Eating To Lose Weight
Eating to lose weight can become a complicated task when you have to chose among the myriad of diet plans available.
With so much contradicting information, separating facts from bullshit may seem impossible without formal education in nutrition science, and eventually you may fall prey to some charlatan. (As Herbert Simon said it best, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention”.)
Most people seem not to realize the obvious fact that eating to lose weight depends almost entirely on energy balance. Duh!
According to the low of thermodynamics, if you put less calories in your mouth than you expend, there should be a reduction of your body stores (fat or lean mass) regardless of food quality or nutritional value – unless you are a nuclear reactor alive.
So you shouldn't feel remorseful for taking a few nibbles of Twinkies or doughnuts. Essentially, if you consume broiled chicken breast with asparagus or your favorite comfort foods, there won't be any significant difference in weight loss as long as calorie intake is kept constant.
Furthermore, if you add some protein powder to your junk food of choice, you should expect similar results in terms of body composition and other related heath factors such as improvements in blood lipids.
But I doubt that you are aware of how many calories you put in your mouth, and this may be a problem when these highly processed foods are consumed on a regular basis. They are delicious but also energy dense, so it's easy to overeat them.
Nowadays, you can find all kinds of junk food, and their “fill your gut / price” ratio is very convenient even for Average Joe. So this is pretty much the answer to the big mystery of how come we have an obesity crisis.
As a result, more and more people are being concerned about their physical appearance and health, and as expected food industry followed this profitable trend. Eating to lose weight is now a very lucrative business.
The demand for healthy food products increased exponentially, so new varieties are created daily (low carb or fat, according the fashion) to match these delusive needs.
However, some people would be surprised to find out that the so called healthy foods are not calorie free. You may think this is a lame joke, but you surely heard statements like: “Oh, but this brown rice doesn't make me fat because it's not fried!”
My suggestion is by no means that you are so brainless to really believe that rice couldn't make you fat. And yet, everybody (including even you) will gorge more calories when it comes to healthier food than its regular version.
Take peanut butter, for example: 2 tbsp of the classic type contain about 191 calories. But the over zealous health oriented individuals would normally choose the low fat variant which contain “only” 187 calories.
Now, who do you think will eat more calories? Without realizing, we all feel more entitled to not pay attention to our portion size (and consequently gorge with abandon) when our food is supposed to be healthier. Or we just pretend to be more entitled, which is the same thing.
Believe me, you are no exception. And before blaming the marketing campaigns for your lamentable condition, remember this: no food company is in business to make you fat, they are all in business to sell you food. So it's your damn fault.
As you can see, eating to lose weight is truly a question of calories, and virtually every diet will make you lighter (not necessarily leaner) as long as you keep an eye on your food intake. (Like our friend, Chris Voigt, the proponent of the 20 potatoes a day diet.)
Remember, there are no good or bad foods; only good or bad habits – that can be changed.
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