A calorie is a calorie is a calorie

This is to all of you who love to eat, like I do, and feel as fit as a fiddle. Here's a little secret!

A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.

It makes no difference whether it comes from spinach or lard. For sure the spinach is nutritionally wiser, but the calorie is merely a measuring system. And counting calories as so many people do, can be a good idea, depending on your weight goals. But judging them is pointless. So my point is … you could gain weight eating apples if you eat too many because taking in more calories than you're expending results in weight gain. It's basic math!

Instead of counting calories, start getting some satisfaction. What I mean is, consider the idea of satisfying something more than just your physical hunger. Here’s how this plays out for me.

It’s three o’clock on a Sunday afternoon and I’m hungry. I contemplate what will take the edge off and choose a healthy snack of carrot sticks. Five minutes later I’m thinking, "That’s not what I wanted." So I go back to the kitchen, stand in front of the open refrigerator door, again, searching for something more. I choose an apple—healthy, yes, but still not doing the job. A few minutes later I’m mindlessly munching on some almonds, a couple pretzels, and then a yogurt, only to end up having that slice of pizza I really wanted in the first place. Sound familiar?

Cultivating this kind of awareness to know what will bring you satisfaction is something we've lost in our all too busy, instant, just-add-water lives. Please don't misunderstand me. I’m not advocating pizza everyday or suggesting that there’s anything wrong with apples and oranges. But if you’re going to graze for thirty minutes on ‘healthy’ foods like carrot sticks and almonds only to end up having that slice of pizza you wanted in the first place, then from a mathematical point of view, you’ve got some excess calories on your hands (or hips)! Striking a balance between satisfaction and healthy eating habits is the goal.

So next time you find yourself mindlessly munching, consider what will really satisfy your hunger. Sometimes it’s a healthy salad; sometimes it’s a cheeseburger. The point is, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie.