What Happens to your "Good Intentions"?

The most recent data on calorie intake shows that Americans’ average calorie intake has increased by 571-calories per day between 1977 and 2006.[1] Over this same period obesity increased dramatically from 15% to 34% of American adults. Why exactly are we seeing this dramatic rise in obesity now, after thousands of years of leaner humans being the norm? It’s not because of changes in our genetics, or physiological changes in appetite regulation (which would mean we’re genetically mutating at some fantastic rate). The popular topic of hormones (leptin, ghrelin, etc.) and “hypothalamic regulation of feeding” suffer from the same underlying problem (have these systems changed in 30 years?) and ignore the fact that nowadays humans simply choose to eat—without consideration of whether they are hungry or not.

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Set-Point Theory: Fact or Fiction?

It’s not uncommon to hear both lay persons and professionals matter-of-factly refer to the “starvation response” (also called metabolic adaptation) and “set-point theory” as if they were accepted facts. The supposition of these theories is that the body reacts to reduced energy intake, or weight loss, by lowering its basal metabolic rate in an attempt to maintain the current weight or return to a higher weight.

These theories however, have not survived sound scientific investigation, and those researchers who are familiar with this area of medical literature have known that for almost 20-years. Three comprehensive reviews of the literature in 1992, 1994, and 1995[i]^,[ii]^,[iii] all reached the same conclusions that:

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Would your food log look like a crime scene?

 If you want to lose weight, but are avoiding keeping a food journal you may need to ask yourself why you’re avoiding that task? What you’re eating can all be healthy, while at the same time the amount you’re eating and drinking can be adding up to way too much.

Without keeping a food record it’s easy to not be fully aware of your portion sizes, and it’s easy to forget the extra calories in side items, between meal snacks, and beverages.

For example, years ago when I was a rooky health educator, a patient from the hospital-based weight maintenance program I was working in came to my office asking for help.

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10 Reasons Why Record Keeping is Invaluable in Weight Management

1. Success requires self-management. Record keeping is the basis of this.
2. It keeps the focus on relevant behaviors, which translates to more success with those behaviors.
3. You learn calorie and portion information.
4. You learn the consequences (caloric cost) of various food choices and environments.
5. You learn where you consistently have trouble (difficult/impossible places to be and not also overeat).

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We know cake isn't diet food--but 1,600 calories in a slice!?!

Aside from burning off more calories through physical activity, the only other control you have over calories lies in the food you eat and the beverages you drink.  

Amazingly, most of the thousands of books and programs on weight loss do a very good job of avoiding teaching you anything useful about calories. Most don’t address the subject at all. Worse yet, some tell you that calories don’t matter… that some special combination of foods, nutrients, etc., is the secret to weight loss. Understanding the calories in food however, is fundamental to weight management.

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