Three Reasons to Avoid Counting Calories During Diet

It may seem counterintuitive, because counting calories is often a fundamental part of any diet. However, the truth is that it is only a number, while in a good diet there are many more important aspects to take into account in addition to the number of calories you take in every day.

Calories are the protagonists of most diets. Dieters often spend their entire day counting the calories in everything they eat to avoid exceeding their daily maximum.

Also, they always see the nutrition charts when they are in the grocery store. Sometimes this can become an obsession. In this article we give you a series of reasons to avoid counting calories in your diet.

Not all calories are the same

The first thing to be clear about is that not all calories are the same. You should always get the following five nutrients:

• Vitamins
• Minerals (salts)
• Egg whites
• Carbohydrates
• Fats

All these nutrients have different properties, so they must be ingested at different times and in varying amounts. Therefore, it does not make sense to compare the calories of one nutrient with the calories of another. Nor should you generalize them.

It is true that the amount of calories can be a good guideline, but they should not be the bogeyman in your diet. There is usually a maximum number of calories that dieters cannot exceed. To keep up with this, there are plenty of apps where you enter what you’ve eaten, after which they save it for you throughout the day.

Imagine someone on a diet eating healthy throughout the day and achieving their goal of eating no more than a certain number of calories. Someone else who is also counting calories has accomplished this, but only ate fast food.

Did counting make sense to that person too? This simple example makes it clear that calories alone are not everything.

The calorie count does not take into account the different nutrients.

If you set a maximum number of calories per day, it can cause you not to eat all the necessary nutrients. Assuming that they are all equivalent is not correct.

For a balanced diet you must take into account your complexion and your physical activity. Someone who exercises a lot should consume more calories because it also burns a lot.

Likewise, a 55-pound, 1.65-meter woman cannot follow the same pattern as a 90-pound, 1.85 meter man. With this we want to show you that a balanced diet is much more than counting calories.

Other important aspects

Besides calories, there are other more important aspects of the diet. To show you that it is not just about counting calories or being obsessively busy with the composition of your dishes, we give you some things to consider when following a healthy diet:

1. Drink two liters of water a day. You can also get this amount with tea or natural juices.
2. Eat fiber-rich dishes. You improve your digestion and bowel movements.
3. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. They are essential for the proper development of your body. You will feel better if you eat them with every meal.
4. Eat five times a day. If you are on a diet, it is best to eat small portions several times a day. Try having breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Also, have a snack around 11 am and another around 3:30 pm Forget heavy meals and see how good your stomach feels.
5. Don’t eat too many carbohydrates with your dinner. It is best to eat it only during the first hours of the day. In this way, all the energy they provide gives you the vitality to face the day.