Why do you lose weight healthier by choosing your calories rather than counting them?

 Why do you lose weight healthier by choosing your calories rather than counting them?

There is a plethora of weight loss diets. How do you decide to adopt one over the other? A difficult choice, as each regime has its supporters and detractors. The one that appeals the most is meticulously counting your calories. We eat everything, but being careful not to overdo it on caloric foods. No exclusion, which reassures everyone. And yet, when it comes to health, this is far from a panacea. We tell you why.

Being overweight is a plague. The ESTEBAN1 study, a health study on the environment, biomonitoring, physical activity and nutrition 2014-2016 indicates that in adults aged 18 to 74, the prevalence of overweight is around 49% in general population: 54% of men and 44% of women. In children aged 6 to 17, in 2015, and in evolution since 2006, the prevalence of overweight is estimated at 17%. According to the Center for Epidemiology on Medical Causes of Death (CépiDC), complications linked to overweight and obesity (diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular pathologies) are among the leading causes of death in France2.

No wonder the diet market works. But swapping your current diet for a new diet shouldn't be done lightly. And on this point, the seductive and reassuring idea that you should start eating everything in moderate amounts while counting your calories to lose weight in a healthy way is a mistake.

Diet: the origin of calorie counting

Many people, too many healthcare professionals, believe that the body works this way: if it enters more calories than it burns, the body grows. The resulting simplistic reasoning is as follows: 1 gram of fat provides 9 calories and 1 gram of carbohydrates or proteins provides only 4 calories. Result of the races: by reducing the first and not being too greedy on the second, we necessarily bring in fewer calories, so we stop gaining weight and the better we lose weight. It is on this simple principle that were developed the famous official recommendations to eat "less fat" and starchy foods at all meals. From then on, dietetic cooking appears (steam cooking without fat) which, in the long term, generates frustrations. It is therefore untenable in the long term - however, a change in diet must be made permanently and not temporarily.

Light products packed with additives that foul and damage the body are popular. Fats and fatty foods are demonized, which does not meet the needs for omega-3, omega-9, molecules essential for the proper functioning of the whole body.

Carbohydrate foods are a little too present, which generates spikes in blood sugar levels at the root of many diseases of civilization. Unfortunately, these recommendations fail to take into account the history of human evolution, physiology and recent scientific data, and are partly responsible for the increase in recent years of obesity and diabetes. in the population. Indeed, overweight, obesity and associated pathologies have continued to grow to the point that today, in the face of the failure of these strategies, going on a "diet" has become politically incorrect. A situation that gives rise to the absurd speech very in vogue: diets are dangerous, to lose weight, stop putting yourself on a diet. To date, the results have not materialized!

The close relationship between weight and insulin

Insulin is a hormone that allows cells to use sugar to bring blood sugar back to normal. When we consume carbohydrates (macronutrients that are found in large quantities in sugar and sweet products, starches, fruits), they are digested and then converted into glucose (i.e. sugar) which is found in the body. blood. It raises our blood sugar levels.

To bring blood sugar back to a normal level, the pancreas then makes insulin, which pushes this sugar back into the cells. Once in the cells, either this glucose is immediately burned and transformed into energy, or it is stored as glycogen for later use as fuel (this is the case in the liver and muscles), or it is transformed into fats in fat cells, adipocytes, when there has been a too strong spike in blood sugar.

The transformation is then irreversible: the fat can no longer be converted back into glucose; it will therefore either be burnt or stored. Insulin also intervenes at this stage: the higher your sugar level (and therefore insulin), the less "burnt" fat there is.

Eat less carbohydrates

The solution is not to cut calories, but rather carbohydrates. It's about learning to eat fewer carbohydrates. From the beginning of the 19th century until the end of the 1960s, doctors and scientists agreed to state, with supporting evidence, that the only effective way to lose weight is to eat less bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, sugar so less carbohydrates. They were right. It’s a matter of human biology and physiology. Several studies that have studied the impact of low-carbohydrate diets confirm that it is the solution to losing weight and taking care of your health at the same time3,4,5,6 7..

Having the reflex to reduce carbohydrates avoids cravings and pumping strokes because without spikes in blood sugar there is no reactive hypoglycemia. The feeling of fullness lasts longer. Triglyceride levels drop while “good” cholesterol increases. Blood pressure figures normalize. Prediabetes (insulin resistance) and diabetes are receding.

Best of all, we age less quickly. The recurrent spikes in blood sugar promote the phenomenon of glycation, a kind of "caramelization of the body". Carbohydrates bind to proteins in the body and form glycated proteins. These modified proteins are no longer functional. Glycation promotes the production of oxidants and chronic inflammation through overuse of the immune system to repair damage. The impact is physical: wrinkled skin, dull hair ... but also pathological. The resulting tissue and vascular lesions contribute to degeneration and impaired functioning of the brain, atherosclerosis, osteoarthritis, cataracts ...

How to rebalance your diet to lose weight healthily?

• To reduce your carbohydrates, eliminate or eat less starchy foods (cereal products and derivatives, legumes). When consuming it, stick to it once a day and favor whole grain ones because their fiber will limit their impact on blood sugar. Sugar and sweet products are of course to be avoided. Rest assured, carbohydrates are macronutrients that are not essential for the body. Which means you can live without consuming it.

• Rather than eating a lot of fruit, eat a lot of vegetables and just one fruit. Fruits are much sweeter than vegetables. Put vegetables on the menu for lunch and dinner, and why not in the morning! Eating sufficient amounts of vegetables will also allow you to absorb fiber, various minerals and vitamins, and antioxidants.

• Make sure you get healthy fats with every meal. Some fats are essential, so getting them into the body is essential. Eating fat, or even very fat, is not a problem, but you have to be vigilant about the balance between the different fatty acids (components of fat) in order to meet the needs of the body. Particular attention must be paid to the omega-6 / omega-3 ratio, two types of fatty acids essential for the functioning of the body. Omega-6s are found in abundance in our diet and we don't need to look for it. Omega-3s are found in oily fish, the eggs of hens fed on flax seeds. In a less digestible form, it is found in rapeseed or linseed oil, for example. It is also necessary to consume omega-9. Half of the fat we eat should be made up of omega-9s (monounsaturated fatty acids). Extra virgin olive oil and duck fat are rich in them. 

• Eat enough animal or plant protein. To maintain your weight, you need at least 0.8 g of protein per kg of body weight. To lose it, you need at least 1 to 1.2 g per kg of body weight so as not to lose muscle in the process. Meat, fish, eggs, cheese, organic soy, seitan rich in gluten, nuts contain on average 20% and will allow you to ensure your protein intake without overconsuming carbohydrates.