02/09/2022
This phrase drives me bonkers. Though I'm sure I have used it too. 🤦♀️
The idea is that food is only worthy of being eaten if it has a certain kind of nutrient composition.
Want to know a secret though? A calorie IS a nutrient. And for a calorie to be in a food, it has to have at least one macronutrient (carbohydrates, protein, fat).
A calorie is just the measurement unit for energy found in food. It is imperfect because our bodies don't access or use fuel in as straightforward a way as we measure it.
But because of fearmongering about "excess" calories and weight, guidelines that suggest inadequate calorie needs for adults we tend to think we need to "make the most" of anything we eat. This is false.
[Image description: all slides have writing on a pale pink square that sits over top a darker pink background with a grid and blobs of various pink - brown/terracotta colours) the words are:
slide 1: diet culture phrases to retire "empty calories".
Slide 2: Why? a calorie is a nutrient. It is energy for our body. If a food has calories it has MACRONUTRIENTS. All macronutrients perform important functions in our body (yes even straight up sugar).
Slide 3: What to do instead. Remind yourself that all calories are just fuel for your body. Calories allow you to live. You need calories. Full stop. Reflect: when did you first learn about calories as "bad"? Unfollow accounts that use this phrase.]
