a 50% lesser chance  of dying from these diseases than those who live a sedentary lifestyle. Not to mention, exercise is a major de-stressor and can help with mental and emotional health just as much as physical health.

healthy stomach

Combining exercise and nutrition with stress management is the winning combination. Our health is influenced by a wide variety of factors, certainly including exercise. For some, this may come as a relief; rather than obsessively exercising, you can divide your efforts across the different categories necessary for both wellness and weight loss.