We are constantly overwhelmed with diet ads and methods geared towards âcounting caloriesâ or limiting your caloric intake in order to lose weight. These ads are toxic to our minds and bodies, and do more harm than we are even aware of. They make dieting and health seem like the same thing, and introduce restriction and and counting numbers as a way to gain some âideal body.â When we start calculating our height, weight, age, activity levels, etc. in order to get the maximum amount of calories we should consume daily in order to lose weight, we become obsessed with counting every single item we put into our bodies and the quantity in which we intake them. This creates a constant, and overwhelming, pressure to constantly calculate how many grams of fat, carbs and protein you have eaten, how many calories they total up to and how many calories you have left to consume that day. This also creates an approach to health that is based off of numbers; whether itâs our calories, our weight or how much we burned off at the gym, we are always calculating and micro managing our lifestyles. This is unhealthy not only to our physical health, but can be consuming, daunting and stressful to our mental health.
Instead of focusing on the numbers, we should be focusing on the content. Think about it this way: one hundred calories of almonds are about 19 almonds. Thatâs nothing. Almonds (and other nuts) are packed with healthy fats and protein that give us a ton of energy and nutrients. Compare that to soda. One can of soda (Coca Cola) is only 90 calories but itâs loaded with sugar (25 grams) and chemicals, has no nutritional value and no protein or fat. Itâs pure carbs and makes your energy levels spike and then crash. Calories give us very little insight into the actual healthiness of the foods we eat. The contents of soda compared to nuts are vastly different, so 100 calories or soda and 100 calories of almonds are incomparable! According to Dr. Mark Hyman âIn a study of 154 countries that looked at the correlation of calories, sugar, and diabetes, scientists found that adding 150 calories a day to the diet barely raised the risk of diabetes in the population, but if those 150 calories came from soda, the risk of diabetes went up by 700 percent.â Some of the best foods for us, such as coconut oil and avocado, are avoided by so many people for their high fat content, and therefore their high caloric count. Instead, people load up on sugary foods, ranging from sugary fruits to protein bars, and give their bodies immediate sugar fueled energy that is low in calories. Eating the high fat, high caloric foods will give our bodies a stable and grounding source of energy that allow for a slower and long term breakdown of calories in our body, which avoids the spikes and crashes of sugary foods.
As a young adult, I have seen my friends and those around me say they are going on a diet or will be âcutting out fatsâ or ‘only eating 1,000 calories a day.â All of our bodies are vastly different. Our lifestyles are different, our age, activity levels, there are countless factors of our daily routine and lives that factor into the way we should be eating and working out. There is no diet that works for every one! Instead, we should seek to educate ourselves on what is good for us, and then experiment. Figure out what works for you and what doesnât, what makes you feel good and what doesnât. This creates a more holistic and stable approach to health. Most of the time, any extreme diet that involves counting or totally cutting out a food group is temporary and challenging. If we understand what genuinely makes us feel our best, and start from the inside out, we can find lifestyle routines that really work for each of our unique bodies. These methods are almost always more long term and easier to endure, as the intentions arenât to drop 15 pounds, get the perfect beach body or only eat protein. Instead, it is to feel your best, provide your body with the wholesome nutrients and content it deserves, and treat your body as your temple. We need to shift our approach to dieting and appearance into health and whatâs in the inside. Of course, caloric restriction will probably make you lose weight, but you will likely only last a few weeks to a few months on it, be extremely tired and undersupplied with energy and feel weak. Calories are our energy source. There is no reason to control or limit the amount of it we put into our bodies.