In a metaphorical sense, counting calories is like balancing a checkbook. In a psychological sense, some would argue that relating foods to money bases unfair value on some foods, i.e. chocolate cake is great, but it’s bad because it has (x) amount of calories.
If chocolate cake were truly harmful to the general public, the FDA would have a warrant out for every baker. However, that’s not the truth and in this case, calories are labeling a certain food with a certain number that deduces a certain expenditure of value.
Counting calories determines the possible energy one can derive from any given food. One calorie = 4.184 Joules, which means that it takes one calorie to raise one gram of water one degree celsius. In other words, calories in your body are used for their heat, which equates to energy.
Nowadays many online services translate foods into numerical values for free. Such outlets include google.com, caloriecount.com, thecaloriecounter.com and many more. Because these sites are so commonplace, does it mean that their services are highly valuable?
Most weight loss diets seem to think so, but not everyone agrees. It’s been noted that if the wrong person starts counting every calorie and they have an obsessive disposition, their health could be at risk.
Eating disorders have begun with mere weight watching or pinching of calories. Becoming obsessive with what goes in, is a precursor to anorexia and most often leads to extreme vigilance of all food intake.