Week 6: Calories Don't Count And Other Myths

I have gradually been making suggestions about health so we can all gradually build good habits. They say it takes about six weeks to build a new habit, and this is our sixth week. I want to emphasize the word "gradually." To paraphrase a Facebook friend, "I have been in the fitness industry for 30 years, and I have never seen anyone lose weight rapidly and keep it off." From my personal experience I have to agree. 

Hopefully by this time you have been to the doctor for a checkup and have discussed your individual health situation. If not, do so. Many people go too long between physicals. Writing down what you eat is an important step towards better health. Remember that fat people use diet drinks. Caloric drinks fool the body. Do not use either. Since today we be talking about calories, sorry, taking some basic vitamins is a good idea, as amount of vitamins in food is determined to some degree by how much you eat, and you need to eat less. 

You need to eat less because calories do count. I wish this was false. However, there are some interesting facts in this. If you eat a low carb diet with higher protein, your body will convert the protein to carbohydrate. This is inefficient. I have read estimates that this inefficiency is up to 500 calories a day. In addition, for many people the lower carbohydrate content in food may lead to less hunger, which leads to less eating. These points may be what is behind the "calories do not count" meme.  

So am I going to suggest you eat low carb? Yes and no. I am going to suggest you try various styles of eating and see what works for you. One of the major critiques I will make as I evaluate the various diet gurus out there is the false idea that one size fits all. There is no such thing as an average person. You have to make adjustments based on the various factors that make you you—employment, body type, genetics, allergies, and so on. For example, an overweight furniture mover will need more calories than an overweight truck driver. So adjust anything you read to fit your situation. 

So, how many calories should you eat? Well, I think you could predict what I was going to say—it depends. A better question is what should I weigh? That depends too. Here is one suggestion:

Get that tape measure out and start measuring that gut. Then you start working out and you start eating properly till that gut gets down close to where it was when you were in your 20's. Then you'll find out what your weight should be.  -Jack LaLanne 

This is not bad advice. However, I already weigh less than what I weighed at that time and I still need to lose more. The US is getting fatter and fatter, younger and younger.  

While there is a lot of criticism about the "old tried and true" Metropolitan Insurance tables, there really are no better alternatives. The image to the right is the first one done in 1959. For some reason the more modern charts suggest a larger weight. Here are those charts. Since rapid weight loss is not desirable, I suggest you add a few pounds to the ideal weight from the linked 1999 chart as you begin, to avoid this. If you have over 100 pounds to lose, add even more. 

Let's use the results to determine what we should be eating. I will use myself as an example. As a 5' 11" heavy framed man (well, I am) I should weigh no more than 185 lbs. Oops. But in any event I want to add a few pounds to this to avoid rapid weight loss, so let's say 195 lbs. (This is actually the procedure I used two years ago to determine my calorie levels, I almost weigh this weight right now.) There are many places to estimate your calorie level for a particular weight. Here is one.  I took the weight for the Metropolitan table, added a few pounds, and filled out the values for my age and so on. The result was that I should eat 2070 calories a day. I chose my calorie goal at 2000 calories. 

Our goal is not to lose weight. Our goal is to eat a healthy diet with the proper portions of food. By setting your calories close to what you should be eating, you will train yourself to eat the proper amount. Most of us who are overweight will lose weight at this level. If you don't lose much weight, don't worry. The purpose is not to lose weight, but to eat right. You will gradually tweak your eating over the next year anyway. We have lots of time, this is not a race. You do not want to reset your metabolism.  

FitnessPal will suggest you eat a low fat diet. That might be best for you, but it might not. I suggest at this point you eat what you are used to eating, just less of it. I am not including donuts, potato chips, and other junk food. Do not eat these. For me the macronutrients ratios I chose were 25% protein, 25% carbohydrates and 50% fat. If you have been writing down in FitnessPal what you eat, you already know what percentages you are eating. Keep it the same for now. We will experiment with different ratios later. One middle-of-the-road suggestion might be 20% protein, 35% fat, and 45% carbohydrates. You can adjust your FtnessPal recommendations to whatever level you want at their website. 

You cannot count calories unless you know what you eat. If you have not been writing down what you eat, do so. For at least one week do not try to restrict calories. If you already have been writing down what you eat, then start reducing your calories now. If you want to go back over anything I have said, click on the right under the category Plan What You Eat. 

As The Sphinx said in Mystery Men, "If you doubt your power, you give power to your doubts." You can do it. 

Action Plan Week 6: Count your calories. 

Scales are pretty smart. Here is the one I use. What you measure is what you improve. Measure your weight and record your food. 

Here is a list of scales at Amazon. Consider getting one that gives you your body fat percentage. 

Amazon Scale List