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Why do people deny CICO ?

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Replies

  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    AnvilHead wrote: »
    Why does it trigger people when others reference a method based upon a law with the same name as the law? CICO is literally the acronym for calories in - calories out, which is literally what you track when you count calories. Calorie counting is commonly referred to as the CICO Diet, so if you understand the context of the post, why is that so upsetting?

    the only people I know who mix up CICO and calorie counting are those that say if you follow IIFYM you eat only twinkies (hyperbole, but you get the point)

    People who don't understand the concept of IIFYM could be a whole 'nother separate thread. And it would probably chase its tail just as many times as CICO threads do.

    good point!
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »

    Pigott-Jones gives the examples of Mars bars - you could consume 1500kcal in Mars bars alone over the course of a day thus creating a calorie deficit for yourself, but you won’t be healthy.

    Oh my god, make it stop . . .

    Well in the interest of science I must test this.

    here you go:

    1 standard size MARS bar is 449cal
    69G carbs/4g protein/17g fat

    so for 1500 cals = 3.5 MARS bars
    241g carbs
    14g protein
    60g fat

    honestly - aside from the extreme low protein
  • deannalfisher
    deannalfisher Posts: 5,600 Member
    jofjltncb6 wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »

    Pigott-Jones gives the examples of Mars bars - you could consume 1500kcal in Mars bars alone over the course of a day thus creating a calorie deficit for yourself, but you won’t be healthy.

    Oh my god, make it stop . . .

    Well in the interest of science I must test this.

    here you go:

    1 standard size MARS bar is 449cal
    69G carbs/4g protein/17g fat

    so for 1500 cals = 3.5 MARS bars
    241g carbs
    14g protein
    60g fat

    honestly - aside from the extreme low protein

    Add some protein to that candy bar and you'll have...

    ...just about every reasonably decent tasting protein bar on the market.

    But because it's a protein bar and not a candy bar, it's healthy.

    (Six Snickers bars is lower carb, higher protein, lower sugar, higher fiber...or what that author might call a healthier alternative.)

    truth - I could get behind a MARS protein bar! probably will taste better than some of the protein bars that are on the market
  • jofjltncb6
    jofjltncb6 Posts: 34,415 Member
    edited May 2018
    jofjltncb6 wrote: »
    I'm glad that simple CICO works for you. I've tracked calories and exercised diligently for extended periods of time with very minimal results. I'm sorry, but everyone's health is not the same, and everyone doesn't have the same genetics. Also, the processed food industry works against us with all of the chemical additives they use to create greater profit margins.

    I've recently been following an eating plan that works for me, and I've lost 24 lbs in 2.5 months eating the same number of calories that I did before with no specific eating plan. In addition, now that I'm getting the nutrition and energy that I need, I never feel hungry or have any cravings. Therefore, it's much easier to stay on my plan. It's not as simple as CICO, but it still has that as one of its elements. Why do you want to criticize people who find something that works better for them, just because it's different from what works for you?

    Can you tell us specifically the genetics differences and specific medical conditions you have that defy the principles of energy balance and the mechanism by which they do so?

    Can you name the chemical additives the food industry puts in food to generate greater profit margins and what they have to do with your argument?

    What eating plan have you been following? How did you track calories before? Did you use a food scale? Did you use a website like MFP and verify that you were using correct calorie data for the foods you were eating? How did you calculate how many calories you should be eating to create a calorie deficit at that point?

    Lastly, just what do you think CICO is?

    Also, assuming consistent tracking, adherence, and confirmed good data, when weight loss didn't occur as predicted after a reasonable period of time, did you adjust your target downward by a reasonable amount and resumed consistent tracking and adherence...and continued this refining process until satisfactory progress?

    Because no website can determine an individual's TDEE and also guess correctly their inevitable error biases in tracking.

    (I both love and am baffled that this post was woo'd. Would love to know what part of this could be construed (or even misconstrued) as woo. Or do people not realize that adjustments to calorie targets based on progress (or lack thereof) are an essential component of achieving their goal weight?)
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »

    Pigott-Jones gives the examples of Mars bars - you could consume 1500kcal in Mars bars alone over the course of a day thus creating a calorie deficit for yourself, but you won’t be healthy.

    Oh my god, make it stop . . .

    Well in the interest of science I must test this.

    Someone on here once ate nothing but Snickers bars for a day as an experiment. I wonder if I can find that thread again...