Calories. The big con?

CALORIES. THE BIG CON?

I don't believe I can think of anyone who hasn't tried the old calories in, calories out when it comes to any weight loss, lifestyle change or health kick. Looking at this on an in-depth level, I believe will open your eyes to what a con and outdated system counting calories really is.

Let's look at this from a food perspective. To start, when was the last time you saw a label on an orange, avocado, carrot, or potato that gives the Kcal in that piece of food? You're right, never. This is because this is food in its natural form, and only when that food has been processed in any way for example, oranges to orange juice, avocado to guacamole, carrots to coleslaw and potatoes to crisps, that you see calories coming to the forefront.

When food is in its natural form, it is impossible to gauge the calorie content as there is no such thing as an average orange. Not only do they come in various sizes but also different varieties, and, as well as being grown in different countries through possibly different farming methods, a Kcal count is just not viable as the fibre content plays a huge part in calorie absorption.

When food has been processed, that is when a slightly more accurate count of calories can be given. However, I'd like you to take into consideration that we ourselves are also not average. Each person will burn and absorb calories at a different rate, which depends on our body composition, and how we exercise, sleep, eat, and work this all plays its part when it comes to our calorie consumption.

To give you an example, the calories shown on a bag of almonds can be as much as a 30% difference when it comes to absorption of those calories from person to person. The almond's fat is stored in the nut's fibrous cell walls, which don't break down during digestion. Nuts are also packed with fibre, filling us up for longer, while a slice of pizza, for instance, has us immediately reaching for another due to its low fibre content. And it doesn't stop there. HOW you eat can hugely affect how your body absorbs the vitamins, nutrients, and calories. If you are highly stressed your absorption can be greatly disrupted.

Most of all, when it comes to losing weight, calories in and calories out just does not work in the long term. Why? Because of our base rate, let me explain. A reduction in calories means a reduction in energy intake, our body functions on energy, so reducing this means that we are messing with our base rate, which leads to our body going into a series of psychological responses that have been there since our cave days.

When calories are seriously depleted, our body goes into survive mode also known as fight our flight, our stress response, and because of our base rate, we each have a predetermined weight that our bodies do their best to maintain no matter what we eat simply for survival.

Our metabolism slows down when we lose weight, as when we decrease calories, we reduce muscle and fat in our bodies and it's this decrease that has a knock-on effect on our metabolism. Even when we regain weight, our metabolism doesn't catch up. This also has a detrimental effect on our thyroid when food is restricted, fewer hormones are secreted which then changes the amount of energy we burn when we are resting.

As our bodies are now experiencing a stress response, we are producing a high amount of cortisol. Calorie restriction, the stress on our body, leads to cortisol altering the way our bodies process, store and burn fat.

When our calorie intake reduces, activity in our hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates emotions and food intake, also reduces, thus decreasing our control and judgement over our food choices, a huge reason why when we are stressed, we eat more.

So, while you may achieve short-term weight loss following the formula, you'll likely regain it, a huge reason why companies such as Weight Watchers, Slimming World, Noom and Herbal Life (there are literally hundreds out there, and it would take me a few hours to list them all!) do so well as once you come off the plan of calorie deficit, weight increases.

What's more, calorie counting can really do more harm than good, taking the pleasure out of eating and contributing to developing an unhealthy relationship with food. That alone can make it even harder to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

What's the solution? Look for evidence-based programs from professionals focussing on gradual change, habit change, nutrition for your needs and a healthy food outlook.