Personally, I’m not a huge fan of counting calories.
Marika Day: The pros and cons of tracking calories
ARTICLE
1 July 2024
4 min read
4 min read
Is tracking calories a good idea? AIA Eat Well ambassador and Accredited Practising Dietitian Marika Day explains why you might consider it - and why it won’t suit everyone.
For 9 out of 10
of my clients, I recommend they don’t count calories because it may lead to a worsened health outcome, like a restrictive state of eating or poorer mental health.
Sometimes, the effort-versus-reward simply isn’t worth it.
That said, there are a few reasons you might choose to track the calories in your food. For example, to make sure you’re eating enough to fuel your body during a particularly active day, or you’re working to meet a fitness performance goal (or complete a polar expedition!).
Importantly, everyone’s body is different, just like everyone’s workout motivation is different, so everyone’s daily energy requirements are different1. (You’ll see I use the word ‘calories’ in this article, but in Australia we measure energy using kilojoules2. One calorie equals 4.2 kilojoules.)
Let’s look at why you might choose to track your daily calories – and then explore why it might not work for you.
Pros of counting calories
Knowing how many calories are in different foods.
Counting calories can help you learn the caloric value of food. For example, knowing that a big bowl of oats with yoghurt, fruit, and nuts has a similar amount of energy to a blueberry muffin from the café next to work might help you choose the more nutrient-rich oats more frequently. Helpfully, packaged foods in Australia are required to list a kilojoule quantity on the nutrition information panel3, so you can start to learn as you browse in the supermarket.
Eat enough.
Many people track calories to eat less, regardless of their goal (such as fat loss, muscle gain, or healthy living). Instead of ‘eating less’, a better goal is ‘eating enough’ – enough to fuel your body and maintain performance and wellbeing. Tracking the calories of each snack or meal every day is one of many ways to make sure you’re hitting your body’s daily energy requirements.
Eating enough specific macronutrients.
Tracking what you eat can help you notice when your protein intake is unusually low, for example, or that your carbohydrate intake drops early in the day, which might lead to overeating later in the day. You don’t need to track calories to see this data, but it can be one way to help you see whether you’re eating enough balanced nutrients and getting enough energy at important times.
Getting variety.
Tracking calories can be a way to increase your overall awareness of the types and amounts of foods you’re getting in your diet.
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AIA Vitality members can also earn Points for food tracking and getting a nutrition consultation, making it a rewarding way to stay on top of your health.
Cons of counting calories
Always choosing low-calorie foods.
Often, counting calories can make people fixate on choosing low-calorie foods all the time, when the simple truth is we need to eat enough energy every day to fuel our bodies, regardless of our goals.
Eating the same amount of food.
Tracking calories often leads people to believe they should eat the same number of calories every day. This might be necessary for professional athletes who rigorously train and perform, but for us normal humans, our bodies will need different levels of energy throughout the day, and from one day to the next.
Eating less variety.
We’re creatures of habit. If we’re only seeing food as calories, it could be easy to keep cooking with the same ingredients and eating the same meals. Counting calories doesn’t necessarily mean you will eat more nutrient-dense foods, either – you could track calories and still eat foods that are low in vitamins and minerals.
Time-consuming.
It takes time to record everything you eat throughout the day, and that can make counting calories difficult to keep up in the long run.
Unhealthy obsession.
Tracking everything you eat can lead to an unhealthy obsession with calories, weight, and body image.
Should you count calories?
How many calories you eat is just a number: there is no meaning attached to it, and it doesn’t determine your worth.
People who might benefit from counting calories include people who love data in their lives, want to reach a certain target (such as lose a certain amount of fat or eat enough protein to train), or want to learn more about the caloric and energy value of food to help them choose between a banana or a muffin, for example.
If you don’t feel guilt or shame about food, and you have a good relationship with your body – and the time and energy to track and potentially weigh what you eat – counting calories may work for you.
On the other hand, if you live with an eating disorder or feel any sense of shame about food or your body, I don’t recommend counting calories. If you have an all-or-nothing approach, become easily hyper-fixated on something, or are time-poor and overwhelmed, counting calories could do more harm than good.
Eat a balanced diet that makes you happy
It’s essential to recognise that counting calories doesn’t automatically mean you are eating healthier.
For the most part, eating a healthy, balanced diet – including fruits and vegetables, dietary fibre from nuts and legumes, and the healthy fats in olive oil or oily fish, as well as a doughnut or piece of cake – is an awesome goal we should all strive for.
The most important thing to remember is that you need to find a way of living a healthy, happy life that suits you! It’s not about anyone else. If you find calorie counting an easy and fun part of life, that’s great. But if you’re like me and the thought of tracking what you eat each day just sounds awful and you’d rather put your energy elsewhere, that’s great too.
If this article has raised issues for you, or you’re concerned about eating disorders or body image issues, call the Butterfly Foundation National Helpline on 1800 ED HOPE (1800 33 4673) or chat to them online.
Marika Day
Marika Day is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Nutritionist with over 10 years' experience in a variety of clinical and non-clinical areas. Her expertise and interests include gastrointestinal nutrition, which is influenced by her personal experience with coeliac disease. Additionally, she focuses on women’s health and the complexities of disordered and emotional eating. In addition to her clinical expertise, Marika regularly works in recipe development, helping people make nutritious choices every day. Her approach to nutrition is balanced, practical and empathetic and aims to help people enjoy food and live a healthy balanced life.
Disclaimer:
Copyright © 2024 AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861 AFSL 230043). This is general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, medical, nutritional, health, fitness or other advice. The source information of the articles is current as of the date of publication and may be subject to change. While the information contained herein is believed to be accurate, AIA Australia expressly disclaims any and all liability for representations or warranties, expressed or implied, contained in, or for omissions from, the information.
Copyright © 2024 AIA Australia Limited (ABN 79 004 837 861 AFSL 230043). This is general information only, without taking into account factors like the objectives, financial situation, needs or personal circumstances of any individual and is not intended to be financial, legal, tax, medical, nutritional, health, fitness or other advice. The source information of the articles is current as of the date of publication and may be subject to change. While the information contained herein is believed to be accurate, AIA Australia expressly disclaims any and all liability for representations or warranties, expressed or implied, contained in, or for omissions from, the information.
