Calories; Its the Quality that Matters, Not the Quantity

It is not enough to just count calories, it is more important to understand the "quality" of the calories that really matters.

For instance if you ate a candy bar that was 250 calories instead of having 250 calories of fruit, you would not be getting the quality of nutrition that you would have, had you chosen the fruit. With the fruit choice, you'll be getting antioxidants, vitamins, fiber, bioflavinoids, and natural flavor and colors. Choosing the candy bar you will get artificial colors, flavors, and non nutritious white sugar.


As you can see there is a big difference between the two, even though they have the same amount of calories in them. With one you get nutrition, with the other you don't.


Nutrients are what helps your body to function properly. Without those very important nutrients, you will become nutrient deficient and be at risk of developing a host of health issues.


Remember that "natures" foods are where we find the best source of the nutrients we need for a healthy body. It is in the process of manufacturing foods where we lose those vital nutrients.

If you are trying to lose weight, but are eating fast food, processed food, and high fat, high sugar foods, it will not matter about counting calories, you will have a much harder time losing the weight.


However if you are eating fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and lean proteins as the main source of your diet, you can actually consume a larger amount of calories and lose weight at the same time.

Donuts have an average of 250 to 300 calories in them. That doesn't really sound like much, but because they have little to no nutritional value, it will just end up as fat somewhere on your body. Having 250 to 300 calories of fruit and yogurt will give you nutrients that will fuel your body and help it to function. Which do you think is a healthier choice?



So when you are counting calories, remember that the quality of the calories is what really matters, not just the quantity. Would you rather have 2000 calories of healthy nutritious food and not gain weight, or 1500 calories of non nutritious junk food and gain weight?


The answer to that is pretty simple if you are looking to be healthy and lose some body fat. Even if you do not have weight to lose, choosing foods that have nutritional value over foods that don't is a no brainer. That is of course if your agenda is to be healthy, feel good, and look good.


Hopefully that is your agenda. Living a healthy life, and having a healthy body, begins with eating Quality food! Have a great weekend!


Till Monday,
Queenie