4 ms·

The problem with calorie counting is that we cannot reason about what a calorie looks like. what does 1 calorie of ice cream looks like? What about 1 calorie

by lbotos 5y ago

The problem with calorie counting is that we cannot reason about what a calorie looks like. what does 1 calorie of ice cream looks like? What about 1 calorie of broccoli? 1 calorie of steak? The solution is to switch to a macro focused diet, which still uses calories under the hood. With Macros you'll get a target of x g fats / y g protein / z g carbs which makes it much easier for a person to learn and reason about the food they are eating by sight and weight. The second factor is, our much more sedentary lifestyle means that often a 2000 calorie diet is 200-400 calories off or a lot of people.

jfengel 5y ago
Counting anything is hard, so I prefer to develop a feel for it, if you can. Cut the obvious junk. Cook more for yourself, with more focus on vegetables. Don't worry about trying to limit yourself; just aim for sensible foods. Try that alone for a few months, and see if your weight stabilizes and declines a little, which it should. If that works, you can start substituting more processed stuff, as a treat or convenience. There you can look at calories or macros to help: "Ok, I was going to eat dinner, which is ordinarily around 800-1000 calories. This frozen pizza is... holy crap!" Have it anyway; you just know what it means now. Overall, what I recommend is not to go on a restrictive diet, but to start eating for the weight you wish to be, and plan to remain there forever. (If you're a lot overweight, you may need to do that in stages.) A lot of people want to diet and then switch to a maintenance phase. I think it's better to go directly to maintenance, and let that asymptotically lower your weight. You suffer less and thus bounce back less. But that's just my $.02. This is all brain stuff; whatever persuades you to eat right and exercise is good.

4 ms·

The problem with calorie counting is that we cannot reason about what a calorie looks like. what does 1 calorie of ice cream looks like? What about 1 calorie

by lbotos 5y ago

jfengel 5y ago
Counting anything is hard, so I prefer to develop a feel for it, if you can. Cut the obvious junk. Cook more for yourself, with more focus on vegetables. Don't worry about trying to limit yourself; just aim for sensible foods. Try that alone for a few months, and see if your weight stabilizes and declines a little, which it should. If that works, you can start substituting more processed stuff, as a treat or convenience. There you can look at calories or macros to help: "Ok, I was going to eat dinner, which is ordinarily around 800-1000 calories. This frozen pizza is... holy crap!" Have it anyway; you just know what it means now. Overall, what I recommend is not to go on a restrictive diet, but to start eating for the weight you wish to be, and plan to remain there forever. (If you're a lot overweight, you may need to do that in stages.) A lot of people want to diet and then switch to a maintenance phase. I think it's better to go directly to maintenance, and let that asymptotically lower your weight. You suffer less and thus bounce back less. But that's just my $.02. This is all brain stuff; whatever persuades you to eat right and exercise is good.