STOP Counting CALORIES+ 11 Things To Do

If you think calorie counting is such a waste of time, what do I do instead? How do I prevent myself from eating too much? How do I stay at the same weight, year after year? The answer is simple.

6 REASONS TO STOP COUNTING CALORIES

1) Labels can lie

Yes. Labeling laws allow a 20% margin of error on the nutrition facts panel. That means your 100-calorie snack pack could be 119 calories. Or that 500-calorie TV dinner could be nearly 600 calories.

"[T]he ratio between the amount obtained by laboratory analysis and the amount declared on the product label in the Nutrition Facts panel must be 120% or less, i.e., the label is considered to be out of compliance if the nutrient content of a composite of the product is greater than 20% above the value declared on the label."

(FDA Guidance for Industry: Nutrition Labeling Manual)

2 Nutrients vary by season, variety, ripeness, etc.

While it's nice to have the nutrient analysis of foods, there is no way food companies could analyze every variety of tomatoes from every region from every season from different growing conditions (i.e. organic vs. conventional) and every other variable for nutrients, including calories.

For e.g. super sweet summer tomato likely has more calories (and valuable nutrients) than that tasteless, pink one from the dead of winter. Which one would you: rather eat?

3 "More calories equals weight gain" is not an exact science.

If calorie counting worked long-term, the USA would be the thinnest country in the world. We are a nation of compulsive dieters and you wouldn't know it looking at us. The composition of what you're eating is crucial to how many calories you eat and how many calories you burn.