5 Reasons I don’t use a calorie counting app anymore

Did you know that as of 2020, MyFitnessPal, a calorie counting app has 200 million users and Healthifyme has 25 million active users. Based on these numbers and the basic idea that a calorie deficit is the ONLY way to lose weight, one must assume that calorie counting is the best way to lose weight.

I was an active user for a very long time, over 5 years when I finally decided to stop calorie counting and enjoy my cookie without associating it with a number. For over 5 years, I would associate food as calories and choose low calorie foods over calorie dense foods. This notion not only affected my relationship with food, but also ruined my metabolic rate and made it harder for me to lose weight. We all know the obvious reasons for not using calorie counting apps, but you may not have considered these five surprising reasons why I don’t use them.

Hormones

Hormones are signaling molecules involved in many aspects of your health.Hormones regulate your appetite in order to help your body maintain energy levels.Hunger and satiety (fullness) signaling are complicated processes that involve many systems in your body. Hormones responsible for hunger and fullness include ghrelin, motilin, insulin, and leptin. Altered levels of thyroid hormones, insulin, cortisol, and other hormones may influence body weight and fat distribution.

Additionally, the food and beverages you consume daily significantly affect your hormonal health. Studies show that diets rich in ultra-processed foods, added sugar, and refined carbohydrates can lead to hormonal dysregulation.

Stress and sleep are also significant contributors to hormonal dysregulation.

Accuracy

Do you choose the butter paneer with 1000 calories or 500 calories? Do you count the calories of the ingredients or the end product?

While calorie tracking accurately estimates that 4 hide n seek biscuits are 100 calories, the apps underestimate the sodium and potassium levels in any food group. These two micronutrients are important for you, but when consumed in excess, cause you to bloat.

Calorie absorption by the body

Did you know that your body gets two-thirds or less of the calories in the food?

Yes, the rest of the calories might be used by bacteria in your colon, or might even be passed out whole. The exact ratio varies depending on the digestibility of the food.

For example, day-old cooked spaghetti, or cold toast, will give you fewer calories than the same foods eaten piping hot, even though technically they contain the same amount of stored energy. This is because starch becomes more resistant to digestion when it is allowed to cool and sit after being cooked, because it crystallizes into structures that digestive enzymes cannot easily break down.

Calorie counting adds to the misconception you can “work off” the food you eat.

How often have we heard our friends say “ I’m gonna have to work off this cake later this evening”

You simply cannot work off the cake because your body needs a certain amount of calories to sustain daily and if the cake is part of your required amount of calories, no workout calories burnt are going to “work off the cake” from your system.

Additionally, this mindset builds a unhealthy relationship with food and discourages people to view food as a fuel for your body, something that energizes you and provides you with your strong immunity.

Data Breach

Lastly, using any calorie tracking app is not safe for your privacy reasons. In 2018, Under Armour’s MyFitnessPal had a data breach of username, password, email addresses & credit card information - all of which was sold on the dark web for over $20,000.