Do Calories Really Matter?

Do calories matter?
Do you have to count calories?
Are all calories created equal?

If you ever embarked on a journey to lose weight, you have seen conflicting advice from different people on the importance of calories. Some say calories don’t matter at all, and others say calories are the only thing that matters if you want to lose weight.

There are highly qualified people on both sides of the argument. Doctors, scientist, registered dietitians, and experienced fitness professionals show really convincing evidence that supports their side of the argument.

Can both sides be right, or is the truth somewhere in the middle?

What Are Calories?

As you probably know, a calorie is a unit of energy. When we talk about calories in the context of food and exercise, we are talking about kilocalories (1,000 calories). When you see the unit kcal or Calories with a capital “C”, that is kilocalories.

Each food group has an estimated Calorie content. Carbohydrates and proteins contain 4 Calories per gram, whereas fats contain 9 Calories per gram. It basically means that when you consume these foods, that is the amount of energy you take in.

Our bodies constantly use energy to function. Every process that takes place in our body requires energy. The sources of this energy are the foods we eat and the energy storages in our bodies.

Calories In - Calories Out Principle

The main point of the people who argue that calories do matter is that if the amount of energy coming into our bodies with food is higher than the amount of energy our bodies use, the extra energy is stored in the body and we gain weight. On the other hand, if the amount of energy we consume is less than the amount of energy we expand, previously stored energy is used to make up for the difference and we lose weight.

Based on this "calories in - calories out principle", if you want to lose weight, you have to eat less than you burn; and if you want to gain weight, you have to eat more than you burn.

Other Side of the Argument

Gaining popularity in recent years, there is an argument claiming that calories do not matter as long as you eat certain foods and avoid other foods. Their argument is that as long as you obey certain nutritional rules, your body will regulate its own weight, and you will achieve a healthy weight effortlessly.

Recently popularized Paleo diet and Ketogenic diet follow this principle. Both of these diets are similar to a historically popular diet, Atkins diet.

What Does the Science Say?

As usual with any argument that has two extreme sides, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. First of all, calorie balance is an irrefutable scientific fact. That means the calories in - calories out principle is theoretically true.

However, the problem is, even though we can track the calories we consume pretty accurately, we can’t really track the calories we expand. We can estimate how many calories we burn based on an average person’s metabolism and based on how many calories an average person at a certain weight burns doing certain activities.

However, these estimates are far from accurate. Furthermore, counting calories may be a hassle for an average person. What if you measure your food wrong? What if you eat out? What if the calorie information you found is not accurate?

So Should You Count Calories?

If calories matter, but counting calories may not be accurate, what do we do? My advice to you is to give calorie counting a chance. Use a calorie calculator to estimate your calorie needs based on your age, gender, weight, and activity level.

Deduct 500-1000 Calories based on your goals, and track your calorie intake for a few weeks. Even if you can’t keep up, you will learn a lot about the calorie content of the foods you eat regularly.

This will be a very useful information in the future even if you decide not to count calories.

For example, I love pizza. However, before I started counting calories, I had no idea how many calories pizza had. I would eat a medium pizza and think that is OK as long as I don’t eat much for the rest of the day. I was shocked to find out that my favorite pizza had over 2,000 Calories. That was my whole calorie allowance for the day. No wonder I was gaining weight. There is no way I can eat 2,000 Calories worth of meat and vegetables in one sitting. However, I would easily finish an entire pizza and also eat the crust of my wife’s pizza.

After you get a hang of calorie content of the foods, you can stop counting calories, but keep paying attention to how much you eat. Think about how much you ate when you counted calories and successfully lost weight. Also, if you decide to trust your hunger level instead of counting calories, your food choices will be very important.

Most of the food you eat need to be nutrient-dense foods that are high in volume, and low in calories. High fiber and high protein foods are great choices.

If you decide to stick with calorie counting, track your weight loss to see whether the number of calories you eat is accurate. If you are not losing any weight, either reduce your calorie intake or increase your activity level. On the other hand, if you are losing too much weight, increase your calorie intake to protect your metabolism.

Pros and Cons of Calorie Counting

Pros:
Guaranteed results.
Flexible food choices.
Minimal restriction.

Cons:
Requires diligence.
Requires weighing your food.
Hard to track complicated recipes and restaurant food.
So, do calories matter? Yes, calories matter. Counting calories diligently is not for everyone, but don’t expect to lose weight eating as much as you can as long as you don’t eat carbs. Even if you decide to follow a ketogenic diet or paleo diet, you are still subject to physics rule, and you should watch the amount of food you eat.