The reason anyone loses weight, regardless of their diet or exercise routine is because of calories.
More specifically, being in a calorie deficit.
Being in a calorie deficit means that you're taking in less calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight.
Burning calories through exercise is helpful to be in a calorie deficit, but as an adult with plenty of responsibilities (work, family, etc), it's extremely challenging to exercise enough (while not worry much about nutrition) to lose weight/body fat.
With any type of diet strategy (keto, vegan, low/no sugar, etc), the reason people lose weight is because they are reducing the number of calories they are eating per day.
Keto - Cutting out carbs (calories)
Vegan - Cutting out dairy & meat products (calories)
Low/No Sugar - Cutting out/back on sugar (calories)
Since calorie intake is the reason for progress being made, instead of playing a guessing game and hoping that your dieting strategy is going to help you lose weight, going right to the source of progress and tracking them is the most sure fire way to make progress with your weight loss goals.
There are plenty of other benefits to tracking & being aware of calories as well!
1. You're Not Uber Restricted With Your Food Choices and Can Still Enjoy Life.
Want a little bit of ice cream while still losing weight? Want to enjoy a happy hour glass of wine while staying on your diet? Calorie counting allows that, whereas most other typical diets do not.
As long as you are having meals each day consisting of nutrient dense foods (vegetables, lean proteins), you can have 'fun foods' in moderation. If those fun foods fit within your calorie goals for the day, you can make progress!
2. It's More Sustainable & Realistic For Every Day Life:
Most diets call you for you to completely cut out carbs or sugar or an entire food group from your life. If you want to lead an enjoyable life (going to parties, going on dates, family holidays, etc), that's incredibly challenging to stick with.
When you're tracking/counting calories, you can fit in anything (beer, sushi, ice cream, pizza, your favorite foods) in moderation.
3. You build lifelong habits and learn a significant amount about nutrition when tracking calories.
Yes, technically you could have an entire day of candy & beer, and lose weight on the scale, as long as you hit your calorie goals for the day.
Butttt you would feel terrible & would be really hungry.
When you track calories, you begin to see which foods are the most filling, while also being lower in calories (fruits, veggies, lean proteins).
You also begin to see how much the portion sizes of foods mean when it comes to weight loss as well.
While there are a ton of benefits, there are a few drawbacks:
1. Counting Calories Is A Skill Anddddd Learning A New Skill Takes Time.
When you first get started tracking calories, you're regularly looking up the calories of meals, scanning food labels, and doing your best to estimate how many calories a random homemade meal has.
It's a few extra minutes each meal to make a ton of progress and stay on track, but sometimes people don't like having to take that time out of their day. However, after you track calories regularly for a few weeks/months, it becomes easier (just like most skills).
2. Sometimes People Feel Restricted By Having A Calorie Goal.
If you have to stay within a certain amount of calories, it can feel a bit restrictive at times. For some people, that structure & limitation can make them anxious and not enjoy it.
However, when you want to make progress with anything (saving money, preparing & doing well for a job interview, etc), it's necessary to have limitations and stick with a certain budget/schedule.
Additionally, going back to some of the benefits, when done correctly, counting calories provides you the most flexibility while still accomplishing your goals.
While there are some potential drawbacks, the benefits certainly outweigh them and make counting calories a great option for anyone that wants to lose weight in an enjoyable, sustainable way.
How Much Weight/Body Fat Can You Lose From Counting Calories?
Even without exercise, if you are aware of your calories & consistently hitting your calorie goals to be in a calorie deficit, you could lose as much weight as you wanted (even without exercise). Exercise definitely helps the cause, but you could lose as much weight as you wanted or needed be continuing to be in a calorie deficit and counting calories.
I have had numerous clients lose 40+ pounds from counting their calories!
Can You Maintain Your Weight/Fat Loss Progress After Counting Calories?
Once you lose the weight, you can absolutely maintain that progress solely through nutrition and the habits you have in place.
Calorie counting helps to teach you those habits, such as:
Monitoring portion sizes/Moderation
Having balance with higher & lower calorie foods
Being consistent over the long term.
While many different dieting strategies work for different people, the reason they work is because they’re reducing their calorie intake.
Instead of having your progress plateau and/or not enjoying the process of losing weight on certain types of diets, try going directly to the source of your progress - calories! More specifically, counting and tracking your calories each day with a goal in mind.