Focus on WHAT you Eat

1. Just Breathe Less

   Blindly eating less to cure obesity is like breathing less to cure allergies. It may offer temporary “relief” but ultimately fails because it is masking symptoms rather than fixing causes. Will eating only 1,200 of anything cause you to lose weight? Yes. So will cutting off your leg. That doesn’t mean either is a good idea. Counting calories is­­ a euphemism for starvation. It’s the definition of an eating disorder. [5] And the sooner you are able to free yourself from oppressive calorie myths, and instead enjoy eating more—but higher-quality food—the sooner you will live your best life. Shifting our focus from calorie quantity to food quality is easier said than done considering the constant barrage of calorie myths we’re hit with daily. To help you free yourself from disproven calorie math, here are more of my favorite common sense reasons calorie counting cannot be required for long term health and fitness.

2. Nobody Knew What A Calorie Was BEFORE the Obesity Epidemic

   If we need to constantly count calories to avoid obesity, then how did we have about ten times less obesity before anyone knew what a calorie was, let alone count them? [6 – 8]

3. Every Other Species Avoids Obesity Without Counting Calories

   If we need to constantly count calories to avoid obesity, how does every other animal on the planet avoid obesity even though they cannot count?

4. We Don’t Need to Count Anything Else We Eat

   If we need to constantly count calories to avoid obesity, why don’t we need to count everything else? What about Vitamin C in and Vitamin C out? How about Zinc in and Zinc out? And what about counting the other 18 minerals, 12 vitamins, 9 essential amino acids, 8 conditionally essential amino acids, and the 2 essential fatty acids?

5. No Other Life Sustaining Bodily Function Needs to Be Counted

   If we need to constantly count calories to avoid obesity, then why don’t we need to “count” blood sugar to avoid diabetes? Or what about “counting” blood pressure to avoid hypertension? And how is it that when we take more water in, more water out happens unconsciously? 

6. 6

   It Is Impossible to Count Calories In

   The only way to actually count calories in the real world would be to only eat food that has nutrition facts labels on them. Even in this impossible case, these labels have a 10% margin of error. [9] While this may not seem like a big deal, considering that the average person eats about a million calories per year, and 10% of a million is 100,000 calories margin of error, which translates into 30 lbs. worth of body fat, couldn’t we each gain 30 lbs. of fat per year even after counting every calorie we ate due to measurement error?

7. It Is Impossible to Count Calories Out

   If we need to constantly count calories to avoid obesity, then how do we accurately account for the 400 to 700 calories our liver burns daily? Or what about the 200 to 400 calories we burn digesting food daily? And how do we count the 100 to 700 calories we burn per day building and repairing bodily tissue? 75% of the calories we burn every day have nothing to do with exercise, walking, or anything measured by any expensive fitness gadget, so how are we supposed to accurately and practically keep track of these? [10 – 12]

8. The Flat Earth Theory of Weight Loss

   Counting calories is the flat earth theory of weight loss. It’s reasonable. It’s intuitive. But it is wrong once we understand modern science. The research is clear and the common sense is undeniable. Every single society and species that ever existed that focused foods found directly in nature—vs. processed low-calorie edible products—stayed slim without counting calories. Similarly, when cultures or creatures start eating processed edible products, they start seeing increasing rates of obesity and diabetes.

9. Just Frown Less and Smile More

   Ending obesity is not about eating less or exercising more just like ending depression is not about frowning less and smiling more. Both health and happiness are about quality, not quantity. They are about filling ourselves with so much good that we don’t have room for bad. It’s what we did prior to the obesity and diabetes epidemics, and it’s what we’ll do to end them. No math needed.

10. Food Is More Delicious Then Math

     

References
1. Crawford D, Jeffery RW, French SA. Can anyone successfully control their weight? Findings of a three year community-based study of men and women. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Sep;24(9):1107-10. PubMed PMID: 11033978.
2. Summerbell CD, Cameron C, Glasziou PP. WITHDRAWN: Advice on low-fat diets for obesity. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008 Jul 16;(3):CD003640. Review. PubMed PMID: 18646093.
3. Pirozzo S, Summerbell C, Cameron C, Glasziou P. Should we recommend low-fat diets for obesity? Obes Rev. 2003 May;4(2):83-90. Review. Erratum in: Obes Rev. 2003 Aug;4(3):185. PubMed PMID: 12760443.
4. ” A word about quitting success rates .” American Cancer Society :: Information and Resources for Cancer: Breast, Colon, Prostate, Lung and Other Forms. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Jan. 2011.
5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5.. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 2013. Print.
6. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en
7.http://www.prb.org/Articles/2002/HowManyPeopleHaveEverLivedonEarth.aspx
8. http://www.google.com/publicdata/directory
9. Urban LE, Dallal GE, Robinson LM, Ausman LM, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. The accuracy of stated energy contents of reduced-energy, commercially prepared foods. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jan;110(1):116-23. PubMed PMID: 20102837; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2838242.
10. Wang Z, Heshka S, Zhang K, Boozer CN, Heymsfield SB. Resting energy expenditure: systematic organization and critique of prediction methods. Obes Res. 2001 May;9(5):331-6. Review. PubMed PMID: 11346676.
11. 1998: Poehlman E T; Melby C Resistance training and energy balance. International journal of sport nutrition 1998;8(2):143-59
12. Whitehead, Saffron A.; Nussey, Stephen (2001). Endocrinology: an integrated approach. Oxford: BIOS. pp. 122. ISBN 1-85996-252-1.

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