Do you ever see someone eating a few biscuits for lunch, looking smugly at your superfood salad and saying - "well my lunch is only 200 calories and yours is at least 450"?
If someone wants to lose weight I would never suggest counting calories. It's not just about calories in - calories out. Your body doesn’t treat all calories the same way.
Nutrient dense calories come from vegetables, wholegrains, nuts, good quality lean meat, olive oil and eggs. These foods are full of protein, good fats and fibre, keeping you full for longer and triggering the release of hormones that tell the body to burn fat.
Eating refined carbs / sugar makes you crave even more, as it messes with your blood sugar levels, encourages fat storage and doesn't satisfy you for long, so you’re more likely to overeat.
Replace refined carbs with more nutrient dense foods. Feeling full for longer means you tend to eat fewer calories overall - and you get the additional benefit of all those additional nutrients.