Do Calories Count If You Eat Healthy?
Natalie Stein
CDC Lifestyle Coach, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and expert in nutrition, public health, and healthy lifestyle choices
In this article:
- Calories count even if you eat healthy, since calorie balance determines weight change or stability.
- Nutrient-dense foods can help you eat less by keeping you full for longer, supporting healthier hormone and blood sugar levels, and reducing cravings for low-nutrient, high-calorie foods.
- The thermic effect of food (TEF) is the amount of calories or energy your body uses to digest and absorb nutrients from food.
- Portion control and an emphasis on more nutritious, lower calorie-dense foods can help keep calories in check.
- Your Lark coach is available 24/7 to help you make healthy choices around nutrition, activity, and more.
What’s more important for weight loss: the number of calories you consume, or the types of foods you eat? If your entire diet consists of highly nutritious foods, can you eat as much as you want? Or do calories still count?
This blog digs into facts surrounding calories versus the type of food for weight loss, including the concept of calorie balance. Read about how your body responds to nutritious versus low-nutrient foods, including effects on hunger, hormone levels, and cravings. In addition, we’ll look at whether high-protein, high-fiber foods are lower in calories than fatty, sugary foods.
Calorie Balance
Calorie balance determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your current body weight. Your calorie balance compares the calories you take in with the calories you expend, or burn. You consume calories by eating foods and drinking beverages. You use calories through resting metabolism, like your heart beating and blood circulation, as well as from physical activity. You also burn a few calories by digesting the food you consume.
Here’s how calorie balance relates to weight change.
- Positive calorie balance: Calories consumed (calories in) exceed calories burned (calories out). Weight gain occurs.
- Calorie balance: Calories consumed (calories in) is equal to calories burned (calories out). Weight is stable.
- Negative calorie balance: Calories consumed (calories in) is less than calories burned (calories out). Weight loss occurs.
These relationships between calorie balance and weight change hold regardless of which types of foods you consume. If your daily calorie requirement is 1,600 calories, for example, you’d need to consume 1,600 calories to maintain your weight. You could do that by consuming nutritious foods or low-nutrient foods like the following examples.
Sample 1,600-Calorie Days
| Day Type | Meals |
|---|---|
| Nutritious Day |
Oatmeal, yogurt, and fruit Chopped salad with broiled salmon and vinaigrette dressing Veggie burger patty on whole-grain bread with baked zucchini fries Stewed apple with cinnamon |
| Lower-Nutrient Day |
Cheeseburger, medium fries, medium soda Mac and cheese |
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