Counting calories can actually work against you

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Even high-glycemic fruits such as grapes can contribute to weight gain.Shutterstock

Research published last month in the Journal of Clinical Nutriton confirms — again — what I've preached for two decades: All calories are NOT created equal.

Counting calories not only fails as a method for weight loss but also will actually work against you, particularly if you repeatedly restrict calories over the course of your life.

As I've always told clients, and written here previously, calories from different sources are metabolized differently. Sugar, and foods metabolized as sugar, create a cycle that contributes to obesity, regardless of the number of calories. These foods include white sugar, breads and pasta, as well as juices, corn syrup, rice and other grains. Even high-glycemic fruits such as grapes, mango, pineapple and banana can contribute to weight gain.

How the study was conducted

In the study, overweight men consumed two meals with the same calories, macronutrients and palatability, but one meal included a high-glycemic index carb and the other a low-glycemic index carb. Brain scans showed that when people consumed high-glycemic foods, they activated the addiction centers (pleasure and reward) in their brains. The study showed unequivocally that high-glycemic foods affect not only our blood sugar, but also our brains, starting a biochemical cascade that looks like addiction, resulting in more hunger, more cravings and an ongoing cycle of poor eating.

The study was small but extremely conclusive: 100 percent of the subjects had the same definitive response. High-glycemic foods caused a sharp spike, then a dramatic drop, in blood sugar, a condition known as hypoglycemia. The body then protects itself by generating a desire for quick fuel, that is, more high-glycemic carbohydrates.

Quality of food is what counts

In my practice, I have seen many hundreds of clients who believed they were hypoglycemic and eliminated those symptoms by eliminating refined and processed carbs, particularly gluten. I also teach my clients to balance protein, carbs and fats each time they eat to control the glycemic impact of the carbohydrates. A potato eaten alone will spike blood sugar, but a potato eaten as part of a balanced meal, with a few ounces of protein and healthy fats, will not.

I hope the old notion that weight loss is achieved by controlling calories is now finally put to rest. It's not the number of calories, but the quality of the food, that determines your body composition.


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