Photo by syvwlch
Remember second grade when your teacher asked what you wanted to be when you grew up? Maybe you wanted to be a cowboy, or a doctor, or an astronaut, or a supermodel. Or a tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian. Sure, why not? Aim high.
But one thing I can guarantee you didn’t say is, “I want to be the world champion at weighing and recording every scrap of food I eat.” If you did say that, please go find another blog, because I don’t have the training to deal with that kind of emotional disorder.
So what happened?
When did you decide it was a good idea to get a scale and start measuring your cottage cheese like a drug dealer cutting heroine?
Maybe it’s when you realized you couldn’t fit in your favorite jeans any more. Sucks, doesn’t it? Or when you got winded climbing a flight of stairs.
Whatever it was, you knew you had to lose some weight, and “everyone knows” that means you need to eat less and exercise. Just like 400 years ago everyone knew the Earth is flat, 100 years ago everyone knew disease is caused by bad humours, and 20 years ago everyone knew nobody needs a portable phone.
Exercise is a great idea, but counting calories? That’s not a bad idea just because it’s hard. It’s focusing on the wrong thing:
It takes extreme skill and dedication to accurately tally your calorie intake every day, if it is even possible. As we saw yesterday, calorie counts at restaurants can be off by over a hundred calories, and packaged foods are legally allowed to be 20% higher than their labels claims. You may have better luck with home cooked meals, but it requires the detailed weighing, researching and recording of every ingredient you use.
And toward what goal?
Very few people have tested their resting metabolic rate (how many calories you burn while doing nothing). To balance your energy expenditure you’d also need to account for your physical activity each day (dream on if you think the machines at the gym, or even your heart rate monitor, are giving you accurate calorie expenditures).
Don’t measure things that don’t matter
You can count how many seeds there are on the strawberries you eat if you really want to. It won’t matter though, because that’s not what makes a difference toward your weight.
And it really is the same with calories. Sure, 100 calories of beef is less than 200 calories of beef. But is 100 calories of cotton candy better for you than 200 calories of chicken? Does it even make sense to ask that question?
Ahahah i got a kick out of that one! I hate calorie couting…And trust me i am that i wanta be a cowgirl ballarina baker and best mom in the world while beeing a supermodel in newyork and fit a size 0. Yup aim high or sideway here??? I stop counting . I switch food. Fruit salad for breakfast rather then peanut butter toast.(ok ok, i still eat peanut butter directly in the bucket…can’T help it! ) But honestly i went in less then 2 month from a size 9 to a 6 and i stay in that range . I eat well, more veggies and less carbs. People look at me and say ” AHAH that won’T last!!” I smile and switch subject… ” so your still wearing your maternity clothes? NEAT!” Isn’t the child 5? I don’T mean to be mean but seeing people complain that they are fat and DO NOTHING TO HELP THEMSELVES and go out to chicken fry blows my mind!!!! OK I apologizes needed this off my chest. None the less Thank you Drew , i love laughing and well changing!!
Venting is good for the soul. 🙂
I know how you feel, I see fat people now and I smile at them, kind of obnoxious I know, but like I have a secret I am dying to share with them but they would love to know it!! Alas, its a social more to not approach people and point out their failings, so I guess I just dont do it. 🙁
Some day I am going to print up a T-shirt with the total lbs lost and say “Ask me how I did it!” Its a gimme and I love gimmes.
That’s a great T-shirt idea. I may just steal that. 😀
Drew, I agree with you completely. I have to lose some weight (for health & job reasons), and have decided to join you in your quest of cutting down on carbs. I have tried this previously and had some success, but the holidays rolled around…anyway, I did have a question. After a certain point of losing weight with low carb, wouldn’t calories in vs. calories out come into play again?
Mike, the second-biggest problem with calories in vs. calories out is that no one has any idea how many calories are going out. And that’s because of the biggest problem: the specific foods you eat — protein, or fat, or carbs, or fiber — affect the calories out.
Load up on carbs and your pancreas pumps out insulin, your metabolism slows down, and all that sugar gets pushed into your fat cells. That happens at levels of carb consumption that are considered extremely low by most dieticians.
Low-carbers who count like to stay under 100 grams per day. I hate counting, so I just avoid things with carbs as much as possible. Even I can count to zero.
I count calories not for calories in, calories out but for purely scientific purposes. If I find myself not losing weight or gaining weight I have something to go back to look at. Though when I do that I am caring less about the calories and more about the macronutrient ratios.
Dear FGWL,
That sounds like a lot of work, quasi-hobby. I believe in garbage-in, garbage out, but when you work in terms of scientific review, at least make it worth your while to get some measured result. Good Luck!