How Important Are Calories in Weight Loss?

by Marco G.

Calories, type of exercise, supplements, Fats, Proteins and Carbohydrates.

Confused yet? I was! The fitness and weight loss industry throws a lot of information and misinformation at those of us who want to lose weight and make healthier choices.

Yesterday, I was reading about a popular weight loss program that encouraged the elimination of processed sugar from our daily eating in order to combat health risks and shed unwanted pounds. All sounded good, until I read “diet soda is okay on this weight loss plan” on the same page.

Yes, confusing. In case you did not know, there are numerous studies that conclude diet soda is as bad for you, or even worse, than the non diet variety. Diet soda is a chemical soup and you have no business putting it into your body if you are trying to make healthier choices. I have often joked that if someone bottled turpentine (also zero calories) and bombed it with enough artificial sugar, that people would buy it. I don’t think diet soda is a far stretch from that. Did you know that mechanics have used soda to take the rust off of a cinder block? That police have used it to remove blood stains? Finally this; that the sugar in the diet sodas are man made and your body has no idea what it is or what to do with it. The active ingredient is phosphoric acid which can dissolve a nail within four days. Imagine your intestines?

Okay, enough beating up the diet soda. The problem is that there are “weight loss solutions” that focus on calories only and I will tell you right now that if you want any chance of losing weight and cleaning up your health, you will need to stop looking only at calories.

In the weeks ahead, I will be writing about what nutrition actually is, not what the industry has reduced it to be all in the name of profit. I am on a food journey myself that has revolutionized my life and health. After losing 160 lb. I am nearing the home stretch and what I am doing now is making the biggest difference in that journey.

I wonder how many people will be able to stay with me as I write? I say this because there are no quick fixes. There is no place worth going that does not present some amount of discomfort. If you are carrying extra weight, trust me, it is the “easy way” that helped get you there.

Yes, confusing. In case you did not know, there are numerous studies that conclude diet soda is as bad for you, or even worse, than the non diet variety. Diet soda is a chemical soup and you have no business putting it into your body if you are trying to make healthier choices. I have often joked that if someone bottled turpentine (also zero calories) and bombed it with enough artificial sugar, that people would buy it. I don’t think diet soda is a far stretch from that. Did you know that mechanics have used soda to take the rust off of a cinder block? That police have used it to remove blood stains? Finally this; that the sugar in the diet sodas are man made and your body has no idea what it is or what to do with it. The active ingredient is phosphoric acid which can dissolve a nail within four days. Imagine your intestines?

Okay, enough beating up the diet soda. The problem is that there are “weight loss solutions” that focus on calories only and I will tell you right now that if you want any chance of losing weight and cleaning up your health, you will need to stop looking only at calories.

In the weeks ahead, I will be writing about what nutrition actually is, not what the industry has reduced it to be all in the name of profit. I am on a food journey myself that has revolutionized my life and health. After losing 160 lb. I am nearing the home stretch and what I am doing now is making the biggest difference in that journey.

I wonder how many people will be able to stay with me as I write? I say this because there are no quick fixes. There is no place worth going that does not present some amount of discomfort. If you are carrying extra weight, trust me, it is the “easy way” that helped get you there.