4 ms·

Calorie counts on menus is a good start, but it's not enough. It doesn't mean anything to the average American consumer that there are 1800 calories in that St

Calorie counts on menus is a good start, but it's not enough. It doesn't mean anything to the average American consumer that there are 1800 calories in that Starbuck's Mochaccino he just bought. Contextualize it with an Ad Council campaign to tell people that sedentary middle-aged people (for example) need to consume roughly 10 calories daily per pound of weight they want to maintain. You weigh 180? And you just bought that 1800-calorie candy coffee? Congratulations! you've achieved your maintenance goal for today. Any further calories you consume will be added to your waistline at 3500 calories per pound. Then remind everyone that a sedentary lifestyle is a choice, and not a very wise one at that. Get your cardio on, and you'll burn through those excess pounds. Maybe even enable yourself to have something besides a Mochaccino each day. Get some resistance training going, and you'll need to ramp your daily intake up just to maintain all that lean muscle mass. Of course, your mileage may vary; insult a doctor before beginning any weight-loss regimen; and if it hurts when you do that, don't do that.

lrm242 14y ago
Exactly. Few people understand what their calorie budget is and have no way to relate their intact decisions to that budget. Losing weight is simple: eat less than what your body needs to maintain itself. In doing so your body will pull from the energy reserves that it has (fat and muscle) to make up the difference.
- legitsource 14y ago
  Knowing what to do and doing it are very different things. It took a major macronutrient shift after at least a year of trying to diet and failing before I finally got on my way to losing weight. I knew I was done for the day, but boredom, stress, and hunger made it only a matter of time before I would crack. A week of eating well, then cracking and eating anything I could get my hands on, then repeat.

lrm242 14y ago

Exactly. Few people understand what their calorie budget is and have no way to relate their intact decisions to that budget. Losing weight is simple: eat less than what your body needs to maintain itself. In doing so your body will pull from the energy reserves that it has (fat and muscle) to make up the difference.

legitsource 14y ago
Knowing what to do and doing it are very different things. It took a major macronutrient shift after at least a year of trying to diet and failing before I finally got on my way to losing weight. I knew I was done for the day, but boredom, stress, and hunger made it only a matter of time before I would crack. A week of eating well, then cracking and eating anything I could get my hands on, then repeat.