Should We Count Calories Or Follow Our Hunger To Lose Weight?

by Ally
(Cape Town, South Africa)

Ally's Question:I am very interested in the question of whether a person needs to count calories and restrict them in order to lose weight, especially in light of the inaccuracies of calorie charts.

What do you advise for someone who needs to lose weight yet is not managing to do so on a low fat raw vegan diet?

Andrew's Answer:

Hi Ally.

My own experience is that caloric restriction is the most surefire way to lose weight, whether you're eating a Twinkies-only diet, Atkins, or a healthy raw food diet.

I can gain weight if I eat too much raw food, although I need to overeat by a greater amount to do so.

You can eat too much fruit for weight loss.

When my coaching clients are having problems, some form of caloric restriction is what I suggest off the bat.

It's true that caloric need calculators are frequently incorrect because they cannot account for the myriad factors which affect BMR.

This does not mean that calories are not a fair way to judge energy intake. It's more a matter of finding how your own metabolism may or may not vary from what the calculators tells you.

If you're not interested in counting, there are other techniques you can try.

In Raw Food Weight Loss and Vitality I outline a strategy of relying on water-rich fruits and veggies which has worked for me and some of my clients.

But in general, yes, paying attention to calories tends to bring results in weight loss.

Following up:

Learn everything you need to know about losing weight on a healthy raw food diet.