Good Calories vs Bad Calories: Ultimate Guide
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: Intro
When you hear 'good calories vs bad calories', I'm sure various foods pop into your head.
You may think foods like pizza, burgers and ice cream are examples of 'bad calories'.
Whereas broccoli, sweet potato and fish are perhaps all examples of 'good calories'.
But is this really the case?
Do 'good and bad foods' really exist?
And should you even be paying attention to any of this?
This article will answer all three questions and more, so let's begin.
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: What Should and Shouldn't You Avoid
I know this is an exciting section for you, and I'm excited for you too!
It's a key reason why you're here. You want to know how to differentiate between good food and bad food - so you know precisely what should be avoided to make significant progress.
But before I give you all the answers, I will play devil's advocate for a moment - and propose some questions…
What makes 'bad calories', bad? Is it sugar? Carbs? Gluten? Dairy? Salt?
What makes 'good calories', good? Is it because it's 'healthy'?
Who determines which foods fall into the 'healthy' and 'unhealthy' categories, and how? Is it you? Relatives? Friends? Your favourite trainer? A random video on YouTube?
For example, is fruit bad or good for you? It contains loads of vitamins, but then it also contains sugar.
Let's get to the bottom of this mind-boggling situation.
First and foremost, the science.
Because that's important, correct? It's an interesting one - because there are actually 0 guidelines in the literature for what makes good and bad foods.
So what does this mean? It means that your arbitrary standards have been making that decision.
That or someone else's misinformed advice, most likely a self-proclaimed 'doctor' - a popular social media trend nowadays.
Because here's the thing; if you've been struggling with your weight for years or decades, how about considering that perhaps what you think you know isn't actually what you should be doing? Maybe what you think you know has been part of the issue.
This leads me to my next point - WHAT IF you saw food as not necessarily being 'about good calories vs bad calories, and instead saw it as 'just food'? With some simply having a higher nutritional value than others.
Note:
Of course, weight struggles do come down to a variety of reasons. Still, I'm speaking specifically about misinformation around the 'bad calories, good calories' situation here - because it's popular.
And remember, I was only playing devil's advocate.
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: How Seeing it Like This May Be Negatively Impacting You
First of all, and perhaps surprisingly to you - no food in isolation can make you gain weight.
Not bread, pasta, carbs, pizza, doughnuts, fruit or sugar.
Why? Because a calorie deficit is what determines whether or not you'll lose weight, and not 'bad calories good calories' - whatever that may even mean.
So what's a calorie deficit? A calorie deficit is when you eat fewer calories relative to the number of calories required for maintaining your current body weight. A deficit can be created by reducing the number of calories consumed and/or increasing energy expenditure.
Meaning if you had a Krispy Kreme doughnut or two throughout the day, every day, but you were still in a calorie deficit over weeks and months - you would lose weight.
But you make it challenging for yourself because you continue to demonise the doughnuts and sugar, as you've labelled them 'bad calories', meaning that whenever you want to improve, you cut it out and prioritise everything you deem an 'organic superfood'.
But ask yourself - is this really sustainable?
Because when you're three weeks in and hungry at your buddy's birthday party and the food looks super delicious, you'll end up helping yourself to everything that you deemed as 'bad calories' and had religiously avoided.
The issue? You'll feel like you've 'ruined all your progress' - causing you to go on a guilt trip, beat yourself up, and then binge on enough 'banned' foods to feed a giant.
Until you feel like you want to change, and then repeat the same cycle.
"Oh, but Leo, too much sugar and Krispy Kreme Donuts are bad for you."
Well, here's the thing:
To determine whether someone eating Krispy Kreme Donuts is 'bad', you'd need to consider everything they're eating throughout the day, e.g. has it been part of a well-balanced diet where they've consumed plenty of protein, fruit, veg and fibre?
Or are they eating the doughnuts on top of the daily cakes, crisps and hot dogs?
Too much of anything is bad for you, even water.
Ultimately, deciding which are good and bad foods is likely a significant reason you've often had a tough time on previous fitness journeys.
Which ironically doesn't sound like a healthy way to live life anyway.
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: So What Should You Do Instead?
When embarking on a new nutritional approach: ask yourself, do you think you'll stick to it for at least 6/8/10 months? Remember, this isn't just a 6/8/10 week thing - this is for life.
As mentioned before, do your best to see food as just food.
Yes, some have better nutritional value than others. There's no denying that you should prioritise these, but it doesn't mean you should cut out the more 'fun' foods you love and enjoy.
For example, had a great day with your nutrition where you've already prioritised your fruit, veg and protein, and have some calories left for the last slice of red velvet cake from your mate's recent baby shower?
Then have it. Because for as long as you're in a calorie deficit, you're good.
The key to sustainable life-long progress is building a good relationship with food, getting over the 'good food, bad food' mindset, and ensuring that nothing is off-limits.
This is partly why I also never tell Kairos Online members to get fixated on excluding or including typically demonised foods such as sugar, regardless of their goal.
In fact, Kairos Online members will have 0 foods off-limits. Because as long as you hit calorie and protein targets, anything's allowed - which doesn't worry me.
"OMG LEO, ARE YOU MAD!?!?!"
Let me explain.
Some people, potentially you included, become too obsessed with 'having' to avoid whatever arbitrary food has been labelled as 'bad calories'.
This potentially causes stress because 'fun' foods are almost everywhere. These exclusions can also further encourage a worse relationship with food.
Because telling someone to avoid something only makes them want it more. If I told you not to think of a pink elephant, you would think of a pink elephant.
Want to worsen your relationship with food? Then tell yourself that you can't have something you love eating and that everything is pretty much good food vs bad food.
Maybe you can avoid it for one to four weeks maximum. Still, once that period is over and the floodgates open, best believe you may likely binge on tons of whatever you previously 'banned'.
What a surprise, right? It's almost as if stone-cold banning it isn't always the answer. Becoming a healthier version of you also means realising that you can enjoy your favourite foods as part of a balanced diet and still make fantastic progress.
Although it is essential to mention that just because no food is off-limits, it doesn't mean there are no limits.
Difference.
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: How Do You Know Who You Can Trust Online?
One popular question from Kairos Online members is, "How do I know who I can trust for nutrition and fitness information?" which is a great question you're probably wondering about.
Because the issue with thousands of fitness accounts with clashing information online nowadays makes it easy to feel overwhelmed. Summing it up into one clear and concise answer without additional context can be challenging.
Although a tip I was given on my podcast episode with Andrew Coates is that you should be wary of anyone who provides 'extreme' information, e.g. cutting out entire food groups, always describing things as 'must' do's etc.
A perfect example of this could be "Carbohydrates are bad calories. So you must cut out carbohydrates to lose fat, which is the only way."
And on another of my podcast episodes, Jordan Syatt explains that the fitness industry often runs on pendulums of extremes, e.g. everything is 'good or bad', 'healthy or unhealthy' etc. Whereas in reality, it's never as black and white as that.
This also highlights the reasoning behind this 'good food vs bad food' article.
Why are these good examples? Because without any context, it's almost impossible to tell you that you 'must' do X, Y and Z or that X, Y and Z are 'bad'.
100% foolproof? Not really, but it's a good principle when looking for fitness information online.
The best coaches usually give an 'it depends' answer and, most importantly, follow it up with a reason for 'why' it depends.
Although admittedly, this is getting a little tougher nowadays with an increased demand for short, quick and concise videos where you only have about 3 seconds to grab a viewer's attention.
Good Calories vs Bad Calories: Ending
Thank you for reading this 'Good calories vs bad calories: back to basics' article.
I hope you enjoyed the read and it makes your life easier.
In the meantime, why don't you sign up for my email list by clicking here.
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Worst case scenario? You sign up, don't like it, and unsubscribe, having lost nothing.
Best case scenario? It helps change your life.
Speak soon,
Leo
P.S. If you know someone with a big 'bad calories, good calories' mindset, consider forwarding this article to them. It could positively change their life and make the world's difference.
