Counting Empty Calories

Counting calories has become a popular weight loss strategy, but are we missing the big picture?

Sure calories = lbs and therefore limiting your caloric intake should reduce your overall weight, but what if these calories we count are empty calories. An empty calorie is a calorie that lacks much if any nutritional value, and these empty calories are a plenty in the average American diet. We are probably the only obese starving nation, and obviously it's not calories we are deprived of but rather nutritional substance. So even though reducing your overall caloric intake will assist you in losing weight, it is rarely a habit that sticks and for good reason... our nation is starving for nutrients so we always feel hungry, and the hungrier you are the more chance you have of falling off the wagon.

Obesity is an epidemic in this country because our diets consist primarily of processed foods lacking nutritional value and resulting in empty calories. Since these empty calories do not supply our bodies with the nutrients it requires to maintain a healthy state they fall short at satisfying our hunger as well, which is why we turn to more food.

This creates an endless loop of craving more but supplying ourselves with less, nutrients that is. So if most Americans slightly and morbidly obese alike are starving for nutrients does it make sense to focus solely on the act of reducing calories?

It is important to understand that the quality of each calorie should be your primary focus. I can assure you that if you make each calorie count by consuming a diet that consists primarily of fresh organic produce, natural whole grains and legumes, you will begin to realize that your body will crave fewer calories.

Maintain a healthy diet and your body will maintain a healthy weight.