Why calorie counting is ridiculous

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Replies

  • mmeier99
    mmeier99 Posts: 3 Member
    Advice from someone involved with the Biggest Loser?

    No thanks, I'll pass. Stupid makes me fat.

    YES!
  • agarlits
    agarlits Posts: 429 Member
    Calorie deficit = Weight loss. Burning more than you take in creates the deficit. Less in + more out = math. Math is the most basic form of Science ie.. provable theory's that can be duplicated under a given set of circumstances. Therefor this argument has no logical basis.
  • littlelaura
    littlelaura Posts: 1,028 Member
    I agree members of my family when I was a kid didn't have a weight problem I am not saying they didn't ever gain weight but
    we all ate real food, not much junk other than Friday pizza night and my mom always cooked, we rarely ate out and my entire family always went on walks, bike rides, played tennis , swimming, sledding, cross country skiing , so there wasn't much time sitting around.
    I agree with the idea of real food vs all the crap we have, I pray when my daughter has children some day she wont feed them chicken nuggets or any so called kiddie fun foods. I also think I gained a lot when I found the computer. Too easy to sit all day, at work then at home on social media.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,988 Member
    She's apparently great at instructing workouts. Doesn't sound so great on her philosophy on nutrition. If calories don't count, then I'd like to see her eat 500 calories a day over her TDEE with "quality" foods and see if weight gain doesn't occur.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MzOnree
    MzOnree Posts: 124 Member
    My mother had a calorie book that was way before the 70's. Calories have been around for a long long time.
  • csuhar
    csuhar Posts: 779 Member
    I agree members of my family when I was a kid didn't have a weight problem I am not saying they didn't ever gain weight but
    we all ate real food, not much junk other than Friday pizza night and my mom always cooked, we rarely ate out and my entire family always went on walks, bike rides, played tennis , swimming, sledding, cross country skiing , so there wasn't much time sitting around.
    I agree with the idea of real food vs all the crap we have, I pray when my daughter has children some day she wont feed them chicken nuggets or any so called kiddie fun foods. I also think I gained a lot when I found the computer. Too easy to sit all day, at work then at home on social media.

    Lifestyle aspects like these can be a very big help. I grew up in a similar environment where my parents made the food, we ate out sparingly, and junk food, while present, was carefully "rationed", such as only getting one soda per day, if that much.

    That helps me in my current situation because home-made food is still my default, even now that I'm living on my own. Going through the grocery store once a week and looking at the nutrition information is a much more natural response for me than saying "I'm hungry, so I'm going to go to [insert restaurant here]".

    But I still watch my calories because, even as the mix between self-made and processed food in my diet fluctuates, the big thing has always been keeping my caloric intake in-check.
  • tennisdude2004
    tennisdude2004 Posts: 5,609 Member
    I must say I was expecting more anti calorie counters to step forward on this thread, it just a load of people saying the same thing and then one dude in the back yelling YEAH after every post.

    Also I think I know why the OP article uses the example of 1970's - that was the introduction of HFCS.
  • amandakev88
    amandakev88 Posts: 328 Member
    Only read OP, this may have been covered.

    It's ridiculous crap like this that actually hinders the general weight loss community.


    BRB while I go lose weight on 5,000 calories of vegetables a day.

    HA. can somebody try this?

    man. you'd be so full.
  • marshrowan
    marshrowan Posts: 64 Member
    I personally don't count calories I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating! If I had to count or weigh my food forever I would go crazy!! I just make sure I'm getting the right macros
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I personally don't count calories I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating! If I had to count or weigh my food forever I would go crazy!! I just make sure I'm getting the right macros

    I'm curious how you count macros without counting and weighing.
  • marshrowan
    marshrowan Posts: 64 Member
    I personally don't count calories I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating! If I had to count or weigh my food forever I would go crazy!! I just make sure I'm getting the right macros

    I'm curious how you count macros without counting and weighing.
    \


    I count my macros !!! I meant to say
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I personally don't count calories I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating! If I had to count or weigh my food forever I would go crazy!! I just make sure I'm getting the right macros

    I'm curious how you count macros without counting and weighing.
    \


    I count my macros !!! I meant to say

    But, if you aren't weighing or measuring food then you are just guesstimating those. I'm not saying that's wrong or bad, just probably not very accurate.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    It seems to me she is forgetting that people are WAY less active today than they were "pre-1970s". Technology is wonderful but it has made us lazier. Sure the people hunting the wild boar are not going to worry about the calories, but that is because they probably don't spend 9 hours a day glued to a computer. That's my take...

    ^^^^ totally this, because for millions of years humans had to hunt, gather and scavenge food, walking or running miles to get it, and in the middle palaeolithic era, hunting large mammals at close range with only thrusting spears............. and then in the neolithic era, spending hours ploughing, sewing seeds, milling grain with big stones and other heavy work......... ditto bronze age and iron age... even until relatively modern times, lots of heavy labour and not you're always guaranteed to get enough food for the work you put in to acquire it.....

    then in modern times we have cars to drive to the supermarket... hey never mind that, you can order restaurant food to be delivered through your living room window so you don't even need to leave your sofa to get food. But no, the reason why Homo erectus wasn't fat and modern people quite often are, is the QUALITY of food. Nothing to do with one walking or running miles to get food with no guarantee of actually catching anything and not going to sleep hungry, and the other driving to the supermarket to reliably obtain whatever food they want to eat and storing it in fridges and freezers to ensure they always have food available....
  • alanrayyoung
    alanrayyoung Posts: 1
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337
  • marshrowan
    marshrowan Posts: 64 Member
    I personally don't count calories I'm just more conscious of what I'm eating! If I had to count or weigh my food forever I would go crazy!! I just make sure I'm getting the right macros

    I'm curious how you count macros without counting and weighing.
    \


    I count my macros !!! I meant to say

    But, if you aren't weighing or measuring food then you are just guesstimating those. I'm not saying that's wrong or bad, just probably not very accurate.

    We'll I've lost 12 inches in 2 months soo I think my guesstimating is doing fine!! I'm more conscious of what I'm eating
  • ladybarometer
    ladybarometer Posts: 205 Member
    I tend to not rely on former Biggest Losers since the show is unrealistic - the weight loss is very much real, but as we continue to see, it's not healthy! I truly believe that what IS healthy and what will result in a healthy weight loss is counting calories, enjoying the foods you love in moderation, and working out regularly. If something else works for her, that's cool, but it's does not apply to everyone.
  • MzOnree
    MzOnree Posts: 124 Member
    "I tend to not rely on former Biggest Losers since the show is unrealistic - the weight loss is very much real, but as we continue to see, it's not healthy! I truly believe that what IS healthy and what will result in a healthy weight loss is counting calories, enjoying the foods you love in moderation, and working out regularly. If something else works for her, that's cool, but it's does not apply to everyone."

    Perfectly said by ladybarometer! :smile:
  • krawhitham
    krawhitham Posts: 831 Member
    :laugh:

    "Pre 1970s, no one counted calories.

    Pre 1970s, barely anyone even knew what a calorie was."

    Please, tell my mother that. She knew exactly what a calorie was before 1970.

    This woman is a dim-wit.

    And my grandfather, who tells stories of growing up in the 30s and ALL THREE MEALS were based on a piece of white bread with a THICK layer of pure lard on top.

    He's never been overweight, but he's also never eaten... how does she say it... "natural" one day in his life.

    What a load! Thanks for the laugh! :laugh:
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
    Apparently the US Government disagrees with her stance on calories also.....


    http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/nutrition-labels-on-food-packages-would-now-highlight-calories-and-sugars-1.2553460
  • Love_Is_My_Fuel
    Love_Is_My_Fuel Posts: 211 Member
    It's gotten me this far...it's a great way for people to start..educate themselves on what they're eating and what healthy foods to replace with the toxic food they consume.

    calorie counting works...I'm living proof!
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    better yet you give us a synopsis of it then we all don't have to waste money on a book with no real value...
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    I think my ticker offers concrete evidence that the calorie-counting model of weight loss does work. Why should I read a book that is plainly not consistent with my reality?
  • likitisplit
    likitisplit Posts: 9,420 Member
    Pre-1970's were thin? Then why do I have vivid memories of when I was in elementary school in the 1960s with the Moms coming at the end of the day (most were stay at home back then) and probably 75% of them were morbidly obese?

    Curious as to what country/area this was. My mom was considered "fat" when I was kid in the 1960's as were many other moms. But, she was 5'4" and weighed less than 150 lbs. I only remember knowing 2 women who were actually obese and they were both old ladies.

    TBH, everyone was big to me in the 70s. I was little.

    Weren't women pregnant a lot in the '60's?
  • ILiftHeavyAcrylics
    ILiftHeavyAcrylics Posts: 27,732 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    No thanks, I'm good.

    Calorie counting is a myth that's working perfectly for me.
  • DamePiglet
    DamePiglet Posts: 3,730 Member
    Pre-1970's were thin? Then why do I have vivid memories of when I was in elementary school in the 1960s with the Moms coming at the end of the day (most were stay at home back then) and probably 75% of them were morbidly obese?

    Curious as to what country/area this was. My mom was considered "fat" when I was kid in the 1960's as were many other moms. But, she was 5'4" and weighed less than 150 lbs. I only remember knowing 2 women who were actually obese and they were both old ladies.

    TBH, everyone was big to me in the 70s. I was little.

    Weren't women pregnant a lot in the '60's?

    My mom was.
  • morehealthymatt
    morehealthymatt Posts: 208 Member
    foods are much different today then the 70s. Much more processing, chemicals and such.
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    foods are much different today then the 70s. Much more processing, chemicals and such.

    Really?
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    No thanks, I'm good.

    Calorie counting is a myth that's working perfectly for me.

    that myth helped me lose forty pounds….
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    I think my ticker offers concrete evidence that the calorie-counting model of weight loss does work. Why should I read a book that is plainly not consistent with my reality?

    you must be living in the fourth dimension…also known as the 'calorie counting works dimension' ….In the other three dimensions calorie counting is a myth….
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    Everyone read the book the Calorie Myth

    then we will all be up to speed enough to discuss this with clarity

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight/dp/0062267337

    No thanks, I'm good.

    Calorie counting is a myth that's working perfectly for me.

    that myth helped me lose forty pounds….

    That same myth has helped me intentionally lose and then gain 20-30 pounds...with a surprising degree of accuracy based on years of daily food and weight logs. What a strange coincidence for such an apparently flawed system, huh?

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