Written by Jenny Catton
Many different diets rely on counting calories but do calorie-controlled diets actually work?
Yes – Linda
There arethousands of fad diets available but essentially everything boils down to one thing – if you want to lose weight you need to use more calories than you absorb each day. It really is that simple. So counting calories is the easiest and most effective way to lose weight. Simply work out how many calories you expend naturally or through exercise each day, make sure you eat less than this and you’re guaranteed to lose weight.
I’d tried lots of different diets over the years and they were all complicated. Some relied on eating particular foods at certain times of day, others meant only eating foods in specific combinations. I always ended up losing patience and giving up. With calorie counting, I can simply look at the packet or check online and find the calorific value of everything I’m eating and make a note of it. It’s easy to keep on track. And now there are even websites and mobile phone apps that help you keep a note of your daily calorie count, so it’s easier than ever.
The great thing about calorie counting is that I can eat anything I like as long as I don’t exceed my daily calorie intake – if I want a biscuit or a packet of crisps, I can.
For me, calorie counting is the simplest and most effective way to lose weight. If you do it properly, you can’t fail.
No – Harsha
Whilst the science behind calorie counting might be correct, in practice counting calories is rarely the best way to lose weight healthily. The main problem with calorie counting is that it doesn’t promote a healthy diet. I had a friend who was on a calorie controlled diet. She informed me that she couldn’t eat avocados because they are too high in calories despite being one of the most nutritiousfoods available. She did happily tuck into low-calorie chocolate bars and crisps though which offered very little nutritional value. It would be possible to eat cake for breakfast, crisps for lunch and a slice of pizza for tea and still remain under your recommended calorie intake for the day!
Another problem is that calorie counting is also not always as simple as it sounds. It can be difficult to accurately judge the number of calories in everything you eat. A take-away burger for instance might have anywhere between 250 and 850 calories depending on how it has been made. The tendency is for dieters to underestimate the number of calories they are eating each day and then they feel despondent when they don’t lose weight. No-one wants to count the calories of everything they eat for the rest of their lives – this is why so many people give up when on a calorie controlled diet. It’s far better to eat a nutritionally balanced diet than to be a slave to calorie counting.
