written by Courtney Human RD(SA)

Moving on from the complexities of genetics, this month, I wanted to tackle a topic that seems to be coming up quite regularly on a professional and social basis of calorie counting! There are so many apps available that predict your calorie intake for the day and allow you to log your food records such as MyFitnessPal or FatSecret to help reach your nutritional goals. So why do us dietitians need to study 4 years when an app can automatically generate all you need to know about your body, right.

It’s simple; calories in < calories out (weight loss), calories in = calories out (weight maintenance) or calories in > calories out (weight gain), right?

Well, it is more of an advanced calculus equation if you ask me. But let’s see if my job really is threatened and if we can count on calorie counting alone.

Within this blog, please note I am focusing more on calorie counting being used in the general population from a weight loss perspective and not from a sports nutrition side of things. Calorie counting is not all doom and gloom, unless of course this method starts being a free excuse to neglect the value we as dietitians can offer and leaves us jobless to a phone app. But on a lighter note, although, there may be some truth in the above is this strategy the most reliable? Understanding the nuances may help us decide when to take calories seriously or when to take calories with a pinch of salt.

First, let’s get the scientific stuff out the way. Diet-induced thermogenesis is the reason calorie counting can be inaccurate as it takes calories to break down the calories we eat. Although, fat requires the least amount of energy whilst protein requires the most to digest, practically we are not going to readjust the calories based on the amount of energy our body needs to break it down. Within a mixed diet, 10% of the calories we eat are burned off digesting the food. On the other hand, there is a concept of caloric availability. Have you ever noticed when you eat mielies the way it goes in, is the way it comes out? You have probably never considered (as I too have not until now) if it contains 100 calories but its passing right through how much is technically absorbed. Hence, the caloric availability of foods differs, and many things affect this such as processing. Consider those same mielies are now fancy Woolies corn tortillas. The first step of digestion (chewing) has already been done for you and only the second step is needed (chemical break down by digestive juices of the tiny mielie’tjies in the tortilla flour), thus no uninvited visitors peeping out the toilet bowl. Therefore, the tortillas calories are more available to the body than the untouched whole mielies and per 100g will be higher in calories. If you eat 2000 calories of processed food versus 2000 calories of whole foods, the processed food is more available. Studies show the body burns nearly 50% fewer calories digesting a processed meal of food than whole foods despite both containing the same ‘theoretical’ calories. Not only that but you’re likely to be hungry again sooner unlike whole foods which take longer to pass through the digestive system. Cue logical layman’s terms: An apple takes longer to eat, and its way more filling than apple sauce, which itself is more filling than a glass of apple juice. Moreover, did you know studies in Australia show food products may have anywhere from 13% less to 61% more calories than what is stated on the packet and companies are legally allowed to have a 20% error margin in calories on menus or food products? Scientific and societal inaccuracies aside, let me propose a scenario. Imagine you have a cup of roasty toasty coffee, and you have two choices: A single fresh Krispy Kream donut to dip in which is 190 calories or a bowel of cooked oats with fat free milk, drizzled with peanut butter and decorated with blueberries which is 350 calories. If I was calorie counting, I would probably say, “Donuts all the way, every day!” This is why I could never calorie count. Potentially neglecting nutrient quality of food is my biggest issue as protein (the milk) and fat (peanut butter) provide long term satiety with fibre (blueberries and oats) providing “bulk” for fullness and building a healthier gut microbiome.

Calorie counting has the ability to destroy your relationship with food, as we start seeing food as a number and not a form of nourishment. Having the “lower calorie option” mindset all the time can lead to psychological deprivation reducing anticipated satisfaction and disrupting our hunger hormones. Moreover, eating out or social occasions may also become stressful and avoiding these can only last so long until Tannie Esme starts getting upset that you are missing her Sunday lunch homemade malva. Jokes aside, these are all serious barriers to sustainable dietary change we are always preaching about.

But also, can we just mention how practically time-consuming calorie counting is on a day-today basis. I for one do not have the patience, period. Some apps are crowd-sourced such as MyFitnessPal that by the time you’ve overcome the human error of measuring your food portion and then found the exact type and form of the food item you probably have eaten six other snacks or aren’t even hungry anymore. Believe it or not, after all of the above being said sometimes calories do count as 200g of chocolate will always have double the calories of 100g of that same chocolate.

Without fail there is dietitian approved ways to utilize calorie counting as a tool similarly to a food diary, but not in isolation as a strategy for weight loss. Firstly, use calories to create awareness. Take note of your food choices, portion sizes, and recognize patterns of eating to find your weak spots to build healthier habits. Secondly, do not starve yourself or try out-calorie yourself. Our bodies do not know the difference between “I’ve decided to skip breakfast” and “I got lost in the forest and have no idea when my next meal is coming.” Your body will hold onto those calories, storing them as fat and weight loss comes to a complete halt. Thirdly, see beyond one meal at a time as life always has a way of throwing an unexpected afternoon tea and cake at you potentially blowing all your calorie budget at one meal. Don’t ride the shame train but move along with a renewed nutritional effort towards your next meal or snack. Use each day as an opportunity to refocus on your long-term goals. And finally, see a registered dietitian for a full nutritional assessment first to ensure you have set realistic goals, have a good understanding of the nutrient quality of foods and your relationship with food is being monitored. Just like calories, we need to spend our time and energy wisely on sustainable methods regardless of weight loss achieved. Calorie counting can be utilized as a tool alongside exercise and professional advice rather than as stand-alone strategy to help you reach your nutritional goals. However, if you have a history of disordered eating it is not recommended.

So, no you can’t always count on the calories, but you can always count on a registered dietitian. Pheeeww… Job secured.