Should you be counting calories?

In an earlier blog we have been talking about the difference in macro and micro nutrients.

If you know about that you could easily find out how many calories you roughly burn in 1 day. Then divide this over a certain percentage of carbohydrates, protein and fat and calculate how many grams of each it would equal to. You could also be reading the labels of the food you eat and become very skilled in knowing what goes into your body and what your food is made up of.

However for an average person eating isn’t that black-and-white. Sure if you consume more calories than you burn for a longer period of time you will gain some weight. And if you consume less calories than you burn over a longer period of time you will lose some weight.

But instead of counting calories we would advise you to focus on listening to your body and making conscious decisions about the kind of foods you consume and the quality of it. It is equally important for your body to get in the right micro nutrients as it is to get in the right amount of macro nutrients.

Also higher quality foods like fruits and vegetables usually contain less calories than processed foods which means you can eat even more of it! So in the end, you could see why focussing on the quality of your food rather than the quantity of your food could be more important.

Always remember, food and eating should be something fun and enjoyable. Listen to your body, try to eat intuitively and make conscious decisions about what you put into your body.