Stop Counting calories and eat when you are hungry

The basic theory behind weight loss is to burn more calories than you consume. This theory may look simple but when you start practicing it, it becomes a complicated task. Many people focus on counting calories during their weight loss journey and over a period, they develop a sense of aversion towards their diet plans. How to get rid of this problem? The simple answer is that you should not think too much about calories when you eat.

It doesn’t mean that you have to eat whatever you want. If you want to lose weight, you should be mindful of the calories but not obsessed with them. If you cannot enjoy what you are doing, you are not going to achieve optimal results. Your weight loss journey is not different. Some people often get obsessed with counting calories and their diet plan becomes monotonous.

Quite naturally, they fail to achieve the expected results. What you need to do is to stop counting calories and eat when you are hungry. This approach does not promote mindless eating but it advocates the importance of developing a judicious eating habit that takes care of your calorie goals as well.

Calorie counting develops a disconnect between how much you eat and your hunger levels

When you start counting calories, you cannot enjoy what you eat and you often find it hard to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. This method of approach compels you to focus more on hitting calorie goals than satisfying your hunger and it leads to a clear disconnect between how much you eat and your hunger levels.

For example; imagine that you have a diet plan that allows you to consume a meal with 600 calories. You may still feel hungry after consuming these 600 calories. Since you are following a plan, you have to wait for the next meal to satisfy your food craving. On another day, you may not feel really hungry but your calorie goal says that you have to consume 600 calories. So there is a clear disconnect between how much you eat and your hunger levels and, this dissatisfaction makes your weight loss journey a mentally and physically draining experience.

You may still feel hungry after consuming these 600 calories. Since you are following a plan, you have to wait for the next meal to satisfy your food craving. On another day, you may not feel really hungry but your calorie goal says that you have to consume 600 calories. So there is a clear disconnect between how much you eat and your hunger levels and, this dissatisfaction makes your weight loss journey a mentally and physically draining experience.

Generalization of the nutrients quantity in various foods leads to wrong conclusions

Nutrients vary based on ripeness, variety and season as well. You cannot assume that oranges grown during different seasons and in different growing conditions contain the same amount of nutrients and calories. In such a situation, your calorie counting can go wrong quite easily.

Consuming more calories does not necessarily lead to weight gain

The composition of what you eat is more important than how many calories you eat. According to a study conducted on three different diets (low-fat diet, low-carb diet and low glycemic diet), people on low carb diet burned 350 calories more than people following a low-fat diet. The irony is that many diet programs advocate low-calorie and

The irony is that many diet programs advocate low-calorie and low-fat diet for weight loss and, these methods do not control your food cravings. They often make you hungry and unhappy by forcing you to eat tasteless food.

Calorie counting may restrict healthy foods

When you become obsessed with calorie counting, your food habits become monotonous and you have to avoid high-fat foods because of the fact that they contain higher calories. Such a situation forces you to avoid healthy foods that help you stay fuller for a longer period and gradually, you develop a sense of aversion towards your diet program.

Conclusion

You have to think about the calories you should consume but you should not count calories every single time you eat. When you become obsessed with calorie counting, your diet program becomes a monotonous and boring process and, achieving the desired results becomes a daunting task.

So you have to stop counting calories and eat when you are hungry without falling into the trap of mindless eating.