I had a similar problem. Actually you need to consider the type of calories you're eating. If your consuming foods which cause your blood sugar to spike to quickly then you will gain weight. It's important to remember a calorie is not a calorie that mantra is so out of date now. I've you eat white bread, white pasta or white rice for example these will cause a greater spike in blood sugar compared to their brown alternatives. When you blood sugar spikes your body produces insulin. The job of insulin is to convert the excess sugar into fat.
So if for example you consume 1200 calories but you eat foods which create a blood sugar spike....then for ease lets say 600 calories are shunted to your fat stores. This triggers an imbalance in your energy because....
Your brain nows you have consumed 1200 and your body wants to burn 1200 but the insulin has robbed you of 600 calories because it converted the excess blood sugar into fat! This is where the problem begins....
You're body wants to burn 1200 calories but you only have 600 calories available...what happens?? You start to feel hungry again...it's a vicious circle.
The brown alternatives are better for you because they are much higher in finer something which isn't talked about enough! The fibre actually offsets the insulin response by slowing the absorption of the sugar in the blood stream.
Understanding this is very important. I hope this helps anyone reading it...2 things to take from this post...1) A Calories is not a calorie, science has proved this....eating a calorie of sugar is far worse that a calorie of veg and 2) FAT DOES NOT MAKE YOU FAT....avoid low fat foods because they are loaded with sugar and will make you gain more weight for the reasons I mentioned above.
Avoid drinking fruit juice too.....that's the worst thing in the world, so not healthy! Don't fall for the marketing.
The crazy thing is I know all of this but I'm completely hooked on sugar! This is my battle!
Take care guys hope this post helps....if you have any questions or want me to elaborate on any of it then just ask.
Jay