While there is more going on than calories in/calories out, it does make for a good starting point for many people. Part of tracking that sort of diet tends to lead to recognizing that you can eat a lot more of the healthier foods within those calories then you get from highly processed foods. Also that you’re not burning off that big mac with normal exercise. It takes a lot of exercise to burn 1000 calories.
While there is more going on than calories in/calories out, it does make for a good starting point for many people. Part of tracking that sort of diet tends to lead to recognizing that you can eat a lot more of the healthier foods within those calories then you get from highly processed foods. Also that you’re not burning off that big mac with normal exercise. It takes a lot of exercise to burn 1000 calories.