Why Calories Matter

Calorie counting may be tough, but it works.

Some may call my path into the world of nutrition non-traditional. I lost 130 pounds, quit my university fundraising job, went to grad school for nutrition, public health, and behavior change, and took a job at Lose It!, where I manage the nutrition and behavior change components of our product. Between my education, my job at Lose It!, and maintaining my own 100+ pound weight loss for 6 years, I have a strong understanding of healthy weight loss, what works, and how to make it easier to reach and sustain a healthy weight.

There has been criticism around the value of calorie counting for weight loss, with many distinguished folks saying that calorie counting is unnecessary, invalid, and, essentially a waste of time.

And I agree.

Calorie counting is bogus. It’s not accurate, and calories don’t matter as much as other macronutrients. But here’s the thing: calorie counting is still the absolute best and easiest way to lose weight and motivate population weight loss. Here’s why:

Problems With Calorie Counting

1. Calories Are Impossible to Accurately Track

Nutrition information for each piece of food is always an estimation. Ever notice how a nutrition label has almost all nice, round numbers? Five grams of protein, 30 grams of carbs, 180 calories? How convenient (and how inaccurate). Nutrition labels are allowed a 20 percent margin of error. Restaurant foods are no better, as researchers have found. Recipes aside, what about whole foods — an apple, a chicken breast, a cup of rice? Unless you’re weighing your portions with a food scale, there’s a given margin of error there, too. Even the USDA’s nutrient database has plenty of inaccuracies. They have whole milk listed with more sugar than carbohydrates (which is impossible, since sugar is a carbohydrate). Nutrient information is not reliably correct, ever.

Precisely measuring your calorie burn in a given day is also a challenge. Fitness devices are getting more advanced every day, but keep in mind that accurate measurements require advanced biometric measurements like how your body uses oxygen, and an understanding of how much body fat and muscle you have. Wearable fitness trackers don’t account for these factors. Plus, since devices are largely based on how the device itself moves throughout the day, there is a big variability in terms of how a walking style, bumpy car ride, or even enthusiastic typing may affect calorie calculations.

Apps and exercise machines that estimate calorie burn are no better. Nearly all of those products (including Lose It!) rely on the Compendium of Physical Activities. The Compendium is the only validated tool that gives an energy-spent value to different exercises without requiring advanced biometric measures. However, the Compendium was created to compare exercise intensity for survey research and is based on fit young men exercising in a laboratory setting. The authors clearly state not to use it to estimate exercise calories burned for individuals, and that it’s not reliable for large and diverse populations.

2. Calories Are Not Worth Tracking

The second main criticism of calorie counting is that calories aren’t all that important to track. We should be monitoring micronutrients, food nutrient density, fatty acid profiles, and antioxidants while striving towards an ideal balance of those items. Your body does not respond the same way to every calorie, and by definition, calorie counting treats each and every calorie as the same. Critics say there is little point in spending time counting calories when calories just don’t matter as much as other nutrients.

The Values of Calorie Tracking

So I’ve established that calorie counting is an imperfect practice, and perhaps not even a practice worth, well, practicing. That said, I still think extremely valuable for successful weight loss. Here’s why:

1. It’s Not About the Calories

Calorie tracking is not about calorie tracking. People don’t lose weight because they meticulously count calories. They lose weight because getting into the habit of counting calories forces them to pay close attention to the food they eat and make healthier, weight-loss-promoting decisions. Calorie counting and food logging is one simple behavior that inspires many other positive behaviors. It’s an easy way to form habits and learn how many calories are in your go-to meals.

2. But Calories Aren’t All That Bad

Sure, calorie counting is very rarely accurate, but for folks who just want to keep an eye on their food intake and exercise, it’s a very easy way to do so. Calories alone certainly don’t tell the whole story, but they’re a good place to start.

There’s a classic anecdote we hear from people shortly after they start counting their calories: “I switched from toaster pastries to oatmeal for breakfast because toaster pastries aren’t worth all those calories, and the oatmeal keeps me much fuller for much longer.” Paying attention to calories helps people learn about nutrition, and grow to naturally understand the benefits of selecting healthier foods.

As for the argument that we should track nutrients other than calories, that’s valid. But is tracking a wide array of nutrients a sustainable behavior? Researchers have confirmed that a big reason folks stop tracking their food is because of the “high data entry burden,” or the amount of work required to track. Logging something other than calories would be an even bigger burden. Caloric data is widely available and thus has a lower “data entry burden” than tracking other nutrients. Plus, calories provide a decent estimation of the energy cost of food.

Calorie Counting Simplifies Complex Behaviors

Weight loss requires a person to adopt and maintain a combination of new behaviors. Eat less. Eat better. Move more. Find ways to make unhealthy environments healthy. Change your social environment so that it supports your healthy decisions. Reframe how you react in a high-calorie environment. Re-prioritize your time such that weight loss-promoting behaviors fit in. Ugh.

Calorie counting is one simple behavior that can lead to more complex behaviors. It’s the first step; the spark that gets things going.

Despite my nutrition degree and constant thoughts about weight loss strategies (hey, it’s my job), I find it very hard to eat appropriately and continue to lose weight without tracking my food. We live in an environment where food is everywhere. Food is social, and it’s easy to overeat without realizing it. Even after all the years I’ve spent losing weight and managing my weight, if I’m not tracking my calories I’m probably overdoing it- and the scale will probably be up tomorrow.

While calorie counting may be a tedious habit to start, it is worth doing. The behavior change potential of forming this habit is extremely high, and will likely lead to more positive changes.

A Calorie-Tracking Tool to Help You Start Your Journey

If you want to track calories as part of your weight loss or maintenance plan, this calculator can help determine your ideal daily calorie intake.

Note: This is intended to be a general guide only. For more individualized recommendations, please talk with your doctor or dietitian.