Why Calorie Counting Is a Bad Idea

Counting calories is only mathematics

Food labels give average counts with a permissible margin of error of around 20%. You may be eating significantly more or less than the label claims.

All calories are not the same

Eyeballing portions distorts your intake, your body does not absorb all the calories you eat, and your gut microbiome influences how food is processed. An ounce of almonds, for instance, may deliver far fewer usable calories than the label suggests.

Cooking changes the calories

Cooking — and chopping, grinding or blending — generally raises the calories your body can access from a food.

Focus on quality, not quantity

A wholesome, balanced, colourful, fresh and varied diet matters far more than a calorie count. A 150-kcal cola and 500 kcal of mixed nuts are not remotely equivalent — the nuts do far more good. Over-restricting calories can harm your health, especially for women. Listen to your body, eat well, exercise, and stop living by the calculator.