In Part 3 of this How Not to Lose Weight series, I talked about how most of your weight loss results will come from your diet as opposed to exercise. This means that you will need to watch what and how much you eat. Some people take this to the extreme and meticulously count calories. In this article, I will talk about whether or not it's worth it to do that. Part 1: Beware of fad diets. Part 2: Don't focus on losing weight. Focus on losing fat. Part 3: You can't exercise your way out of a bad diet. Part 4: Stop obsessing over calorie counts. Part 5: Don't diet in a straight line. There is a simple formula out there that shows how weight is either gained or lost: Calories In - Calories Burned = Weight Gain (Loss) If you take in more in calories than you burn, then you will gain weight. If you burn more calories than you take in, then you will lose weight. For reference, one pound of fat can contain anywhere from 3,436 to 3,752 calories.[1] A lot of people don't like this formula, but disputing the formula itself would mean arguing against the laws of physics. On paper it's true. The problem is that many people make assumptions about how much they eat, try to calculate how much they burn, and extrapolate their weight loss projections. It's not the formula's fault, it's the people who use it. They figure... "According to this online calculator I found, it says I burn 2,000 calories per day. If I eat exactly 1,500 calories every day, I will lose one pound per week!" These people usually end up disappointed. Three reasons why are:
Is calorie counting a waste of time? While you should have at least some idea of how much you’re eating, it is my personal opinion that sweating over exact calories is a waste of time and an unnecessary source of stress. The first problem with counting calories is that you will end up being off for a variety of reasons. To start off, the amount of calories listed on the nutritional label is not necessarily the amount of calories you actually absorb during digestion. For example, someone did a study that had people eat almonds. After their stool samples were analyzed, it was found that the calories were overestimated by 32%.[6] The nutrition labels may not even 100% accurate to begin with. In the United States, the FDA allows for a margin of error of as much as 20 percent![7] And as far as online nutritional information calculators like SELFNutritionData or CalorieKing are concerned, I'm pretty sure I remember times when I typed in the same food and had each of them spit out something different. Portion sizes are also notoriously hard to judge. In Part 3, I mentioned a study about how people grossly overestimated how many calories they burned during exercise and underestimated how many calories they consumed. Even nutritionists aren’t immune to this. In her book, “The Portion Teller Plan,” Lisa Young talks about how she and her nutritionist friends were asked to guess how many calories were in their food. Guesses were all over the place and varied by as much 500 calories.[8][9] Finally, as far as calculating your Basal Metabolic Rate (or how many calories you burn at rest) by going to some website and entering your height, weight, and age? Are you kidding me? Something like this depends big time on your hormonal profile, and can even change based on your sleeping and eating patterns.[3][4] The only way to know for sure is to get it checked out at a lab… and even that will only tell you what it was at that point in time. Think about it. Do you think that some 25 year old guy with a belly who is 6’2” (1.88m) tall and weighs 235 lbs (107 kg) will have the same BMR as a bodybuilder like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime? Because when it comes to that online calculator, those were the stats he would enter too.[10] In summary... In conclusion, don't sweat over this stuff. You don't need spreadsheets and measuring scales for your meals. Just use common sense... If you used to drink soda and now you don't, you will reduce your caloric intake. If you decrease your portion sizes, you will reduce your caloric intake. If you fast, or skip a meal, you will reduce your caloric intake. If you need to tighten up your belt every few months because your pants start sagging, you are on the right track. In the final part of this series, I will talk about the biggest issue with applying the "Calories In minus Calories Out" formula, and what could happen if you stay on a diet for too long. Part 1: Beware of fad diets. Part 2: Don't focus on losing weight. Focus on losing fat. Part 3: You can't exercise your way out of a bad diet. Part 4: Stop obsessing over calorie counts. Part 5: Don't diet in a straight line. Thank you and God bless. References
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