Calorie Counting – Facts and Fiction

culled from:tescohealthandwellbeing.com

Calorie counting is important for weight loss, and eating fewer calories than you burn is the key to success, right? Wrong! While it’s important to monitor your calorie intake for optimum health, it’s not the be-all and end-all to weight loss either. Here we sift through the fiction and bring you the facts.

Negative Calorie Foods – Fact or Fiction?

Fiction: While it’s true foods like strawberries, celery, cucumber and lettuce contain a minimal amount of calories, the idea we burn more calories digesting them, is a myth. According to Los Angeles-based nutritionist LeeAnn Smith Weintraub, RD; “the calories you need for digestion won’t ever exceed the number of calories any type of food contains.”
Fact: Foods like those listed above are very low in calories and high in fibre and water - helping you stay fuller for longer. So while they don’t contain any magic numerical formula to assist weight loss, they are still high in nutrients and low in calories so should be included in plentiful amounts in your diet.

All Calories Are Created Equal – Fact or Fiction?

Fiction: While eating a controlled number of calories each day is good for weight loss, it’s not just about how much you eat but about what you eat too. For instance, a 200 calorie bag of crisps contains far less nutrients than a plate of lean meat and vegetables totalling up to 200 calories. Because the crisps contain less nutrients you will feel hungry again much quicker than if you had eaten the protein/fibre-rich plate of meat and vegetables, and may end up over-eating to fill that ‘hollow’ feeling.
Fact:Making sure the calories you consume are from healthy, filling sources will keep you from going hungry, meaning you are less likely to overeat and exceed your calorie allowance.

Reduced Fat/Low Sugar = Less Calories – Fact or Fiction?

Fiction:Just because something is labelled ‘low fat’ or ‘low sugar’ doesn’t mean it contains less calories. Removing fat or sugar from a food usually ranslates to removing the taste and this, of course, would impact on sales of the product. Many food companies will add extra sugar, fat or salt to their foods to make up for what has been removed, increasing the calorie allowance yet again.
Fact: Being label-aware is the best way to ensure if you are buying something marketed as being ‘low-fat/low-sugar’; you can check the calorie content to ensure you are getting something that’s healthier and low in calories. Otherwise, you could be setting yourself up for a calorie-counting fail.

Exercising on an empty stomach burns more calories – Fact or Fiction?

Fiction: While it sounds like a truth, your body will dip into its fat stores for energy if there is no food for fuel. Research undertaken by exercise physiologist Brad Schoenfeld, CSCS, author of Women’s Home Workout Bible says otherwise: “if you burn more fat during a workout, your body physiologically adjusts to burn less fat post-exercise—and vice versa.”
Fact: In other words, it matters not whether you eat before or after your workout. Your body will still burn the same amount of calories.

Counting carbs means not having to count calories – Fact or Fiction?

Fiction: With low-carb diets increasing in popularity these days, many people think they can enjoy high-fat foods like butter, cream, bacon and mayonnaise with abandon and still lose weight. However, this still means an overload of calories which ultimately results in weight gain. Consume these foods in moderation and you are more likely to lose weight effectively; low-carb diet or not.
Fact: It’s true you can lose a substantial amount of weight from cutting carbs but it’s more likely to be due to cutting an entire food group out of your diet, than some magic formula. Eat a balanced diet, keep an eye on those calories, and choose foods that will satisfy and keep you feeling full.