If you ever stand in the grocery store, scan a nutrition label and have wondered whether the calories or ingredients are more important – they are not alone. Perhaps you have selected the granola bar with lower calories with more fibers and nuts, provided that it would better support your goals. Or maybe you have heard that “a calorie is a calorie” and wondered whether this means that you should eat a candy rod with the same number of calories as the omelet that you have considered.
The truth is that both calorie and food quality play an important role in your health and how you work together can help you make smarter and more satisfactory decisions that support your weight and well-being.
Count calories – but they are not the whole story
Let’s start with the basics: If you consistently eat more calories than your body uses, you can probably gain weight. If you eat less, you will probably lose weight (1). This is the basis for weight management, and therefore it can be so effective that you follow your recording with tools like Myfitnespal.
However, if you only concentrate on calories, it is something important to miss: how your food you feel and how this affects your general health.
“If you only focus on calories, you can eat foods that fit your calorie goals, but are still hungry, because what you eat is easy to digest or does not offer an appropriate satisfaction,” says Daisy Mercer, a nutritionist at MyFitnespal (2). “This can lead to more demands that could make us overeating.”
Research supports this. Studies show that people who ate more processed foods – such as chips, sugar -containing drinks and refined grain – to increase more weight over time, even if they no longer ate total calories. On the other hand, those who ate more full value food such as vegetables, fruit, nuts, yogurt and whole grain products 3.
This is because the food quality can influence its appetite, metabolism and even hormones – all of this has an impact on how many calories your body longs and uses.
“High -quality food can help us feel fuller and more satisfied by slowing down our digestion and providing energy for longer,” explains Mercer. “This can prevent us from eating excessively or reducing the desire 4. “”
About the expert
Daisy Mercer, RDis a food curator at Myfitnespal. She completed her Bachelor of Food Science and Dietetics at Colorado State University and completed her dietary internship at VA San Diego Healthcare System.
What makes a food “high quality”?
There is no official definition of food quality, but the researchers generally agree on some guidelines. High quality foods are usually:
- Minimally processed, with a few additional sugar or artificial ingredients
- Rich in nutrients such as fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals
- Lower in glycemic index, which means that they cause smaller blood sugar peaks
- Satiety and helps them to stay fuller longer
“High -quality foods offer us added value, except that we just fill out,” says Mercer. “This could mean that it offers fiber that contribute to slow digestion 5Or that it is a lean meat that offers satisfaction 6. “”
Examples are leafy vegetables, berries, beans, eggs, fish, nuts, olive oil and whole grain products such as oats or quinoa.
Low-quality food thinking after soda, sweets, roasted foods and white bread often stripped from fiber and nutrients. They digest quickly, point blood sugar and let yourself feel hungry again afterwards 7.
That doesn’t mean you can never enjoy them. But if you make up most of your calories, it is more difficult to control your appetite and energy.
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Interestingly, calorie control in relocation in the direction of higher quality often becomes easier-without perfection or restriction.
“If people focus on the quality of the food, they can be able to better listen to hunger and abundance,” says Mercer. “This reduces the need to prioritize the calorie count, since of course they are more in line with their body.”
As a rule, full value food fills, so of course you eat less. They are also more difficult to overeat. It is much easier to eat a cover biscuit than a dozen cooked eggs or three cups of lentil soup.
“Balance is always important,” adds Mercer. “It can be helpful to combine something that you long for something to improve the feeling of abundance.
This helps to explain why some weight loss plans for certain people work better. For example, higher protein or high fiber-eating patterns can support appetite control and weight loss-but only if they concentrate on entire, nutrient-rich foods 8Present 9.
So … what should you set priorities?
Here is the nuance: if weight loss is your goal, you still have to be a calorie deficit. The best way to get there could be to focus more on food quality – because it can help you feel better if you eat less.
“The focus on food quality and calorie amount will help both long -term health and weight management,” says Mercer. “If we have high quality food, we often feel full and more satisfied and can help ourselves to stay in our calorie goals.”
At the same time, even the healthiest diet will not support weight loss if you eat too much. The portion size and tracking are still important, even if you choose the right food.
“They are not calories or quality – it is both,” she adds. “You can manage the portion sizes and the balance with high -quality foods so that you can enjoy the same things in moderation.”
How to find your balance
If you are not sure where to start, you will find some practical opportunities to prioritize quality and quantity:
- Follow what you eat for a week. Use MyFitnespal to log meals and snacks – not just calories, but the types of food you eat. Look for patterns.
- Add before pulling off. Add more whole food food – such as vegetables, beans or whole grains – before cutting out groceries that you love.
- Be realistic and flexible. Leave space for occasional pleasure. An all-but-not approach can backfire.
- Concentrate on progress, not on perfection. Even small changes in the direction of better food quality can lead to major changes in the way they feel over time.
- Master you one thing after another. “If the persecution of calories is difficult, concentrate your energy on it and then slowly integrate high -quality food into your routine,” Mercer suggests.
The end result
When it comes to eating for health and sustainable weight management, you don’t have to choose between calorie quantity and food quality – they work best together.
By pursuing your recording, emphasizing nutrient -rich foods and preparing for how your meals feel, you can create a way of eating that supports your goals without being hungry, overwhelmed or in your diet.
“The persecution of calories and prioritization of food quality does not mean that you have to cut everything out,” says Mercer. “I understand that weight management is all about balance.”
Would you like to help compensate for your nutritional goals? Download the MyFitnespal app to track both calorie intake and food quality in a user-friendly tool.
The contribution What is more important: food quality or calorie quality? appeared first Myfitnespal Blog.
