STOP COUNTING CALORIES!

I see it more often than not…  A new client comes in and tells me that we don’t need to go over nutrition because he/she is already a healthy eater.  They just need to exercise to burn more calories.  Yep, exercise is good and yep, it’ll burn more calories, however, I’ve learned over the years, that odds are, this client is not eating “healthy” at all.

---

​I would say that the biggest issue I see with people is that they are more concerned with the amount of calories they are consuming than the quality of the food.  I had one client that lived on ham sandwiches (on white bread) and alcohol.  She didn’t want to eat too much during the day because she liked have drinks at night.  I looked at the log sheets and the first thing I said was “you must be tired all the time”!  Yep, the client agreed and was in shock when I knew that was an issue.  That client was only concerned about calorie intake. 
 
About 2 years ago, I had someone show me the meal they were having for lunch that day.  She was very excited and stated “it only has 150 calories”.  She thought she was doing a good thing but I knew right then and there that it was horrible.  It was a frozen pre-packaged “meal”.  The first issue with this is that a meal is not 150 calories!  How can you function during the afternoon if that is all you are eating for lunch?  Odds are she wasn’t functioning off of it.  She was either snacking later or was completely exhausted the rest of the afternoon.  The second issue with this is that the ingredient statement was literally a science experiment!  It looked something like this:

EXAMPLE PRODUCT INGREDIENTS:  blanched macaroni product (water, semolina), tomato puree (water, tomato paste), water, low fat ricotta cheese (pasteurized whey, pasteurized milk, pasteurized cream, vinegar, carrageenan, xanthan gum), reduced fat mozzarella cheese and modified cornstarch (reduced fat mozzarella cheese (pasteurized milk, nonfat milk, cheese cultures), modified cornstarch, salt, sodium citrate, flavors, vitamin a palmitate, enzymes), tomatoes (diced tomatoes, tomato juice, citric acid, calcium chloride), onions, 2% or less of modified cornstarch, provolone cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes, natural smoke flavor), bread crumbs (bleached wheat flour contains 2% or less of: sugar, yeast, salt), sugar, soybean oil, romano cheese (cultured cow's milk, salt, enzymes), dehydrated garlic, parmesan cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), salt, cheese flavor (cheddar cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), water, salt, enzymes, cultures, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum), spices, yeast extract, extra virgin olive oil, asiago cheese (cultured milk, salt, enzymes), enzyme modified parmesan cheese (cultured milk, water, salt, enzymes), xanthan gum, enzyme modified romano cheese (cultured cow's milk, water, salt, enzymes), potassium chloride, whey.

Where is the real food?  Where is the nutrition?  150 calories is not a meal, it’s a dessert.  She might as well have had a candy bar for 150 calories, because your body is going to process it the same as this “meal”. 
 
I like to tell people about the apple vs the candy bar…  Let’s say they are both 150 calories.  You’d think your body would treat them equally and process them the same, however, it’s just the opposite.  The apple is from nature.  It’s unprocessed and real which means your body can process is easily.  The body knows what to do with it!  The candy bar, however, is filled with sugar and chemicals that your body can’t figure out how to process so it’ll take longer or it’ll store it in your abdomen until it can figure it out…  Which normally doesn’t happen because we overload our bodies with too much crap every day.  In this example, your body will be able to rid the 150 calories from the apple much quicker and more efficiently because it’s real food, unlike the candy bar.  So, these calories are not created equally!  A calorie does NOT equal a calorie. 
 
A question that I get quite often from clients is “how many calories should I eat a day.”   I wish I had the answer but everyone is different.  There are so many determining factors that it’s nearly impossible to quote a number.  Even the phone apps or online calculators are incorrect.  Just because you weight so much and are so tall, doesn’t mean that this is the amount of calories you need each day to maintain or lose weight.  Again, there are way too many factors in the equation!

​The right answer is that you need to stop concentrating on calorie intake.  When my clients logged their food for me, I rarely stress the importance of calorie counting.  If you are eating the right foods, you don’t need to worry about how many calories you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  That’s madness – and not fun.  

I have all of my personal training clients log their food when they start with me – even if they don’t want to!  Healthy eating is 80% of your health!  If you are not eating appropriately, you will not lose weight.  And if you are eating right, you will also see increases in energy levels, motivation, quality sleep and overall happiness.

My favorite quote from people (including some of my family members) is that they don't want to eat healthy because it isn't fun and life is too short to not enjoy what you are eating....  You can guess what's wrong with that statement right?  Life will be a lot shorter if you aren't eating healthy and you'll enjoy life MORE if you are eating right.  I heard it from one of my clients this morning that even though she isn't at her weight goals yet, she said that it's all worth it because she has the energy to play with her kids every day!  
 
If you want to kick start your health and are ready to start eating healthy, contact me today!  I have Nutrition Packages that’ll get you moving in the right direction without eliminating your favorite foods!  You are worth it!  Start today!

Joy Boerboom - Holistic Health Practitioner & Trainer
Barberry Health Center
(507) 532-3273
[email protected]