In an endless sea of various weight loss techniques and dieting regimes, there is one thing that is on everyone’s mind. Calories. We all depend on how many calories we ingest and how many we discard. The caloric deficit is the new trend. We all want to reach it. But as often the road can be difficult and confusing.

Trying to read the calorie intake of each and every piece of product you consume can be hard. Especially if you have to calculate the standard portions and the actual portions that you want to consume. And that is only for the food that is packaged. What about the fresh produce, cheese, meat, dairy, and all the other yummy ingredients. And then if the food is baked, or fried, comes with a dipping sauce or a dressing. It’s enough to get your head spinning from the constant effort to calculate your daily calorie intake. That is the main reason why some smart people invented online calorie counters. You can simply download an application on your computer or your phone and input manually or from a specified list the food you have been eating throughout the day. And they will automatically calculate the hard numbers for you. You can then compare them daily, weekly, and monthly to monitor your progress. But is this something good? Like with any tool in life, it comes with positive and negative sides.

Why do you actually need to count your calories?

If this is something that you want to do nobody will stop you. But as I said everything has its good and bad sides. If you’re a regular person with an average healthy diet there is really no need to go to the extra effort and control your life this way. Because you will simply end up forgetting to input meals and trying to remind yourself to be honest about what you have been eating. Sometimes it may be better to focus your effort on having a long walk instead.

Counting calories is not the main tool to lose weight. Yes, it can give you a specific insight into the nutritional and caloric side of your meals. It can help you to become aware of the numbers as we call it. Sometimes people eat their favorite food and they don’t really know how heavy it can be. Then you find yourself going to the gym or doing a workout but your weight stays the same. I would recommend to all the people out there to simply check how many calories they are taking in daily. Take on your average daily meals and just put them on the counter. Maybe you will be surprised with the result. Sometimes food can be surprising. Especially if you indulge in your weekly pizza or burger night that can set you back for an entire day. So I really do recommend doing it at the beginning of your weight loss journey just to see if there is any room for improvement. This way you can compare different food categories and choose the ones that will give you more advantage. Substitute your favorite pizza with a less caloric one and you will still benefit from eating the food that you like but at the same time losing more weight.

When I used the calorie counter for the first time I was also surprised with the results. My coffee with milk and sugar several times a day was really setting me back. My favorite pasta with cheese was also an item that would cost me an entire gym session. The good thing was that I became aware of it and could just replace it with something still tasty and enjoyable and get better results.

Calorie counting is not a good way to diet

I understand if some people don’t agree with me and that’s fine. I consider a diet a permanent change in your eating habits that you implement not only to lose weight but to stay healthy. It doesn’t have to specifically follow strict diet rules but you have to pick and choose what is best for you. Some people like to eat meat, some people don’t. Some people like to eat salads some people like to have pasta. We all come from different cultures and our food represents them. That is why I would never recommend people to completely ditch their eating habits and just switch to sometimes completely opposite. It’s not sustainable. Maybe you can manage it for a couple of months and get some good results. But the minute you finish the diet and go back to your previous eating habits the weight will come back.

So you need to get it clear in your head that whatever change you are willing to make it’s there to stay. That is the only way you will be able to stay consistent and permanently change your life. Now counting calories is a never-ending way of controlling every single aspect of the food you are ingesting. You will end up constantly worrying about numbers and limiting yourself by calculating how many calories you can afford to have before you reach your daily limit. You will end up in a state of constant stress trying to control your diet but will soon see that your diet will end up controlling you.

Not to mention that it’s not healthy for vulnerable people. Especially young people who are already exposed to images of perfection online and on social media. People with eating disorders can actually add more stress to their situation by counting calories every single time when they are having a meal. This should only be a tool. Something that we use from time to time just to check that we are on the correct path to self-improving. You should not open it more than a couple of times a month even less than that.

How to safely use this tool?

From my own experience counting anything when you are on a diet is not going to help you that much. Starting from your weight to carbs or calories. At the start of change, you don’t really want to focus on the condition that you are in. Because you know that condition really well. This condition has brought you where you are now.

What you need to focus on when starting on a lifestyle journey is how to improve. What directions and techniques you can implement to help you on your way. List some of the things that you really enjoy eating. At least ten of them. And then try and see what you can do about them. If they are really unhealthy what you can replace them with. But don’t replace them with things that you know you will hate. I hate celery. I know all the benefits of eating celery. But I don’t want to eat it. I don’t like the taste, texture, smell, or color. So why should I torture myself by eating something that will give me a miserable experience? Try to find healthy things that you enjoy and have more of them.

Implementing a healthy lifestyle is not all about making drastic decisions. It’s more about taking a lot of baby steps. It’s about having a cup of tea before a meal. It is about limiting your sugar and consuming more honey. It’s about eating more slowly and chewing your food like crazy. These are the small but important things you can focus on. Counting calories can be a great tool to show you where you are now. How many calories does your favorite food have? And if you are not happy with the number then you can make a change. But doing it every single day after every single meal will cripple you to the point where you will just start to feel overwhelmed. So instead do like this:

• Check the calories of your favorite food that you have at least 3 or 4 times a week. Be honest and count for each one of them.
• If you are not happy with the number shown compared to your daily calorie intake then substitute them with something that you also like to eat but it’s healthier for you.
• Be careful of the snacks. Most of the time we are not aware of things that also have a lot of calories. Especially if we have them every day like coffee, smoothies, nuts, spreads, dipping sauce, and baked goods. These are the ones that you will have to control the most.
• Don’t be stressed if you overindulge sometimes. It can happen. But also don’t overindulge about food after a workout. I see it so many times. You do a great workout and you think you should treat yourself to something special. Think about your after-workout food. Plan what you will have in advance and stick to it.
• After 2 weeks you can check again just to make sure that you are on a good path. If need be do some more corrections and try again.