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> The real “myth” of calories in = calories out is that it’s possible to do it by feel. It takes a lot of work and math, like spreadsheet-level, to actually tra

by dxhdr 4y ago

> The real “myth” of calories in = calories out is that it’s possible to do it by feel. It takes a lot of work and math, like spreadsheet-level, to actually track calories in and out. So even though it is physically true as a concept, it’s not a good weight management strategy for most people. The real myth is that you can track calories in and calories out. How do you measure how many calories your body absorbs from the food you eat? How do you measure your calories out, particularly your resting metabolic rate? Here's a hint -- the body changes its resting metabolic rate in response to calories in! Probably! Unless you eat junk food, and then maybe it doesn't!

substation13 4y ago
Smartwatch can give a reasonable approximation of calories out
asdff 4y ago
You don't need to know these rates, you just need to have a point of reference from which you can change according to your weight loss goals. Not losing enough weight for the given caloric intake? Then just dial it back and reassess.
evandale 4y ago
You track calories in by making all your food and weighing everything you eat. In practise you don't need to track the out because it doesn't change much per day. It's not easy to burn 200 calories but it's easy to consume them. That's why it's common to hear that weight loss happens in the kitchen.
snowwrestler 4y ago
It is absolutely possible to do it. Thousands of athletes and artists who depend on their weight professionally do it. Here’s one example: https://youtu.be/5356zt0JiDY https://youtu.be/5356zt0JiDY It does require work to understand your particular body, and discipline to do it consistently. Which is again, why it is not a good technique for most people. Most people don’t have the time, motivation, or really the need to do what this woman (in the video) is doing.
sn9 4y ago
Tracking actually makes this super simple to account for. Apps like Macrofactor do it for you. You just track what you eat and your weight.
dahart 4y ago
It’s really common for the argument against CICO to be that it’s not perfect, measuring input and measuring output seem hard, and metabolism is elastic, and people are different. Those things are all true, but using CICO in practice to lose weight actually works, and it’s quite effective for most people, as long as you actually do it. CICO is how bodybuilding and modeling works. ;) The hardest part isn’t the measuring. The hardest part is making it a habit. One secret about using CICO is that you do not need to know the gut absorption rate! You just need to track the calories before absorption, the numbers printed on the box. Easy these days with a smartphone app. The measurement does not need to be perfect at all. It only has to be decent on average. You can have variable accuracy of 25% on any given food and still get well under 10% on average for a week. It doesn’t matter if there’s a bias either, if you track your weight. The reason absorption and bias don’t matter is because you’re doing science with a black-box (your body). Measure the known input, monitor the output. Do it for a long time and you’ll find the maintenance input. Track input above that and verify mass gain, track below and verify loss. The maintenance value you come up with will “absorb” and bias, and gut calorie conversion rate, and other inaccuracies. Measuring output is easy with a heart rate monitor. Changing metabolism we already discussed, but important to know that the range of elasticity is like around 15%, and in practice for any give person may be lower. It’s not some massive factor you can’t predict, it’s within a narrow enough range for the majority of people, statistically, that you don’t need to worry too much. And it will be accounted for if you track calories and weight over a long enough time frame.

by dxhdr 4y ago

substation13 4y ago

Smartwatch can give a reasonable approximation of calories out

asdff 4y ago

You don't need to know these rates, you just need to have a point of reference from which you can change according to your weight loss goals. Not losing enough weight for the given caloric intake? Then just dial it back and reassess.

evandale 4y ago

You track calories in by making all your food and weighing everything you eat. In practise you don't need to track the out because it doesn't change much per day. It's not easy to burn 200 calories but it's easy to consume them. That's why it's common to hear that weight loss happens in the kitchen.

snowwrestler 4y ago

It is absolutely possible to do it. Thousands of athletes and artists who depend on their weight professionally do it. Here’s one example: https://youtu.be/5356zt0JiDY https://youtu.be/5356zt0JiDY It does require work to understand your particular body, and discipline to do it consistently. Which is again, why it is not a good technique for most people. Most people don’t have the time, motivation, or really the need to do what this woman (in the video) is doing.

sn9 4y ago

Tracking actually makes this super simple to account for. Apps like Macrofactor do it for you. You just track what you eat and your weight.

dahart 4y ago

It’s really common for the argument against CICO to be that it’s not perfect, measuring input and measuring output seem hard, and metabolism is elastic, and people are different. Those things are all true, but using CICO in practice to lose weight actually works, and it’s quite effective for most people, as long as you actually do it. CICO is how bodybuilding and modeling works. ;) The hardest part isn’t the measuring. The hardest part is making it a habit. One secret about using CICO is that you do not need to know the gut absorption rate! You just need to track the calories before absorption, the numbers printed on the box. Easy these days with a smartphone app. The measurement does not need to be perfect at all. It only has to be decent on average. You can have variable accuracy of 25% on any given food and still get well under 10% on average for a week. It doesn’t matter if there’s a bias either, if you track your weight. The reason absorption and bias don’t matter is because you’re doing science with a black-box (your body). Measure the known input, monitor the output. Do it for a long time and you’ll find the maintenance input. Track input above that and verify mass gain, track below and verify loss. The maintenance value you come up with will “absorb” and bias, and gut calorie conversion rate, and other inaccuracies. Measuring output is easy with a heart rate monitor. Changing metabolism we already discussed, but important to know that the range of elasticity is like around 15%, and in practice for any give person may be lower. It’s not some massive factor you can’t predict, it’s within a narrow enough range for the majority of people, statistically, that you don’t need to worry too much. And it will be accounted for if you track calories and weight over a long enough time frame.