3: Calorie Counting, 1917

Popularized by Lulu Peters in her book Diet and Health, With Key to the Calories, Calorie counting is restricting the amount of calories that you consume through food, and has been a staple of dieting for years. However, studies have shown that calorie counting on it’s own can be harmful. By cutting out calories, we are often restricting ourselves to unhealthier foods. Also, our bodies aren’t 100% efficient. According to a recent study on almond consumption, up to 20% of the calories we eat don’t get absorbed, (J Agric Food Chem, 2008). There are also studies that say calorie counting can have the opposite affect, due to the increased stress a decrease in eating can cause. Due to the minimal pros and increasing number of cons, it’s easy to say the calorie counting is more trouble than it’s worth.