By Alison Bonaguro
Here’s why she says you should stop turning meals into math problems.
With the rise in non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, there has been a greater need for the accurate labelling of nutritional information on food products. But with this came a nation of obsessive counters. Whether it was counting carbs, kiljoules, fat grams, sugar grams, protein grams, or sodium, we all became counters of something, says mindful eating expert and registered dietician, Dr Michelle May.
Unfortunately, all of that counting can actually be harmful to your weight loss and healthy eating goals, says May.
READ MORE: Why Counting Kilojoules Doesn’t Work For Everyone
Here, the nutritionist explains why she is not a fan of kilojoule tracking for weight loss—or any other eating goal—and what you should be focusing on instead.
Kilojoule Counting = Food Shaming
“Foods cannot be labelled good or bad because they are just not intrinsically or inherently good or bad,” says May. However, that doesn’t stop us from judging certain foods based on their numbers.
And when you label a food as bad based on its kilojoule content (or carb content, or fat content…), you try like hell to avoid it, she says. “Because of that avoidance, we start to feel deprived,” she says. As it turns out, deprivation is actually a very powerful trigger for cravings, which can eventually lead to overeating when you do “give in” to those doughnuts in the kitchen or takeout when you’re tired.
Low-Kilojoule Snacks Lead To Overeating
When people base what they eat on kilojoules, they end up eating more nutrient-poor foods (think: processed snacks with 400 kilojoules or less per package), mindlessly snacking on them all day long without ever feeling satiated.
READ MORE: 5 Physical Signs Your Eating Habits Need To Change
Obviously, noshing constantly—no matter how low-kilojoule your snack is—is not great if you’re trying to lose weight and can set you up for failure, says May. That’s because choosing a lower-kilojoule treat is not actually breaking the habit of eating when you’re not hungry, she points out. So instead of focusing on the kilojoule content of your go-to snack, the key to healthier eating is only chowing down when you’re actually hungry—regardless of how many kilojoules your food has.
Counting Keeps You From Enjoying Food
Counting kilojoules turns eating into a math problem, but eating is a very complex psychological, physical, and social activity. All the numbers, portion sizes, and measurements keep us focused on “being good” instead of feeling good.
“One of the big problems with kilojoule-counting or carb-counting or anything-counting is that it keeps you from living your life,” says May.
READ MORE: “Will Saving My Kilojoules For Alcohol Help Me Lose Weight?”
When you’re tracking exactly how many kilojoules you eat, it’s hard to enjoy the foods you love without guilt or distraction. And that can keep you from focusing on what food is actually supposed to be: fuel for your body and for your soul. That prevents you from feeling satisfied, which is super-important for weight loss.
Your Kilojoule Needs Aren’t The Same Every Day
Focusing on kilojoules to meet some predetermined goal that might not be in alignment with what your body needs each day doesn’t make sense, she says. Since each day is different, it’s kind of ridiculous for us to think that our bodies should have exactly the same number of kilojoules daily, says May. “Some days you’ll be more active. Some days there are hormonal fluctuations that change your appetite. And some days you’ll overeat and won’t be as hungry the next day,” she says. The most important thing is to tune into your hunger and fullness cues to decide whether you’ve hit your kilojoule quota or not. Which leads us to…
Counting Kilojoules Makes You Ignore Your Body
Anytime may have overeaten, your body tells you in no uncertain terms that yes, you really did. Whether it’s heartburn or a food coma, you don’t need to look at the kilojoule label to know you’ve gone too far, she says. But when we start looking to kilojoules to tell us when we should be full, we lose track of the feedback our body gives us, says May.
READ MORE: Does A Hot Bath Really Burn As Many Kilojoules As Exercise?
“Your body will immediately say, ‘Wow. You’re really full. This is uncomfortable. I don’t have energy.’ And that feedback will help you make better choices in the future,” she said.
Regardless of whether you’re on the kilojoule tracking train or not, the most important thing to remember is to listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues when deciding how much and when to eat. That’s the key to mindful eating and sets you up for a healthy relationship with food and long-term weight loss.
Exercising, but still not losing weight? Here’s 5 outdated diet rules that are messing with your weight loss, plus ditch these 5 bad eating habits to lose weight.
This article was originally featured on www.womenshealthmag.com
