Calorie Counting

In this form of dietary manipulation excessive caloric intake is seen as the main cause of excessive weight.  Traditionally, proponents have seen loss of weight and maintenance of good health as being part and parcel. The theory goes that brute force restriction of calories leads to loss of weight and should therefore lead to better health. However as we have seen above, it probably works the other way – better health leads to loss of weight if it is needed.  Furthermore it is now widely recognised that not all calories are created equal.  Foods that have the same quantity of calories can be of different nutritional quality and can have very different effects on your health.

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Pros

It is a time-tested way to lose weight

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Cons

It’s not much fun

Caloric restriction can lead to overeating later (”Yo-yo dieting”)

Caloric restriction may not be nutritionally beneficial to your health overall.

So loss of weight might be at the expense of your health

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