Are All Calories Equal?

Whether we’re trying to lose weight or just eat healthy, most of us use calorie counting to judge whether we’re eating the right amount of food. The familiar 2,000 calorie a day guideline came from the FDA back in the 1990s, and it’s still the basis for the nutrition labels on every package. But is a calorie count really the only thing worth paying attention to? Our physical therapists say no.

Your Body Isn’t a Calorie Counter

Think of your digestive system like the gas tank in your car: it can only hold so much at once. The difference is that you can’t see a gauge showing how full you are, and it’s genuinely hard to measure exactly how much you’re consuming. On top of that, different foods fill you up differently, so equal amounts of different foods don’t satisfy you the same way. Because everyone’s blood sugar, hormone levels, and activity levels differ, it’s worth paying attention to how food makes you feel rather than fixating only on the number. If you feel a dip in energy after a meal or snack, or you’re hungry again an hour later, that’s a sign it isn’t a great food choice for you.

Try tracking how you respond to meals built around protein, carbohydrates, high fat, or low sugar, and you should start to see a pattern. Once you’ve compared a variety of foods, you can build a daily or weekly plan where your meals keep you satisfied for at least three hours and digest well, without gas, bloating, or heartburn. While you’re figuring this out, it helps to avoid sugary processed foods, since they tend not to make anyone feel genuinely good, which makes it harder to test your responses accurately.

What to Look for on a Food Label

Ingredients are listed from most prominent to least, so it’s worth avoiding foods where sugar, even cane sugar, shows up in the first three or four ingredients. Eating a lot of sugar has been linked to inflammation, heart disease, and diabetes, so a reasonable cap is around 20 grams at any given meal or snack. For perspective, a banana has about 17 grams of sugar, while a grande pumpkin spice latte has around 50.

It’s also worth noticing small extras like dyes, often listed as things like “red dye no. 40” or “yellow no. 5.” They’re usually used in small amounts, which is why they show up near the end of the ingredient list, but there’s little reason to add them to your plate if you can avoid them. Trans fats are worth skipping too: they raise your LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol while lowering your HDL, or “good,” cholesterol, a combination that increases your risk of both heart disease and stroke.

A Few More Simple Guidelines

If you drink diet soda for the fizz, try swapping in club soda with fresh lemon instead. You get the same crisp, bubbly feeling without the artificial sweeteners and additives. And don’t assume that low sodium is automatically better for you: some people need more sodium than others, so it’s worth paying attention to how your body reacts to different salt levels. Stick to whole foods, keep an eye on your blood pressure, and watch for cramping during exercise, which can be a sign of an electrolyte imbalance, including sodium.

The simplest way to improve your diet is to make a grocery list of healthy foods and stick to it, and try not to shop while you’re hungry. Whatever your body type or metabolism, you’ll generally benefit from choosing natural foods like fruits and vegetables over processed ones.