Are There Really Good Calories & Bad Calories?

Today’s topic? Calories. Good calories bad calories, all calories. Is there even such a think as a good or bad calorie? Or is a calorie just a calorie? Though the way most people look at and think about them has shifted, calories (and the counting of them!) are still a hot topic that I get questions on all of the time. How many calories should I be eating to lose 5 lbs in 2 weeks? I eat this many calories, why can I still not fit into my jeans? How many calories are in my favorite chicken parmesan dish? I ate this bag of chips, how many calories are in it? Food is not calories alone. If it was, we would all be able to eat a certain amount chocolate cake and be perfectly healthy. And we know this is clearly not the case. All foods are not created equal. They are complex mixtures of a wide variety of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fibers, and additives. Though I like to tell people to not focus so much on calories, I am still a dietitian after all, and calories do exist and can be used as a frame of reference in a healthy way. However, they don’t have to be the focal point. Let me show you why. The good calories, the bad calories, and the ugly.