Quantity or quality?
When it comes to our food, which is more important — quantity or quality?
The answer, as always, is it depends. (I know, I know.) But it’s true! And here’s why:
Weight loss and health are not the same thing. Yes, sometimes the two are correlated (and, depending on your individual situation, weight loss may very well bring about health benefits for you). But eating for weight loss and eating for health are two different objectives.
When it comes to weight loss, quantity is key and calories do matter. (And generally speaking - though not always - weight loss means eating less.) But when it comes to eating for health, the quality of our food (and therefore the vitamins, minerals, and other micronutrients that come with that) plays a much bigger role in helping us reach our goals.
And oftentimes the two go hand in hand.
If you focus on incorporating more high-quality, nutrient-dense foods into your daily eating, you're likely to eat fewer calories – even without tracking or focusing too hard on it. Which, actually, is part of why Aunt Susie can swear by intermittent fasting, while your brother insists that paleo is the only way to go, and you’ve had the most luck counting macros. None of you are technically wrong about your own experience. A lot of these “diets” have more in common than we think, when they emphasize eating a moderate amount of mostly real, whole foods.
For most of us reading this, when we ask whether quantity or quality matters, the answer is both.
We need to eat the right quantity to support our level of activity in the gym, at work, or in life (i.e., enough, but not too much). But focusing on high quality foods then helps ensure that we’re able to continue doing the things we love the most for years and years to come. And for those of us who have performance-based goals (I see you working on that deadlift PR or running your first marathon - you go!!), the breakdown of macronutrients (proteins, carbs, and fat) becomes important too. So in short, a lot of different factors go into determining the “right” strategy for you. And it’s not as easy as deciding between quantity and quality. If you’re reading this and thinking, “This is complicated. How can I figure out the strategy or approach that will work best for me and my goals?!” then it might be time for a personal nutrition coach.
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