Losing weight by counting calories can work, but it's not a long-term solution, and there are many reasons for that. In this post we explain what calorie counting is about and which positive aspects it still brings.
What are calories?
Calories are the energy value every food has. They show how much energy we get from the food we eat. Every person needs a certain number of calories to have enough energy for breathing, for the heartbeat or for everyday activities like driving to work or tidying up. But calories are not all the same. Healthy calories, found in nuts, fruit and vegetables, don't make blood sugar shoot up suddenly and are therefore taken up by organs and muscles. With empty, unhealthy calories, for example in chips, sugary drinks and co., blood sugar rises sharply and the organs are overwhelmed by the energy supplied. Fat cells can then form.
How does calorie counting work?
The idea of calorie counting is very simple: you take in fewer calories than you actually need to burn. This way the energy already stored in the body is used and you lose weight. For example, someone who burns 1800 kcal a day takes in only 1600 kcal. This creates a calorie deficit. It's hard to say, though, how calories are counted correctly. When counting calories, drinks are often forgotten and not included, for example.
Advantages
One clear positive aspect of calorie counting is that you actively engage with your diet. You develop a feel for healthy and unhealthy foods and learn to understand why they are healthy or unhealthy. You also get structure and an overview of what you eat in a day.
Disadvantages
Calorie counting also has many disadvantages, though. Yes, when you count calories you get a calorie deficit and so you lose weight. But which calories you feed your body matters. Because calories are not nutrients and don't fill you up on their own. So someone who counts calories can eat a pizza and drink a cola and still end up in a calorie deficit. But then they're not allowed to eat anything for the whole rest of the day. That in turn leads to hunger and frustration.
That's why calorie counting alone is not a long-term solution and costs a lot of time and nerves. There's a lot to track and a lot to watch out for, which takes away the joy of eating.
Calorie counting and intermittent fasting
Calorie counting can be helpful at first to get a feel for food. But it's not a permanent solution. Counting and tracking are linked more with stress than with positive feelings. With intermittent fasting too, you should pay attention to how you eat during the eating phases. To spare you the stress of calorie counting, we developed a nutrition guide with various recipes in our booklet for the 5:2 intermittent fasting programme. You can also find out what exactly is in the nutrition guide in our blog post "Intermittent fasting - your nutrition guide".
Losing weight by counting calories can be successful, but it isn't a long-term solution, and there are many reasons for that. In this post we explain what counting calories is all about and which positive aspects it still brings with it.
What are calories?
Calories are the energy value every food has. They tell you how much energy the food we eat supplies us with. Every person needs a certain number of calories to have enough energy for breathing, for the heartbeat or for everyday activities such as driving to work or tidying up. But calories are not all the same. Healthy calories found in nuts, fruit and vegetables don't make your blood sugar level shoot up suddenly and are therefore taken up by organs and muscles. With empty, unhealthy calories, for example in chips, sugary drinks and the like, blood sugar rises sharply and the organs are overwhelmed by the energy supplied. This can then lead to fat cells forming.
How does calorie counting work?
The idea of calorie counting is quite simple: you take in fewer calories than you actually need to burn. This way the energy already stored in the body is used and you lose weight. For example, someone who burns 1,800 kcal a day only takes in 1,600 kcal. This creates a calorie deficit. It is hard to say, though, how calories should be counted correctly. When counting calories, drinks, for example, are often forgotten and not included.
Benefits
One clear positive of calorie counting is that you actively engage with your diet. You develop a feel for healthy and unhealthy foods and learn to understand why they are healthy or unhealthy. You also get structure and an overview of what you eat during the day.
Drawbacks
But calorie counting also comes with many drawbacks. Yes, if you count calories you end up in a calorie deficit and so you lose weight. But it matters which calories you feed your body. Calories aren't nutrients and on their own they don't make you feel full. So someone who counts calories can eat a pizza and drink a cola and be in a calorie deficit. But then they can't eat anything for the whole rest of the day. That in turn leads to hunger and frustration.
So calorie counting alone isn't a long-term solution and costs a lot of time and nerves. You have to track a lot and watch out for a lot, which takes the fun out of eating.
Calorie counting with interval fasting
Calorie counting can be helpful at first to get a feel for food. But it's not a permanent solution. Counting and tracking are associated more with stress than with positive feelings. With interval fasting too, you should pay attention to how you eat during your eating phases. To spare you the stress of calorie counting, we developed a nutrition guide with various recipes in our booklet for the 5:2 interval fasting programme. You can also find out exactly what's in the nutrition guide in our blog post “Interval fasting: your nutrition guide”. A Juice Cleanse from frank. is also a perfect start for changing your diet! The Juice Cleanses from frank. are tailored to all your needs. Choose a 3-Day Juice Cleanse, or go for the 5-Day Juice Cleanse. You can also extend our cleanses with supplements from BIOGENA into a Gut Cleanse, Beauty Cleanse or Energy Cleanse.
