Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories!

There a lot of talk about food out there at the moment, that it’s getting kind of confusing!

“For someone like me who has been in the business of exercise and healthy eating for over two decades its easy to see who is simply jumping on the band wagon. The industry is booming but with the influx of inexperienced people the advice has gotten to be pretty unreliable.”

Out there, there is a lot of debate on …

What is wrong and what is right way of eating.

What is wrong and what is right type of food.

Two of the biggest winners and losers among this controvery are clean eating and calorie counting.

Both have achieved almost cult like follower and haters.

But in essence they are very simple, unexciting and tried and tested ideas.

Let me explain!

What Is Eating Clean?

This has been one of the most talked about theory of eating lately. With anything that gets a lot of attention, it naturally has it’s own share of doubters. Before we get into that- What is clean eating?

Clean eating, at its simplest is about eating whole foods, those that are unprocessed- or minimally processed, and non-refined, they are as close to their natural form as possible.

Now that sounds pretty reasonable to me? Right?

Therefore what is now known as clean eating, is for me is just a new name for the concept of eating foods that are minimally processed.

Next up calorie counting.

Also Read: How Using A Food Journal Can Make You Lose Weight?

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

What Is Calorie Counting?

Your energy balance determines changes in your weight.

Counting calories is the combination of tracking the amount of calories that you consume as food and the amount of calories that you spend through activities to determine your energy balance.

If your energy intake is in excess, the left over energy is stored as fat. Whereas is your energy intake is less than your expenditure your body will use your stored energy, resulting in weight loss.

Also Read: Why You Should Not Lose 10 Kgs in 10 Days!

Sounds like a great concept, wouldn’t you agree?

So why are both of these not accepted and promoted as useful tools for being fit, healthy and at an ideal body weight?

But first let’s take a look at the pros and the cons of each.

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

Clean Eating: Pros & Cons

Pros: This approach is probably the more popular one. It’s based on the premise that whole foods nourish your body, which can help you be in better health and lose weight more effectively. It’s also based on the premise that whole foods offer your body the tools to feel full and manage your appetite better. This is all true. Good nutrition, to meet your body’s nutritional needs, is all about variety and choosing minimally processed foods whenever possible.

Cons: Some whole foods (not all) can be very energy dense. This means they contain a high amount of energy for a small volume of food. Think nuts, seeds (their oils), fatty fish (salmon), avocado, olives, some fruits (especially dried fruit), etc. It does not mean we need to stop eating these foods, but there is a need to be careful of the excess calories going into your body. It’s still possible to consume excess energy and as such find it very difficult to lose weight.

Calorie Counting: Pros & Cons

Pros: On one hand, calorie counting allows you to strategically create an energy deficit (the only way to lose weight) by picking a calorie intake level and sticking to it. If the created deficit is large enough and you stick to it religiously every day, you will lose weight, regardless of the types of food you choose. You can eat chocolate every day and so long as you don’t go over your calorie quota, you’ll achieve your goal.

Cons: On the other hand, calorie counting doesn’t take into account food quality and nutrition (vitamins, minerals and fiber). When we reach for less nutritious foods, like cake, for example, we find that because a cake contains so much energy, we can’t eat our next scheduled meal, because we’ve already hit our quota for the day. This is fine if it only happens occasionally but many people fall into the trap of regularly choosing high calorie, low nutrient foods which pushes out nutritious foods. This happens because they’re focusing only on energy. If this carries on long enough, people become at risk of nutrient deficiency.

Read Here!- Everybody’s Guide To Weight-Loss, 10 Tips To Consider!

What do we think about this at FITrebel?

All said and done, one thing is for sure. If you are obese or overweight it is damaging your body and it is putting your health at risk.

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

Take a look at the data below.

In England alone around £16 billion a year is spent on the direct medical costs of diabetes and conditions related to being overweight and obese.

1 in 7 (14%) premature deaths could be prevented if people were a healthy weight, rather than overweight or obese.

With these figures, it’s clear to see we have a major problem.

What then is the solution?

Should it be to promote unreasonable and unsustainable diets?

Or should it be just be to educate people on getting their lifestyle, right?

Let’s just refresh – Clean eating is about eating whole foods.

I don’t see £16 billion being spent by NHS, the British Medicare, on those choosing whole nutritious foods over highly processed foods.

Yes, you can be overweight eating only “clean” foods, although that’s not very likely.

In the end, it’s all about consumption.

Overeating calories will result in weight gain

Undereating calories will result in weight loss

Regardless of their source, processed or unprocessed

If this is the case then why does it matter what you actually eat to achieve your calories?

One word! NUTRITION!

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

But the truth is it’s the combination of them. Not one or the other.

Counting calories can be a useful tool if you want to maintain a healthy weight, but it’s important to understand that it’s just a measuring tool.

So, at FITrebel our advice to you is to count your calories, but don’t be obsessed with the numbers.

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

The Key To Successful Weight Loss

At FITrebel our approach to the whole issue is that we believe, you can’t have one without the other.

We need to build our diet out of whole foods first, but if we don’t manage our energy intake, we won’t achieve our weight loss goals.

Calorie counting and creating an energy deficit is the most proven and only way to lose weight, but if you don’t choose good quality foods, you’ll become malnourished and deficient.

You need to find the balance between the two.

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

Our Suggestion

Build your diet primarily out of whole, fresh, minimally processed foods and if you’re looking at losing weight, know what YOUR energy needs are and keep track of how much food you’re consuming each day.

And that brings us to another question, how to achieve that?

Eating Clean VS Counting Calories

In our next article: How To Eat Healthier! we will take a look at this in greater detail.