Currently, it is common in many groups to base their diet mainly on counting the calories in food, regulating the calories they eat taking into account the calories they use. Thus, the process of trying to lose weight, maintain your current state or gain weight are built based on this principle.
This point of view proposes that, if you want to lose weight, the calories expended in your daily life must be higher than those you consume thus promoting total weight loss.
Now, taking care of your diet is essential for your health, and that is why we want to justify it to you. why counting calories is not enough for this
Calories are an energy unit of measurement, and in their application to the human body quantifies the energy that our body will receive through food The function of the calories in the daily intake is to cover the energy required for the vital functions of the body, as well as the additional actions carried out.
The calories we expend naturally come from breathing functions to pumping the heart. The rest of the actions we do daily also consume calories, such as reading, walking or cooking.
Our body is like a machine, and our gasoline is the calories and nutrients derived from food. The greater the physical activity, the more food we will require to meet those requirements
Why counting calories is not enough?
Although the body needs energy, that’s not all. The intake of sufficient calories is a necessary but not sufficient condition: Food provides calories, but also nutrients, and the body needs them.
All foods have calories. In an extreme case, considering only calories, you could manage to lose weight based on sweets and pizzas, as long as your intake is lower than consumed for the day. And if, It is possible, but it is not healthy
In this way, you will most likely end up getting sick in the short term, and even something that would be contradictory: you will not have enough energy or feel well during the day. Furthermore, the weight you will lose will not efficiently be from fat, but rather You’ll probably lose a lot of muscle too Maintaining muscle mass is necessary to have good aesthetics and health.
Are all calories the same?
This is the important point, and why we do not recommend basing a diet on calories. Calories do not react equally in our body depending on where they come from: Nowadays, most ultra-processed foods have a multitude of empty calories; That is, they do not provide any nutrients. In addition, they deregulate our hormonal environment and will later end up in the form of body fat, since it is easy to reach a caloric surplus through most of the products consumed by today’s society.
Fulfilling nutrients is more important than calories
To achieve a feeling of well-being and fullness, in addition to good health and aesthetics, The most important thing is to quantify the total count of nutrients according to your objective and the factors of each person (diseases, allergies, pathologies, etc.).
We can classify nutrients into two macro groups; Let’s see what they are like.
Macronutrients
macronutrients They are the most important nutrients in our body, since it requires them in large quantities to function properly These can be classified into three large groups, each of them fulfills a specific function:
Micronutrients are also necessary in our body to carry out different chemical reactions. Unlike macronutrients, we need them in small doses and we can classify them mainly into vitamins and minerals.
Carbohydrates in our diet
Carbohydrates are one of the main sources of energy for our body; therefore, The amounts of these to ingest will depend largely on the physical activity you do In addition, it is also important that you take care of what types of carbohydrates you consume.
Classification of carbohydrates
Carbohydrates can be classified between simple and complex.
Simple carbohydrates
They have a simpler structure, and therefore our body can assimilate them easily They are interesting for physical activity, due to their rapid assimilation; However, we should not abuse them, since they deregulate our hormonal environment. An example of a simple carbohydrate is sugar.
Complex carbohydrates
They are accompanied by other nutrients, such as fiber This causes them to be absorbed more slowly, thus avoiding damaging our hormonal environment, as long as we do not abuse them. Some examples of these are pasta, rice or potatoes.
Remember, If you eat more carbohydrates than your body needs, they will be stored as fat Adapt them to your particular case, but remember, burnt food is better than uneaten food.
Fats in our diet
Fats are another source of energy for our body, in addition to fulfilling essential functions, such as good cardiovascular health, derived from healthy fatty acids.
They are the nutrient that has the highest caloric density, providing 9 calories per gram, unlike carbohydrates and proteins, which provide 4 calories per gram. We can find different types of fats in foods, mainly classifiable into these categories that we will see below.
1. Saturated fats
They are necessary in the right amount as long as they have a correct origin for some functions, such as the creation of hormones. An example of a good origin in which we can find them is, for example, meat.
2. Trans fats
This type of fat It is used to modify the texture and flavor of food Our body does not need them, and they are harmful. We find them, for example, in ultra-processed foods.
3. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
These fats, also called “healthy”, They are essential for good cardiovascular health They are those derived from nuts, olive oil or oily fish, among other sources.
Protein in our diet
The main function of proteins in our body is structural and transporting We can classify proteins as complete and incomplete, depending on whether they have all the amino acids or lack a specific one. Amino acids are smaller protein particles, so a protein is made up of a set of amino acids.
Complete proteins
They contain all the amino acids. Some examples are meat or fish.
incomplete proteins
They are lacking in any amino acids. For example: legumes.
Calories matter when nutrients are met
Once the necessary nutrients have been met, it is important to take calories into account, based mainly on the goal you have. But remember, as long as the diet is varied and complete!
Based on the objective, we can summarize the following keys.
To enhance fat loss
A calorie deficit is required; that is, spending more than we eat. The deficit can be achieved through physical exercise or by regulating certain nutrients in the total diet.
To gain fat or build muscle mass
A caloric surplus is required; That is, eating more than you spend.
Health and fitness lie in the balance of habits
Look for balance in your life, this will contribute to your health and physical fitness.
We recommend you focus on taking care of the nutrients you consume since this is essential to maintain a varied diet, and take into account your conditions and objectives.
In addition, it is important to also take care of healthy habits that will contribute to all this, such as physical exercise, rest and emotional balance.
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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team at PsychologyFor to ensure accuracy, clarity, and adherence to evidence-based research. The content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice.
