Why Calorie Counting Isn't the Answer - and What to Do Instead
Over the years, calorie counting has become one of the most common strategies for people trying to lose weight or feel more ‘in control’ of their eating. Calorie values are even displayed on restaurant menus in the UK - a sign of how deeply this numbers-based approach has become part of our culture.
I completely understand why the idea of a simple equation based on ‘energy in versus energy out’ feels logical and reassuring and promises a sense of control. But in reality calorie counting is neither accurate nor sustainable. In my work, I often meet people for whom calorie counting has created more guilt, stress and disconnection from their bodies than genuine improvements in health.
In this blog, I explain why the numbers don’t add up, explore how calorie counting can be more psychologically harmful than most people realise, and I share some steps you can take to move away from the numbers and back towards trust in your body.
Let’s start with five reasons why calorie counting is problematic:
1. ACCURACY IS AN ILLUSION
We’re often led to believe that calories are precise, measurable units, but in reality they are best viewed as rough estimates for all sorts of reasons:
Food labels can legally be out by up to 20% (U.S. FDA, 2016 and similar variation exists under EU labelling standards). Beyond that, the way food is grown, processed, cooked or even how ripe it is will all influence how many calories are actually available to your body.
And even if those numbers were perfectly accurate and you managed to measure out your portions, what happens inside your body is anything but standardised. Metabolic individuality plays a huge role with our gut microbiota, stress levels, sleep quality, thyroid function and menstrual cycle all influencing how efficiently we metabolise and absorb energy (Pontzer, 2021; Speakman, 2013).
While calorie tools might suggest a daily calorie target, it is almost impossible to know your true requirements are. Two people of the same age, sex and body size can have resting metabolic rates that differ by more than 500 kcal per day (Pontzer, 2021).
Energy needs also change from day to day with movement, hormones, stress, temperature, and recovery demands all influencing this. So the idea that sticking rigidly to a fixed calorie goal will produce predictable results simply doesn’t hold up.
Even the tools we use to track calories aren’t reliable. Studies show that wearable devices can miscalculate energy expenditure by 27–93% (Shcherbina et al., J Pers Med, 2017).
So when you consider just how many variables affect energy balance, it becomes clear that calorie-based systems are completely oversimplified, and that calorie counting - whilst giving an illusion of control - is highly unlikely to be an accurate reflection of reality.
2. IT IS INEFFECTIVE AND OFTEN BACKFIRES IN THE LONG RUN
Another key reason why calorie counting is problematic is that the evidence shows that people who lose weight through calorie restriction typically regain the weight they lost over the following years, often with ‘interest’.
A review and meta-analysis of 80 clinical weight-loss trials found that while low-calorie diets tend to produce initial, dramatic weight loss, that progress is rarely maintained. Over time, weight gradually returns and by the three-year mark around 80% of participants had regained most or all of what they had lost.
Why does this happen? Because when calorie intake is restricted, the body fights back. Metabolic rate slows, hunger hormones such as ghrelin increase, and satiety hormones such as leptin decrease. This adaptive response is a built-in survival mechanism designed to protect you from perceived famine - and it makes a diet based on calorie deficit almost impossible to sustain in the long term.
What’s more, once dieting stops the body often works to restore what it perceives as lost reserves. If weight has been suppressed below the body’s preferred set point, appetite remains elevated and metabolism remains reduced until weight is regained - sometimes overshooting slightly as the body seeks safety from future deprivation. This ‘post-diet rebound’ is a predictable biological response (not the failure of discipline it is often portrayed).
A landmark review by Mann et al. (Am Psychol, 2007) found that around 95% of people regain the weight they lose within two to five years, and roughly one-third end up heavier than when they started. I think this reflects how powerfully the body defends its natural weight range.
3. It reduces nutrition to numbers
When we reduce nutrition to calories it creates an illusion that all foods are simply interchangeable units of energy. But nutrition really isn’t that simple.
A 500-calorie brownie and a 500-calorie home-cooked plate of fish, vegetables and grains may look identical on paper, yet their effects on blood sugar, hormones, digestion, and satiety are completely different. Calories tell you nothing about nutrient quality - the fibre that supports gut health, the protein that helps sustain energy, the fats that balance hormones or the micronutrients that support immunity and mood.
When calories take centre stage all these nutritional nuances fade into the background. I’ve spoken to many clients who’ve found themselves choosing “low-calorie” foods which have left them feeling unsatisfied and undernourished, rather than enjoying balanced meals that genuinely fuel body and mind. Hence another common result of calorie counting is constant hunger, cravings and fatigue because the calorie model fails to capture what your body truly needs to thrive.
4. It disconnects you from your body’s internal cues
Humans have in-built regulation systems for hunger and fullness. When you eat regularly, respond to your hunger by eating and stop eating when comfortably full, your body naturally balances energy intake and expenditure over time.
But when external rules like calorie limits take over, those natural signals can become dulled. You can start to rely on your tracking app rather than your appetite. Research has shown that chronic dieting and external monitoring reduce interoceptive awareness which is the ability to recognise internal body signals.
5. It often increases guilt, anxiety and disordered patterns
People often report that calorie counting felt empowering at first, but over time many experience heightened anxiety and guilt when they ‘go over’ their daily allowance. Studies consistently show that calorie tracking can increase obsessive thoughts about food, particularly in women and those with perfectionistic traits. It can lead to rigid thinking, all-or-nothing cycles and, in some cases, a progression towards disordered eating. Food becomes a moral and mental endurance test - and that’s not healthy.
What’s more, when eating becomes about numbers (calories or otherwise), food can lose its joy. Social meals feel stressful, spontaneity disappears and reliance on ‘safe foods’ can increase. You might know exactly where you stand when you weigh out your own food at home, but anything else feels anxious eating anything unpredictable - and you might even find your life shrinking as a result.
How to stop counting calories (and start trusting your body again):
Supporting your health and wellbeing is about having energy for living, and that includes the freedom to enjoy food without a mental calculator running in the background.
Letting go of calorie counting can feel uncomfortable at first, especially if you’ve relied on it for structure or a sense of control. But with time, curiosity and self-compassion, it is entirely possible to build a healthier, more peaceful relationship with food. Here’s where I recommend you might start:
Understand why calorie counting doesn’t work. Begin by learning about the pitfalls and potential harms of calorie counting so your decision to stop is grounded in knowledge.
Take a break from tracking. Delete any apps or devices you use to log calories or steps, and try not to check labels for a while. Even a short break of a few days or weeks can be revealing. Notice how much mental space and energy frees up when you’re not monitoring every meal or snack.
Focus on balance, not numbers. Aim for meals that include a mix of protein, carbohydrates, fats, and colour. This natural balance supports steady energy, mood, and satisfaction - no maths required.
Bring awareness back to your body. Before eating, pause and ask: Am I physically hungry, or is something else driving this urge? After eating, reflect on how satisfied you feel. These cues are your body’s built-in feedback system which are far more reliable than any number on a screen. If this feels hard, you may benefit from some professional support (see below).
Be patient with yourself. If you’ve spent years memorising calorie values, it can take time to unlearn them. You may find yourself still doing the sums in your head for a while. Try not to judge this. Practice gently interrupting those thoughts and redirecting your attention to how the food tastes and how it makes you feel. Over time, they will fade.
Seek Intuitive Eating support if it feels hard. Working with a qualified professional can help you rebuild trust in your body and find confidence in your choices. Intuitive Eating is an evidence-based framework that offers the support and tools to help people to move away from external rules like calorie counting and towards a compassionate, flexible and nourishing relationship with food.
MY CONCLUSIONS
Calorie counting may promise dietary control but it is built on imprecise science and rarely delivers the weight-related results it promises, let alone lasting health. It also comes with significant risks to mental wellbeing, often leading to guilt and preoccupation with food, and sometimes setting the scene for more complex disordered eating.
Re-learning to eat with trust - guided by your body’s signals, nourishment, satisfaction and self-compassion - takes practice, but it is also profoundly freeing. Over time, you can discover that peace with food and lasting wellbeing don’t come from perfect adherence to numbers like calories, but from rebuilding a trusting relationship with your body and yourself.
Take a nourishing step forward today
Are worries about food, weight, or overeating draining your time, energy, and peace of mind? Are you struggling with low mood, persistent food cravings, poor gut health or digestive challenges?
Old mindsets and habits can be hard to shift on your own. If you are looking to find peace with food and your body, and eat with more confidence and ease, I can help you.
Please check out my private programmes here, or book an exploratory chat to find out more.
References:
Absorption of whole peanuts, peanut oil, and peanut butter. New England Journal of Medicine. (1980). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6251367/
Accuracy in wrist-worn, sensor-based measurements of heart rate and energy expenditure in a diverse cohort. Journal of Personalized Medicine. (2017). https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm7020003
Association of weight change, weight control practices, and weight cycling among women in the Nurses' Health Study II. International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. (2004). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15263922/
Calorie counting and fitness tracking technology: Associations with eating disorder symptomatology. Eating Behaviors. (2017). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28214452/
Discrepancy between the Atwater factor predicted and empirically measured energy values of almonds in human diets. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2012). https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/96/2/296/4576806
Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). (2016). https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2016-11867
Hall, K. D., Ayuketah, A., Brychta, R., et al. Ultra-processed diets cause excess calorie intake and weight gain: An inpatient randomized controlled trial of ad libitum food intake. Cell Metabolism. (2019). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31105044/
Herbert, B. M., Blechert, J., Hautzinger, M., Matthias, E., & Herbert, C. Intuitive eating is associated with interoceptive sensitivity: Effects on body mass index. Appetite. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.06.019
Is a calorie a calorie? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2004). https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/79/5/899S/4690223
Linardon, J., & Messer, M. Examination of the relationship between dieting app use and disordered eating, body image, and well-being. Appetite. (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104397
Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. New England Journal of Medicine. (2011). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22029981/
Long-term weight-loss maintenance: A meta-analysis of US studies. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2001). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11684524/
Mann, T., Tomiyama, A. J., Westling, E., et al. Medicare’s search for effective obesity treatments: Diets are not the answer. American Psychologist. (2007). https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.62.3.220
Mastication of almonds: Effects of lipid bioaccessibility, appetite, and hormone response. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2009). https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/3/794/4596705
My Fitness Pal calorie tracker usage in the eating disorders. Eating Behaviors. (2017). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28843591/
Peanut digestion and energy balance. International Journal of Obesity. (2007). https://www.nature.com/articles/0803735
Pontzer, H. Burn: The Misunderstood Science of Metabolism. Penguin Press. (2021).
Postprandial energy expenditure in whole-food and processed-food meals: Implications for daily energy expenditure. Food & Nutrition Research. (2010). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2897733/
Simpson, C. C., & Mazzeo, S. E. Calorie counting and fitness tracking technology: Associations with eating disorder symptomatology. Eating Behaviors. (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2017.08.005
Speakman, J. R. Energy expenditure: Measurement, interpretation and clinical application. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2013.97
Using an app to count calories: Motives, perceptions, and connections to thinness- and muscularity-oriented disordered eating. Eating Behaviors. (2021). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1471015321000957
Weight cycling and 6-year weight change in healthy adults: The Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Obesity. (2012). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2007.598
Weight-loss outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of weight-loss clinical trials with a minimum 1-year follow-up. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. (2007). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17904936/
Why calorie counting doesn’t work. ZOE Science & Nutrition Blog. (2024). https://zoe.com/learn/why-calorie-counting-doesnt-work
