Calorie counting works for some people, but not for everyone. We live in a fast paced life, where we don’t always have the time to figure out how many calories the restaurants’ meal have, how many grams of protein the fish was, etc. Don’t cause yourself extra stress if you can’t calculate every calorie!
Additionally, companies have the chance of labeling 20% less calories on their products than they actually have in them! As much as you want to keep a strict calorie count for your day, you cannot always calculate the exact amount.
Third, calorie counting has shown to cause many people a negative relationship with food. This can lead to a disordered eating (the “lite” version) or even an eating disorder. We want to avoid these problems and let you go off path while steering you back on path without causing yourself stress after a meal. Stress about the bigger things in life like your health, don’t let one meal or a number on the scale get you down!
Also, the quality of your food is more important than the quantity. Just think instead of eating a small bag of potato chips, have some fruit or veggies. The small bag of chips have a similar calorie content as eating some fruit and/or veggies. Because the fruit and veggies are healthier, you can indulge and have more without having to worry about it. It will keep you feeling fuller for a longer amount of time and its nutritional breakdown is far more better than if you choose the chips.