February 2021 Newsletter – Giordono Health & Fitness

STOP COUNTING CALORIES TO
START LOSING WEIGHT

(CUE Self-Monologue)

It’s Saturday night.
The family is asleep.
That was a great game and I’m still pretty hyped.
A few beers will make you feel that way. Hey know what sounds like a great idea?
Lets open another one and watch that AppleTV show your friend was talking about.

(5 min later)

I need a snack for this movie…what do we got in the pantry?
Oh I’ll be good and just have a spoon of peanut butter
That’ll satisfy my craving…ok lets get comfy

(15 min and 2 more drinks later)

Man I could really go for something warm, and savory.
Nothing is open accept the grocery store. (Hit pause and run to store)

(45 min after you decided it was a good idea to pour a drink and watch a show while everyone else is asleep)

3 Drinks…2 tablespoons of peanut-butter (w/ a dark chocolate square) because you really wanted a peanut butter cup, an empty case of cinnamon rolls, and a movie you didn’t even pay attention to…

Sound familiar? NO…well welcome to my world. That’s right I “crash” on my diet, and I eat in private to avoid judgement, and I sleep like crap that night, and I feel guilty the next morning…

Actually that’s how I used to be before I STOPPED COUNTING CALORIES!

The Problem with Calories

Ask anyone who is trying to lose weight or eat healthier and I guarantee they’ll have a calorie goal. And they may have a calorie counting app, or spent a lot of money on a personalized meal plan to hit that mark.

What if I told you they were all wasting both their TIME and MONEY?

But Anthony to lose weight you must eat fewer calories and burn more, so shouldn’t you count calories to know you’re doing that?

I say resoundingly NNNOOOOO!

Yes, in theory calories-in vs calories-out lead to 1 of 3 outcomes:

Positive Energy Balance – More Calories taken in then expended = Weight Gain
Neutral Energy Balance – Equal Calories taken in as expended = No Weight Change
Negative Energy Balance – Less Calories taken in then expended = Weight Loss

The thing is, although that is 100% accurate, weight loss and specifically counting calories, is not an exact science. Let me tell 9 Reasons why Calorie Counting is a waste of time and the solution you should implement instead.

Problems with Calories In

1 - Calorie counts are imprecise

You know those nutrition labels plastered so wonderfully on our food items. They give us all that valuable information to help us decide whether it’s healthy or not. The numbers you see are not exact, but a database average. The FDA permits up to 20% inaccuracies meaning that 150 calorie treat is somewhere between 120-180 calories. Doesn’t sound big on 1 item, but when you account for a whole day of eating a 2,000 calorie day is anywhere from 1,800-2,200.

2 - We don't absorb every calorie that we ingest

Some foods just simply really do “go right through you”. Now this varies from food to food, so just because you may be thinking well i can subtract some calories from that corn I ate, know that all types of foods could possibly pass through undigested or not fully digested. If you are not familiar with the calories per gram of each nutrient they are

(Protein = 4 / Carbs = 4 / Fat = 9)

You should know that this is not the actual calorie total of each. About 95% of the total calories from Carbs and Fat may be absorbed, and about 71% of the calories from Proteins may be absorbed. That is the determined number of digestible calories. This means the 2,000 calories, you ate may actually be 2,200 which can be absorbed based on problem 1, so that actual total could be upwards of 2,525!!

THAT MEANS YOU COULD BE OFF BY OVER 700 CALORIES!!!

** Want to know how I got those numbers? Message me **

3 - Calorie loads change when foods are cooked

Raw foods can be both great to eat, and great for you. But the majority of our food we eat is generally cooked. This actually makes more of the calories easier to absorb by your body. Plus when you chop, dice, and blend foods down it makes it even more likely those calories will be absorbed.

4 - Individuals absorb calories Uniquely

Yes, your mother was right. You are unique. Each of us are. Especially on the inside. Our metabolic effieciency varies from person to person. So the calories consumed by your wife at dinner might make her feel over stuffed, but the big guy you are feels like you are ready for seconds.

5 - People rarely consume the proper portion size

If the portions are broken into individual servings then that can allow for better accuracy. Truth is though the 2/3 C. serving of breakfast cereal is probably closer to 1-1.25 C. That 8oz. serving from the bag may be 3 oz. or 12oz. because honestly who can truly eyeball an ounce? These in-accuracies to correctly eat the portion size that’s listed on the nutrition label can add on average an additional 100-200 calories. For example not wiping some off the top of that spoonful of peanut butter is about an extra 95 calories.

As you can see there is a lot of discrepancy and room for error when it comes to counting how many calories you are eating each day. Guess what. The same problem exists with the amount of calories you burn.

Problems with Calories Out

1 - Calories burnt estimates are imprecise

So there are multiple “Scientific” ways to track how many calories our bodies burn. The one that most of us are use to, is Indirect Calorimetry. Think of images of athletes running on a treadmill with a breathing mask strapped to their face. This method measures the gas exchange to determine energy expenditure. Problem is that it has a 45% margin of error.

Oh and your fancy fitness tracker (Apple Watch, Vivo Fit, Fit Bit, Nike Fuelband, Jawbone) have a margin of error of about 30% for TOTAL DAILY CALORIE BURN. During exercise these devices show an error range between 9% – 23%

2 - Individuals burn calories uniquely and variably

Here’s that thing again about us each being unique. From our genetics, the type of fat our bodies carry, getting adequate sleep, and changes in hormones all change how many calories our body does or doesn’t burn daily. And this can differentiate by 100 calories as much as day-to-day.

3 - What you eat, and how much you eat influences how many calories you burn

People’s metabolism’s respond differently from one another. Person A could eat the exact same amount and type of food as Person B every day, and do the exact same level/type/and intensity of activity. How their individual metabolism adapts though is different. Plus macronutrients create different deficits of total calories burn through digestion. Protein burns the most, followed by carbs, and then fats. This simply means you’ll burn more of the calories you consume from Protein and Carbs.

4 - YOUR WEIGHT HISTORY INFLUENCES HOW MANY CALORIES YOU BURN

If you have a history of being overweight, or obese, your metabolic rate may already be lower than what standard equations would tell you. If you have a history of dieting and eating in a caloric deficit you could have possibly trained your body to believe you are consistently in danger of starvation and death. Creating adaptive thermogenesis, or change in body heat and resulting in metabolic inefficiency.

What To Do Instead of Counting Calories?

Because tracking calories in, and knowing that calorie burn estimates are imprecise, and we each burn calories uniquely. It seems to me that counting calories IN or OUT is less reliable than you think. That is why you should simplify the process by creating BAM’s (Bare ASS Minimums) for daily movement, and learning how to ballpark portion sizes with your eyes correctly.

Your hand is the perfect tool for determining portion sizes. It’s always on you, and it’s uniquely sized for you specifically. Using your hand to determine portions is actually quite simple

When you use this method it becomes much easier to build a plate of food that is appropriate for your personal needs and goals. Plus when you go out to eat, where they generally always serve portions way to big, you can use your hands to better determine how much to eat…and how much to box up!

Taking the Next Step

I know what you’re thinking…”it can really be as easy as just using my hand to measure my food.” Well it can, but that is just a small part in the process of creating a new Eating Style uniquely designed around you!

That is what I help individuals do each and every day. Discover how to eat without the pressure of RULES, and escape the guilt of FAILURE. To not be driven just by the end goal, but finding joy in creating new systems through small changes that’ll lead to that BIG RESULT!

If you are ready to stop yo-yoing through diets. Done with guessing what is working and what isn’t. Then register below to be added to my next Nutrition Coaching Jump Start launching on March 15th! When you register by February 14th you’ll not only guarantee yourself a spot in the next group, but you’ll also save 30% off the regular price!

** Don’t want to wait until March 15th? No problem contact Anthony today to discuss getting started RIGHT NOW!

STOP COUNTING CALORIES TO START LOSING WEIGHT