Calorie Counting/Food Exchanges
Using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula (or another version) to determine your target calorie consumption is the first step in a calorie counting approach to diet. The philosophy is calories in must be less than calories out to facilitate weight loss. Sounds simple.
It follows the premise of one pound of fat equals 3500 calories so these need to be shaved off through diet or exercise to lose the desired pounds.
The Good
The basic idea works for many people. It provides an awareness of what they are eating and how many calories are in the foods they eat. Usually this requires a food journal or an app to record everything consumed. It is a great way to really understand how many calories you can eat in one day without even realizing it. It also proves the importance of recording everything accurately…that handful of nuts needs to be documented.
Most of the apps break down the macronutrients for you which adds to nutrient awareness. If you monitor your general response to various food combinations, you can see a trend that may suggest which diet your body responds to favorably. I am a big believer that not every body succeeds on the same diet…nutritional requirements and their nuances can be as intricate as DNA. It has taken me years of observing my diet and exercise routines to understand my body and its needs. And they change with the years and hormones.
The Bad
Hormones…calorie counting is an overly simple approach to optimal fitness. Hormones drive all the chemical processes in our body and we need proper nutrients to ignite the correct hormonal responses. Calorie counting can stall at a certain point and then you are left with a possibly unbalanced diet, fatigue, stubborn pounds, digestive problems, allergies, or countless other ailments that never get addressed.
The Ugly
I have successfully used this method in the past for weight loss and maintenance while eating junk…absolute junk. With extreme exercise thus expending the calories consumed, the net calories remain low. I have never felt unhealthier than with this method. It also trained me to look at food for its numerical value rather than its nutritional value. This approach needs to be combined with other methods of clean eating, some macronutrient concern, or balanced portion control.
