Calories (because I only get 60 characters)

SnicciFit

So, the calories-in-calories-out crowd is right, but so is the "clean-eating crowd." Basically the amount of calories that you absorb (or burn) depends on the health of your gut, the amount of processing the food has been through, how it's been cooked, and maybe even what nationality you are. Does this end the age-old argument?

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=science-reveals-why-calorie-counts-are-all-wrong&WT.mc_id=SA_sharetool_Twitter

"Merely counting calories based on food labels is an overly simplistic approach to eating a healthy diet—one that does not necessarily improve our health, even if it helps us lose weight."

"People differ immensely as well in what scientists have come to regard as an extra organ of the human body—the community of bacteria living in the intestines. In humans, two phyla of bacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, dominate the gut. Researchers have found that obese people have more Firmicutes in their intestines and have proposed that some people are obese, in part, because the extra bacteria make them more efficient at metabolizing food: so instead of being lost as waste, more nutrients make their way into the circulation and, if they go unused, get stored as fat. "

"People also vary in the particular enzymes they produce. By some measures, most adults do not produce the enzyme lactase, which is necessary to break down lactose sugars in milk. As a result, one man's high-calorie latte is another's low-calorie case of the runs."

Summary:

"Even if we entirely revamped calorie counts, however, they would never be precisely accurate because the amount of calories we extract from food depends on such a complex interaction between food and the human body and its many microbes. In the end, we all want to know how to make the smartest choices at the supermarket. Merely counting calories based on food labels is an overly simplistic approach to eating a healthy diet—one that does not necessarily improve our health, even if it helps us lose weight. Instead we should think more carefully about the energy we get from our food in the context of human biology. Processed foods are so easily digested in the stomach and intestines that they give us a lot of energy for very little work. In contrast, veggies, nuts and whole grains make us sweat for our calories, generally offer far more vitamins and nutrients than processed items, and keep our gut bacteria happy. So it would be logical for people who want to eat healthier and cut calories to favor whole and raw foods over highly processed foods."

bound4beauty

Of course calorie counts aren't "accurate" and most people don't measure their food intake correctly either. That in no way negates the fact that we still need to create a caloric deficit in order to lose weight.

If I did what this article suggests and just say what the hell...I'll just eat "whole" food and I'll be fine...I'd gain a hundred pounds. Why? Because I can pack away a hell of a lot of whole grain pasta tossed with veggies, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese! And fruit? I can easily eat hundreds of calories in fruit. Let's not even talk about steak and bacon... All whole food. All natural.

Don't get me wrong. I'll all for eating nutrient dense food. That makes up 80% or more of my diet. But, I also have to have some way of measuring how much I'm eating. Maybe for some people, switching to " whole and raw foods" automatically makes them consume less, but that doesn't work for the vast majority of the population and it's a slippery slope for emotional eaters.

Akimajuktuq

Of course calorie counts aren't "accurate" and most people don't measure their food intake correctly either. That in no way negates the fact that we still need to create a caloric deficit in order to lose weight.

If I did what this article suggests and just say what the hell...I'll just eat "whole" food and I'll be fine...I'd gain a hundred pounds. Why? Because I can pack away a hell of a lot of whole grain pasta tossed with veggies, olive oil, garlic and Parmesan cheese! And fruit? I can easily eat hundreds of calories in fruit. Let's not even talk about steak and bacon... All whole food. All natural.

Don't get me wrong. I'll all for eating nutrient dense food. That makes up 80% or more of my diet. But, I also have to have some way of measuring how much I'm eating. Maybe for some people, switching to " whole and raw foods" automatically makes them consume less, but that doesn't work for the vast majority of the population and it's a slippery slope for emotional eaters.

Yup if you kept eating tons of pasta (not a WHOLE, natural food btw) and fruit you are completely correct.

However, some of us can do exactly what you think is impossible because we learned WHAT we eat matters. Hormones regulate metabolism. Different foods have different effects on hormones. True story.

(Another true story: "emotional" eating, eating disorders, depression, anxiety etc can all be resolved by changing WHAT one eats. Been there, did it.)

dani_bee

I think its really a balance. It's not one or the other. To be healthy you have to mindful of the quality of food you are eating and to lose weight you have to mindful of calories.

dani_bee

(Another true story: "emotional" eating, eating disorders, depression, anxiety etc can all be resolved by changing WHAT one eats. Been there, did it.)

Also addiction... your body chemically reacts to certain foods so that you feel like you need them.

SnicciFit

I think its really a balance. It's not one or the other. To be healthy you have to mindful of the quality of food you are eating and to lose weight you have to mindful of calories.

:flowerforyou:

dani_bee

I think its really a balance. It's not one or the other. To be healthy you have to mindful of the quality of food you are eating and to lose weight you have to mindful of calories.

:flowerforyou:

bound4beauty

Well, the article specifically mentions " whole grains" which for me are very easy to over indulge in. I'm so happy for you that you no longer need to count calories. There would be no need for sites like this or any of the other myriad of eating plans out there if everyone were so fortunate. Long term studies of people who have successfully lost and kept of their weight, continue to journal their food intake.

And again, people assume because I don't subscribe to the eat as much whole, natural, unprocessed food as you want and you'll lose weight magically, that I somehow eat an unhealthy diet. Not at all. I eat a balanced diet that both feeds my body and my soul. It works for me and I'm quite happy both emotionally and physically.