{"id":1468,"date":"2011-02-11T08:00:43","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T16:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/leanmeanvirilemachine.com\/?p=1468"},"modified":"2011-02-10T22:37:05","modified_gmt":"2011-02-11T06:37:05","slug":"wanna-gain-47-pounds-per-year-start-counting-calories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/2011\/02\/11\/wanna-gain-47-pounds-per-year-start-counting-calories\/","title":{"rendered":"Wanna Gain 47 Pounds Per Year? Start Counting Calories!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Calorie<\/a>I want you to eliminate the concept of “calories” from your mind altogether.<\/p>\n

Rather than helping people accurately track their energy surplus or deficit, calorie counting has given people a false<\/em> sense of control over their diet and physical activity levels.<\/p>\n

Instead of being the “magic bullet” that enables us to lose that gut once and for all, we end up burning up all our willpower on a task that is evidently ineffective at promoting weight loss.<\/p>\n

Revenge of the Nerds 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have a confession: I’m a total nerd.<\/p>\n

I spent my college years studying science and engineering, and I’m not ashamed to say that some of my favorite classes in college included quantum chemistry, linear algebra, and multivariable calculus. Yikes!<\/p>\n

These days I toil away performing research in the biofuels industry. Lab coat, goggles, the whole nine yards. The only thing I’m missing is a pocket protector and glasses held together with tape.<\/p>\n

So now I’m breaking out the calculator, pen and paper, and riding my steed back into the fray to do battle with the evil menace that is Calorie Counting, confident that I’ll come out the victor.<\/p>\n

Breakin’ the Law?
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

First off, may the record show that I am no denier of the first law of thermodynamics.<\/p>\n

Until someone proves to me that the human body is capable of spontaneous energy generation I will stick to my guns and assert that, indeed, it is necessary to eat less and\/or exercise more in order to lose weight.<\/p>\n

Where I part with most everyone else is that I believe that conscious<\/em> caloric restriction (i.e. forcing yourself into a state of hunger and\/or exhaustion–the typical “torture” route to fitness preached in countless best-selling books and DVDs) is only one of many<\/em> ways to do so, and is in fact an unsustainable and unsuccessful way.<\/p>\n

The Math Behind the Calories
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

‘Scuze me while I geek out, but let’s take a look at the numbers, shall we?<\/p>\n

Let’s assume that a hypothetical man (let’s call him Hector) has decided he wants to maintain the weight he is at and so starts keeping track of every calorie in everything he eats. Every nutrition label is followed, FitDay is consulted extensively, and countless hours are spent tracking and analyzing.<\/p>\n

He determines that his daily caloric intake should be 2,500 kcal, which is what The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently suggests that the average man should consume every day. Over the course of a year, Hector will therefore consume 912,500 kcal, dangerously close to a million of those little buggers.<\/p>\n

But a pound of fat contains a mere 3,500 kcal.<\/p>\n

So if Hector wants to gain less than a pound of fat per year, those calories he is so diligently counting must NOT exceed 3,500 kcal over the course of 365 days, whether it comes in one big binge over the holidays, or merely eating 9.6 kcal too much every day. (That’s less than two peanuts!)<\/p>\n

To give you an idea of the accuracy of his calorie counting necessary to prevent the gain of one pound of fat, we take the number of calories in a pound of fat, divide that by the number of calories consumed in a year, and multiply by 100%.<\/p>\n

In other words, If Hector is studiously counting every calorie, those counts need to be accurate to within 3,500 kcal \/ 912,500 kcal * 100% = 0.38%<\/em>. Similarly, if Bob had lower standards and was simply interested in gaining less than 10 pounds per year, his calorie counting would need to be accurate to within 3.8%. But is it really possible to know the calorie content of your food this precisely?<\/p>\n

Calories: The Shocking Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

On average, the listed calorie counts on restaurant meals and grocery products average somewhere between 15 and 20 percent higher than the actual calorie counts of the food as verified by laboratory tests.<\/p>\n

Hmmm, let’s see… If we assume that these calorie counts are 18% higher than listed (as this study<\/a> found), that completely blows away the 3.8% accuracy needed to prevent a gain of ten pounds per year, to say nothing of the measly 0.38% necessary to prevent gaining one pound per year.<\/p>\n

In fact, if you were to count calories to a T, that 18% disparity would hypothetically leave you 47 pounds heavier at the end of the year than you were at the beginning.<\/p>\n

Aw, shit<\/em>!<\/p>\n

But let’s be honest. That’s not the last of your problems. I mean really, do you honestly think you can keep track of every single calorie in every single food you consume? What happens if you eat less–or more–of the serving size (whatever the hell that means, anyway). Do you just guesstimate? And how about those cheat days? Everyone has ’em. Do you really believe that you can accurately guess your caloric consumption these days?<\/p>\n

My point is this: most people believe that ballpark estimates are good enough when it comes to calorie counting. But as I’ve shown you, it takes a knowledge of the true energy content of food that is far beyond our ability to accurately measure–much less our realistic willingness to obsess over–in order for calorie counting to really be a successful tool.<\/p>\n

The Hard Calorie Truth<\/strong><\/p>\n

Counting calories should work in theory, but it fails in practice.<\/p>\n

But even the most ardent calorie counter would be hard-pressed to pack on nearly 50 pounds in a year. So what’s really going on here?<\/p>\n

Well, more than I really have time to get into, but here’s a snapshot.<\/p>\n

By any measure, the inaccuracy in claimed calorie counts is far greater than the accuracy you need to effectively lose weight (or simply keep it steady).<\/p>\n

This understatement of caloric content by the food companies and restaurants is really unsurprising, when you think about it. In our calorie-conscious culture, consumers are demanding low-calorie food. What’s one way for food companies to meet that need? Why, under-reporting, of course! (Ya gotta sell them burgers, after all.)<\/p>\n

And here’s the best part: it’s all perfectly legal. The USDA only stipulates that the listed calorie content of food be within 20%<\/em> of the actual content. The horror, the horror.<\/p>\n

In other words: calorie counting is utterly worthless.<\/p>\n

But, But, But…<\/strong><\/p>\n

But maybe we can simply add 18% to all the calorie counts of foods we eat?<\/p>\n

Sadly, no.<\/p>\n

The problems with the “eat less, exercise more” paradigm go much deeper than that, as I outlined in a previous post. To briefly summarize, the change in energy stores in the body is influenced by many different factors, including, but not limited to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Gene expression<\/li>\n
  2. Hormones<\/li>\n
  3. Enzymes<\/li>\n
  4. Appetite<\/li>\n
  5. Energy Levels<\/li>\n
  6. Metabolism<\/li>\n
  7. Digestion<\/li>\n
  8. Thermic Effect of Food<\/li>\n
  9. Food Consumed<\/li>\n
  10. Activity Level<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Almost everyone focuses on 9 and 10 alone, which is a grave mistake.<\/p>\n

    Food consumed and activity level are the most within your conscious control, which is perhaps why they have been so over-emphasized, while 1 – 8 are largely “unconscious.”<\/p>\n

    But you CAN influence these unconscious factors, and it is in fact the more efficient way to get into (and stay in) shape. I went into how to optimize your diet at length on a previous post<\/a> and will be giving the same treatment to exercise and rest in the near future.<\/p>\n

    Bottom line: eat better, move smarter, and relax harder. Eliminate harmful temptations, build new positive routines, and make slow and steady progress. You’ll be surprised how much more effective getting (and staying) in shape is when you don’t have to starve yourself or spend half your life at the gym.<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I want you to eliminate the concept of “calories” from your mind altogether. Rather than helping people accurately track their energy surplus or deficit, calorie counting has given people a false sense of control over their diet and physical activity levels. Instead of being the “magic bullet” that enables us to lose that gut once […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[65,165,164],"class_list":["post-1468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nutrition","tag-calorie-counting","tag-hubris","tag-inaccuracy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1468"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1507,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1468\/revisions\/1507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/theguycancook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}