Your body contains a feedback mechanism that is extraordinarily good at fine-tuning how much you WANT to eat and WANT to move in order to maintain its desired w

Your body contains a feedback mechanism that is extraordinarily good at fine-tuning how much you WANT to eat and WANT to move in order to maintain its desired weight. You can fool this system in the short term, but most people can't fool it in the long run - it will correct - and likely overcorrect - any imbalance you try to impose. So the problem with the equation is that it strongly suggests that (calories in) and (calories out) are variables that are independent of one another and freely changeable by you, which they are not. But if you still question this, let's consider an EVEN SIMPLER equation that governs your weight: we'll ignore calories and instead focus on MASS! Here's the equation: (mass in) < (mass out) == (mass loss) So if you want to lose mass, all you have to do is breathe out more than you breathe in and poop/pee more than you eat/drink. This is clearly literally true - if you lose mass you must have done that! (Okay, I'm simplifying a little - there's also dandruff, perspiration, hair and nail trimming and absorbing water through the skin - but those factors are probably small enough to safely ignore.) So go out and use my simple equation to lose mass! But wait, you say that you can't MAKE your body exhale more mass than it inhales or excrete more mass than you consume on a consistent basis? Well, maybe you're just not trying hard enough. Exercise more willpower! :-) Both equations are true, yet both are useless.