Our approach here at ZOE emphasises food quality over calorie counting with the aim to improve gut health, metabolic health, satiety, and energy levels.
It’s important to remember that focusing simply on calories does not consider the quality or context of food.
For example, an avocado and a takeaway burger may have the same number of calories, but they’ll have very different effects on your health in terms of your blood sugar, blood fat, and gut health.
Calorie absorption also varies between individuals and is influenced by food structure. Research shows that even with identical calorie labels, whole almonds result in lower calorie absorption than ground almonds due to differences in processing. If you’d like to hear more, have a listen to Dr Sarah Berry talk about this on our podcast 🎧 .
While calorie counting and calorie restriction can deliver rapid short-term weight loss, it’s usually unsustainable. Many people who lose weight through calorie limitation, regain it soon after. This is why generic advice to “eat less, move more” doesn’t work for most people.
Counting calories can even lead to an unhealthy relationship with food, leaving you feeling deprived, frustrated, and hungry.
Instead, we advocate for a different approach to supporting your long-term health. Focusing on:
Opting for high-quality food sources most of the time.
Honouring your body’s hunger and fullness signals - you can read more about this here.
Being present, and enjoying the food you eat.
Non-scale victories (wins that aren’t related to weight loss) such as increased energy, improved sleep and improved digestion. Our weight can fluctuate throughout life, which is why it's crucial to focus on positive health changes rather than just numbers on a scale where possible.
That being said, displaying calorie information in the app has a purpose too. We want to be transparent about nutritional information, which is why we display calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, and the fibre content of foods. However, it’s important to recognise that food is more than just calories.