Calories: Quality Counts

Calories.  The amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by one degree.  Or those pesky numbers on that candy wrapper that can send you into a tailspin.

Consistently restricting calories doesn't work.  Nor does indulging in a nightly midnight buffet without the cruise.  Damned if you do.  Damned if you don't.

Do calories count and should we be counting them?

Essentially, 3,500 extra calories above our varying basal metabolic rate may add a pound of body fat.  Of course, there are other variables like stress, hormones insulin and cortisol.  But, weight gain and loss are kind of like banking.  Keep putting money in your account and you'll have hefty savings or in this case, an expanding waistline or back fat.  Keep withdrawing or spending, and you'll end up overdrawn or in shape for bikini season.

As I shared in my last blog, intermittent fasting, popularized by "The FastDiet" and "The 5:2 Diet," restricts calories to 500-600 one or two days a week.  The balance of days, anything goes.

Or does it?

I recently read a number of blogs posted by UK dieters who have dipped their toes into the feast or famine pool.  Essentially, most experienced the up and down rollercoaster ride of pounds lost and found when feast days were filled with binges on fish & chips, bangers, and ale.  (Substitute an extra cheese pizza, cupcake, and half a bottle of cabernet if you live on this side of the pond.) 

As Mr. Wagner, my Honors History teacher at Wayne Valley High School, used to paraphrase the post WWII political phrase, "There's no such thing as a free lunch."  You can't always have your cake and fit into those size 6 skinny jeans.

The quality of our calories counts as much as the quantity.  Some research does seem to point to health benefits of calorie cycling.  However, food choices do impact whether you'll lose, gain, or remain the same.

If you're going to give intermittent fasting a whirl, be sure to focus the salad days on, well, salad.  Leafy green vegetables, a small amount of lean protein like egg whites, Greek yogurt, or skinless chicken breast.  The feast days should include more of the same with room for some grains and and perhaps one daily indulgence like a glass of wine, slice of bread, or shared dessert. 

There's much more to food choices than calories on a label.  Schedule a complimentary consultation with me to get on the right track towards a healthier lifestyle.  E-mail me at info@bethckramer.com today!