I regularly hear the phrase - about once a week - that the main thing is to eat fewer calories than you consume. Or: if the calorie balance is right, you will automatically lose weight. That's simply not true!
Counting calories? Better to eat the right things
Whether I take in 100kcal from broccoli or 100kcal from Smarties - it doesn't have the same effect on the body!
Everything we eat ends up in our digestive system. And during this digestion, the food is absorbed into our bloodstream. And our blood creates our cells, our tissues, our organs and even our thoughts! We think differently whether we eat pizza and burgers or broccoli and tomatoes. We feel differently whether we drink cola or water.
We are made up of what we eat. Where else would our body get the substances it needs to repair our cells, grow hair and nails, produce hormones and enzymes if not from food?
Example 1: Pro-inflammatory vs. anti-inflammatory
If I eat pro-inflammatory and insulin-boosting foods, such as sweets or ready-made pizza, this also promotes stress and fat build-up in our body. Then I can even eat a sub-caloric diet and still not lose weight!
Example 2: Fatty acids
If my body wants to repair the wall of a cell, it needs fatty acids. If it gets high-quality and healthy fats from us through food, then it also uses these to carry out its repair work. However, if it only has inferior, hardened fats available, then it will use them! This then leads to the cell wall becoming harder or more rigid. And you can imagine the problems we get when our cells are not supple and elastic.
Example 3: Nutrient deficiency leads to overeating
A third and final example: If we eat low-quality food with too few nutrients, then sooner or later our body will fall into a nutrient deficit. And it has been proven today: Nutrient deficiencies lead to chronic overeating because our body keeps making us hungry until it feels that we are also getting the nutrients we need.
Stop counting calories
That's why it's not just the calorie balance that matters, but also that I eat high-quality, "real, living" food. The quality of our food has a direct influence on the quality of our lives. And I'm not saying that from theory, but from practical experience.
And in my opinion, sugar, or the effect of food on our sugar levels and insulin secretion, plays a key role in whether I choose the right foods for me.
Would you like to know how to eat so that you can get through your day full of energy and focus? And then still have energy for the finer things in life in the evening?
