Lame article. First of all, that system (I've tried it) sucks. It requires constant attention and effort. I'd be surprised to meet anyone who's male and can be bothered to count their calories every day for more than 1 or 2 weeks (though some girls seem to manage, but they really care). You won't lose much weight in 1-2 weeks, so this system will only result in making you feel bad for yet again failing to lose any significant weight.
As I propose in my article here: http://www.inter-sections.net/2008/01/02/feedback/ - you need a good, timely, but also effortless system of feedback. Something that requires you to carry a notepad and add up numbers every day is a still-born failure.
The system that worked extremely well for me was much simpler: weigh yourself every day (including body fat %). Plot that on a grid, and that'll provide you motivation enough to keep your calorie intake down.
As an engineer, you should be aware that there's a few key vital behaviours that, if you implement them, typically make all the difference. According to various food associations, there's 3 vital behaviours for losing weight:
- Weigh yourself every day
- Eat breakfast every day
- Have a way to exercise at home
Since I lost 10kg in 3 months by doing just 2 out of those 3 (but going heavy on the "weigh yourself" bit by actually charting my weight and BF%), I can say that it certainly seemed to work for me.
You assume males can't count calories. I know plenty who can, and do when the circumstances require it.
Literally counting every calorie gets old quick, but I think everyone should be able to estimate their calorie intake. It doesn't take long to calibrate your own intuition; after a week of paying close attention, most people should be able to guess the calorie contents of a plate of food.
Agreed. I started counting calories a couple weeks ago. Once you get the hang of it, you can estimate pretty well. In most cases, you don't need to know _exactly_ how many calories you take in. Ballpark works just as well. If you're coming close to the limits you set for yourself, stop eating.
I did that too. The problem is, this system does not work "just as well". Certainly did not for me or anyone else I've spoken to. The "rough calorie intake" thing breaks down because our lives are not as regular as you imply. There are times when you will pig out, go on a bender and eat a load of food while drunk, and that's very natural and normal in today's society. At that point you need a feedback system that works whether you're sober or not.
Sadly, a general resolution to "watch your calories" just doesn't do it.
In order to work, a weight-loss system has to remind you each day of where you're at (in perspective with where you've come from). Ultimately there's only two measurements that count: your weight and your body fat percentage. Measure those every day and you'll be much further on the way to weight loss than by calorie counting. Sure, being aware of your rough calorie intake is useful supporting data, but you need to measure the end result to get the "proper" feedback.
The end result of weight loss is not calorie intake, it's loss of weight. If you want to achieve that end result, you need to measure it. Sounds simple enough, no?
The suggestion isn't for calorie counting to supplant regular weighings, but to supplement it.
Also, the end result is fat loss, not weight. Which is why I think weight is not the best metric, but performance in physical tasks. (As most people can't get their bodyfat percentage checked regularly, and performing various physical tasks is what allows you to keep or increase muscle mass while losing body fat.)
A good scale which uses impedance to give a reasonably accurate measure of body fat % is fairly cheap nowadays, fyi. I got mine for about £25 in the UK. It's accurate enough to tell you whether your fat is dropping overall, week after week - just make sure you measure at the same time each day (ideally, just after waking up, before having breakfast).
I used one once, and I was skeptical about its accuracy, since it required gender and activity level as input. I still prefer performance as a metric, because it measures fitness.
What most people who have never counted calories don't realize is that once you know general counts for the foods you consume the most and once you realize what portion size corresponds to those calories, you're not doing that much counting. The reason is that most of us tend to eat the same types of food, You're only learning a bit at the beginning. After that, there is very little thought that goes into it and it becomes almost second nature because you get used to specific portion sizes for the main staples in your diet. You just have to be a little more careful of those "indulgence" meals or days or anything that might throw your count way off.
As I propose in my article here: http://www.inter-sections.net/2008/01/02/feedback/ - you need a good, timely, but also effortless system of feedback. Something that requires you to carry a notepad and add up numbers every day is a still-born failure.
The system that worked extremely well for me was much simpler: weigh yourself every day (including body fat %). Plot that on a grid, and that'll provide you motivation enough to keep your calorie intake down.
As an engineer, you should be aware that there's a few key vital behaviours that, if you implement them, typically make all the difference. According to various food associations, there's 3 vital behaviours for losing weight:
- Weigh yourself every day
- Eat breakfast every day
- Have a way to exercise at home
Since I lost 10kg in 3 months by doing just 2 out of those 3 (but going heavy on the "weigh yourself" bit by actually charting my weight and BF%), I can say that it certainly seemed to work for me.