Which One Matters...Calories, Carbs or Fat?

As you might expect, they all do. If you look at any one diet plan, you’ll see that there are a lot of conflicting strategies on how to lose weight and stay healthy. Any weight loss program that focuses strictly on low fat or high protein or no carbs doesn’t give you the whole picture. Here is an overview of why each of these matter:

Carbs - there are simple carbs and complex carbs. Complex carbs are found in fruits and veggies and are very good for you in providing energy. They digest slowly because your body has to work a bit to break them down. Simple carbs are foods that are very refined and processed. They take little effort to digest and spike your insulin level leading to higher fat storage. Also, these kinds of carbs tend to not satisfy hunger and leave you wanting more to eat. After removing them for a few days, your body will start to feel full on lean proteins and complex carbs...fewer cravings. You may have heard to avoid the white stuff. That's a group of simple carbs that we really need to live without: salt, white flour, white flour pasta, white rice, potatoes and sugar.

Fat - Fat is necessary, but there really are different types of fat. If you start to read food labels, be especially careful that the number of calories from fat are no more than 30%. More than that, and it means that you are eating an item that is likely to be nutritionally dense. When you start to focus on fruits, veggies and lean meat, you are naturally consuming low fat foods.

Calories -- Counting calories can really be complicated...or not. The difference is in the kinds of foods you're eating. For example, if you eat out a lot or eat your meals out of a cardboard box or can, you will have a really tough time getting everything logged correctly. Again, if you are eating plant-based foods and lean meats, it's pretty easy to track calories because you know exactly what you’re eating. After a few days you start to learn how many calories are in each component of your meal.

Watching these three categories will teach you to quickly identify which foods are most valuable. The goal is to comprise your diet primarily of foods that are nutritionally rich. Raw fruits and vegetables are high in fiber and nutrients but relatively low in calories.

Keep it simple! Stressing over counting anything -- carbs, fat or calories -- can be a sure way to grow weary fast. One easy way to assess a food’s nutritional value is to consider how close it is to it’s natural state. Raw foods contain the most nutrients and health benefits, frozen is the next best option, and canned is a last choice because food has been so highly processed that much of the value has been compromised.