Calorie Denialism: Why it is crushing your fat loss efforts

Guinivere

I've been reading this blog on the Tom Venuto site by Mike Howard.

Have a read : http://www.burnthefatblog.com/calorie-denialism.php

I haven't posted it here as it is quite long.

Is this is a well written blog that should be shared with friends and family or not?

What do you think?

_Zardoz_

Here we go again

acpgee

Nice.

ironanimal

Yes, because there are no skinny or fit people that eat carbs.

SezxyStef

it's an opinion.

Do I agree with his opinion...mostly.

but in for the ensuing pages of debate on quality vs quantity...

3laine75

Looks like sensible advice to me, but then I am logging on a calorie counting website, so I'm already sold

Thomasm198

I've been reading this blog on the Tom Venuto site by Mike Howard.

Have a read : http://www.burnthefatblog.com/calorie-denialism.php

I haven't posted it here as it is quite long.

Is this is a well written blog that should be shared with friends and family or not?

What do you think?

yankeedownsouth

I agree, this is a topic that has been beaten to death a lot (at least on these boards; haven't seen it much IRL at all).

However, I think there's also a lot of truth to the article in that, regardless of the diet you choose to follow, fat loss ultimately comes down to calories in/calories out. I know there are a lot of ways to reduce calories (low carb, lower fat, etc.), and I'm certainly not interested in debating quality of calories, but what it really comes down to is a calorie deficit.

Here's a real-life example, which is very close to my heart right now as it pertains to my mom.

My mom is 67 years old, sedentary, and overweight. She's tried many diets in the past, including calorie counting. She always has initial success, but eventually, weight loss stops, and she loses motivation. At these points, my advice to her has always been to readjust her intake or expend more calories (move more). She hates exercise, I mean, HATES exercise, so she's tried to eat less, which isn't sustainable typically. Three weeks ago, she and my dad decided to go on low carb (approximately 20 carbs a day). They are not counting calories with their carbs, just carbs. In fact, when I mention calories, she says they don't "count" on this diet. They are eating A LOT of high calorie foods on this diet (steak, bacon, full fat whipping cream, etc.).

So, my mom had a very sizable loss the first week, one pound the second, and virtually none the third. When I asked what she's going to do, she said she's going to give up her one diet soda that she drinks a day because "some people on low carb can't lose while drinking diet sodas." My comment was that there aren't any calories in diet soda and that maybe she should use MFP to track BOTH carbs and calories, to which I received the response "calories don't matter on this diet." Quite a bit of calorie denialism going on there, I think.

So I see exactly what this article is pointing out... denying calories can in fact inhibit fat loss. I admit, I shared the article on my wall in the hope my mom would see it because her struggles make me sad, and I wish I could help her.