Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Why Counting Calories Will NOT Lead to Weight Loss

I came across an excellent article from Time entitled "'Eat Less, Exercise More' Isn't the Answer for Weight Loss" published on June 3, 2014. http://time.com/2809007/eat-less-exercise-more-isnt-the-answer-for-weight-loss/
Science has proven that burning more calories than you consume will result in weight loss. But the trouble is that this only has short-term results. Obesity experts are saying for long-term weight loss, it simply doesn’t work. They say to stop counting calories and start paying attention to what you're eating.
We need to start paying to attention to the effects of what we eat. For example, "when you eat a lot of refined carbs, like say, a 100-calorie pack of Oreos, it causes a surge of insulin that will trigger your fat cells to soak up calories—but there are not enough calories and nutrients to provide the energy that our bodies need. The brain recognizes this discrepancy and triggers a hunger response that also slows our metabolism. We are then going to want to eat more."
We should instead be focusing on the quality of the food we consume. Although foods such as avocados, nuts, and olive oil are high in fat, they are among the healthiest foods we could possibly eat. Experts blame the obesity epidemic on refined carbohydrates. "Sugar and processed grains like white bread which have become ubiquitous in our diets, and one of the reasons refined carbs is the prime culprit is that we’ve spent far too long chastising fat. We have to forget the low-fat paradigm."
"Instead of counting calories, we should be focusing on the quality of the food we consume. If you just try to eat less and exercise more, most people will lose that battle."
The article is a quick read and very informative. As always, I suggest reading it in its entirety.