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"&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Is it possible to reach our health and fitness goals when we stop counting calories?\u00A0 According to recent studies, the focus should be on food quality, portion size and not stressing about the numbers so much.\u00A0 The &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;American Council on Exercise&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; indicates \u201Ccounting calories is tedious, time-consuming and a sure-fire way to never enjoy eating.\u201D\u00A0 This has come as a breath of fresh air to those struggling and stressed with all the food calculations.\u00A0 Many nutritionists have emphasized simply writing down healthy meals in food journals tracking quality food intake in lieu of every gram, ounce or calorie. \u00A0&amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics spokesperson Heather Mangieri, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;\u00A0explains a calorie-controlled diet is not be best way to achieve health and often times is void of essential nutrients. \u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;The nutritional shift is leaning toward quality food intake, portion size and the importance of enjoying what you\u2019re eating. \u00A0Tracking what you eat is seen as a beneficial way to record patterns of eating habits but a waste of time to count calories. \u00A0The focus is now on quality real food selection first over counting calories. &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;\u00A0&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;We are smart enough to understand eating 100 calories of sugar is going to have a different effect on our body than 100 calories of vegetables.\u00A0 The &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;American Council on Exercise&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; questions the continuance of the flawed idea of calorie counting when eating for health is all about quality food.\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;According to the &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Harvard Public School of Health,&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; the best diet comes from quality food.\u00A0 Research is recognizing the relevance of calories but indicates the strongest evidence to attaining optimal weight and health is when the focus is on food quality.\u00A0 The &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Department of Harvard Nutrition&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; conducted a study including 120,000 healthy men and women over a 20-year period to debunk the theory \u201Ca calorie is a calorie.\u201D \u00A0Weight gain occurring during this time was attributed to participants eating potato chips, processed foods, fatty meats and drinking soda.\u00A0 Whereas &amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.verywell.com/eat-right-to-lose-weight-3121311&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;internalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;weight loss&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt; was reported in the subjects who consumed vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt.\u00A0 Researchers also implied one size fits all diets don&amp;amp;#39;t exist due to differing genetics and lifestyles. However, individuals can follow the &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;\u201CHarvard School of Public Health, Healthy Eating Plate\u201D&amp;lt;/em&amp;gt; and food pyramid for successful planning. \u00A0The &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;\u201CHealthy Eating Plate\u201D &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;focuses on food quality and divides plated food portions into \u00BD vegetable, \u00BC whole grains and \u00BC lean meat.\u00A0 \u00A0\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;When our focus is on nutrient dense foods in proper portion size, the need to count calories is really unimportant.\u00A0 You\u2019ve heard the famous quote &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;\u201Cnobody ever got fat eating too much kale\u201D &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;and this is the point of the research.\u00A0 Kale, just like other quality food is full of essential nutrients but lower in calorie.\u00A0 Eating right promotes a healthy lifestyle, enables us to maintain a healthy weight, improves athletic performance, enhances body functioning, and reduces our risk of illness.\u00A0 The &amp;lt;em&amp;gt;Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics &amp;lt;/em&amp;gt;concludes that it\u2019s the food we put in our body that matters proving diets don\u2019t work and counting calories isn\u2019t the success of our health and fitness.\u00A0\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Healthy Food Plate Recommendations:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;1. \u00A0&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Vegetables and Fruit:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; Comprises 50% of the meal. Fill \u00BD your plate with lots of color, texture and variety like spinach, kale, broccoli, peppers and squash for example.\u00A0 Give this simple recipe for Saut\u00E9ed Broccolini With Garlic and Olive Oil a try!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;2. \u00A0&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Whole Grains:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt;\u00A0Makes up \u00BC of your plate. \u00A0Enjoy whole grains like quinoa, brown rice or barley.\u00A0 These foods are high in fiber and great complex carbohydrates.\u00A0&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;3. \u00A0&amp;lt;strong&amp;gt;Lean Protein:&amp;lt;/strong&amp;gt; The remaining \u00BC of the plate is reserved for lean protein. Enjoy your favorite fish, chicken breast, tofu or beans.&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;4.\u00A0 Finally, drink plenty of water and stay active as part of a healthy lifestyle!&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;Sources:&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;https://www.acefitness.org/blog/3729/lifestyle-habits-that-don-t-work-part-ii&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;1&amp;quot;&amp;gt;American Council on Exercise, Lifestyle Habits that Don\u2019t Work, Counting Calories and The Calories In vs. Calories Out Myth, Jonathan Ross, 2/10/14&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/best-diet-quality-counts/&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Harvard School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source, The Best Diet: Quality Counts&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/tips-for-weight-loss/the-new-math-of-counting-calories&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;3&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, The New Math of Counting Calories, Sharon Denny, MS, RDN, 2/14&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term&amp;amp;#61;Mozaffarian%2C&amp;amp;#43;D.%2C&amp;amp;#43;et&amp;amp;#43;al.%2C&amp;amp;#43;Changes&amp;amp;#43;in&amp;amp;#43;diet&amp;amp;#43;and&amp;amp;#43;lifestyle&amp;amp;#43;and&amp;amp;#43;long-term&amp;amp;#43;weight&amp;amp;#43;gain&amp;amp;#43;in&amp;amp;#43;women&amp;amp;#43;and&amp;amp;#43;men.&amp;amp;#43;N&amp;amp;#43;Engl&amp;amp;#43;J&amp;amp;#43;Med%2C&amp;amp;#43;2011.&amp;amp;#43;364%2825%29%3A&amp;amp;#43;p.&amp;amp;#43;2392-404.&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;4&amp;quot;&amp;gt;New England Journal of Medicine, Changes in diet and lifestyle and long-term weight gain in women and men, Mozaffarian D et al., 6/23/11&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;&amp;lt;sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href=&amp;quot;http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/&amp;quot; data-component=&amp;quot;link&amp;quot; data-source=&amp;quot;inlineLink&amp;quot; data-type=&amp;quot;externalLink&amp;quot; data-ordinal=&amp;quot;5&amp;quot;&amp;gt;Harvard School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source, Healthy Eating Plate &amp;amp;amp; Healthy Eating Pyramid, 2011&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/sub&amp;gt;&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<https://www.verywell.com/food-quality-and-not-calories-is-what-counts-3989810>