Yesterday, I was sitting in Starbucks when this guy walked in, sat down at the table next to me and started talking to the couple who was already sitting there.
I knew this guy but couldn’t place him. I sat at my table for a bit, drinking my coffee, and looking for things to blog about . But I was really searching my memories for the connection between me and this guy.
Finally I heard him say something that made me cringe. I immediately remembered who he was:
You see, if you really, I mean REALLY want to lose weight, you shouldn’t be counting calories AT ALL! It’s so much more important to pay attention to what kinds of food your eating than it is to scrutinize how much your eating! And of course, you should work out a whole lot too!
The guy giving the advice was a personal trainer from my gym. He was in the middle of a consult with a couple who wanted to lose some weight. His statement really upset me and made me feel pretty good about my current choice in personal trainers.
There is not one right way to do anything:
When I was in college, I had a professor who often said, “In science, you should never use the word ‘always’. Because the minute you do, someone will come along and prove you wrong!” While that statement is probably true in science, I think it’s also probably true in a lot of other areas. With that in mind, I want you all to remember that there is more than one right way to lose weight. The only thing that you must do is to create a calorie deficit! The way to create that deficit is totally up to you. Exercise more, eat less, combine those two options. High carb, low carb, no carb, it doesn’t matter as long as you are creating a calorie deficit! I’ve spent the better part of the last two years counting my calories and losing weight. Only recently have I begun worrying about what kinds of calories to eat. I really hate it when “experts” get paid good money and then make blanket statements as if everyone fits into the same mold.
What you eat isn’t nearly as important as how much you eat:
I’m not going to totally disagree with what Mr. Globogym told that poor couple yesterday. If there’s one thing that I think I’ve learned in the last two weeks is that I wasn’t paying enough attention to the kinds of foods that I have been eating lately.
In fact, I’ll even admit that his advice actually has some merit: it IS important to pay attention to the types of foods that you eat. It’s definitely part of the equation. But I’m not willing to give it as much weight in that equation as he is. I firmly believe that the single most important tool to help you achieve weight loss is calorie counting!
Count them all. Log them on paper, on your phone, online–take a picture of what you eat and store it on your computer. If you’re creating a deficit, your weight will decrease. The bigger the deficit, the faster the rate of decrease. It’s simple really.
So when does what you eat matter? Let’s say that counting calories has become easy for you. Your weight is decreasing and you feel like you’ve got things under control. Now is the time to start paying attention to the other part of the equation. What types of calories you put into your body can really help you to achieve that fit looking body you want.
For example, my current goals are to decrease my weight by 10 pounds and to get a long and lean looking body. In the gym, I’m mainly performing functional, body weight exercises combined with stretching and running. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, I’m trying to eat between 1900 and 2000 calories per day with a 40% carb, 30% fat, and 30% protein breakdown.
During the first meeting with my trainer, we came up with these calorie numbers and ratios together based on a conversation about my goals, diet, and activity level. And so far, things have been going great. I really feel that after only two weeks, I am starting to feel significantly different.
I’d be willing to bet that if the couple in Starbucks yesterday decide to follow their trainers’ advice and only pay attention to what kinds of foods they’re putting in their body, they are going to be disappointed with their weight loss. If they don’t know how much they’re eating, they’re bound to over eat.
For their sake, I hope I’m wrong. But I know I’m not.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Mac, I’d have to disagree with you. The personal trainer’s error was in his vocabulary and his perspective. I think you also share that error to a different degree.
He should have used more descriptive terms. Losing weight is not synonmous with losing fat. I also wonder exactly what he meant by ‘what you eat.’ In your perspective (and mine) that would be the percentage allocation of macronutrients. Ex I favor 50% protein, 30% fat, 20% carbs – because that’s what works for me for fat loss.
You could argue that to keep to that percentage (yours, mine, someone else’s) you need to count the calories to maintain that percentage. That would be true. However, for the times I have not been dieting for a contest, I’ve discovered that close enough is good enough. Winging my nutrition plan gets me close enough to my macronutrient allocation (50, 20, 30) so I can achieve my desired results. Of course, that comes with perspective and experience. Neither of which the personal trainer may have had or had the ability to adequately express.
Finally, hate to bicker terms even more, but your closing statment ‘But I know I’m not’ is tantamount to saying ‘always.’ I have a hard time believing that someone over 20% bodyfat is qualified to use those terms.
Ted–First of all, thanks for the comment, and the fat jab as well. Let me shed a little more light on the conversation. I realize that I only heard bits and pieces, but I didn’t ever hear any mention of counting calories of any kind–not to mention counting calories of specific macronutrients. They only mentioned that they wanted to lose weight…They didn’t say they wanted to build muscle and look leaner. They didn’t say they wanted to lose only fat. They only said they wanted to lose weight. And All I heard from the trainer was eat lots of protein, less carbs and fat. That’s it.
Now it seems like you have a lot more experience with this sort of stuff than I do. But if you took an average person (let’s say the typical Get Fit Slowly reader) who was aspiring to lose weight and get in better shape and gave them this advice, how successful do you really think they’d be?
And I tried to point out that for certain people, especially those who have specific body fat/muscle mass goals, it is important to track what kinds of calories you’re eating. I even mentioned that I’ve been really trying to pay attention to that myself these last few weeks.
Maybe you misunderstood me, maybe I misunderstood him. In either case, I hope I was at least able to clear up my opinion. If not, here it is again. If you want to lose weight than you need to count calories and create a calorie deficit. If you want to lose a lot of weight, than I believe that this is even more important. If you only want to lose a little bit while packing on muscle and getting more athletic, than what you eat definitely plays a bigger role in the equation.
Again, thanks for the comment.
Another great post Mac. At least so far, what you describe is what has been working well for me. I’m working on eating less of most of the same foods that I used to enjoy in much larger portions. I have cut out things like soda and (most) snacks, but for the most part, I’ve just been focused on eating less, and creating a calorie deficit that way. Now, if we go out to eat, I usually only eat half the meal (restaurant meals are usually huge) and have the other half leftover for lunch the next day.
We’ll have to see though, it’s entirely possible that as I lose more weight, I’ll have to change this method a little, but at least for the time being, it seems to be working out pretty well for me.
Brandon´s last blog ..Weekly Weigh-in #4
This post is so timely for me, because I got in an argument with a personal trainer about a similar subject just yesterday (online, on my blog). I think that there is DEFINITELY merit to paying attention to what you eat, and after 12 years of proper diet/weightloss/fitness, over the last 2-3 years, I’ve finally reached a point where I can truly focus less on caloric intake and deficit and focus more on what I eat. I am definitely seeing better results. I definitely feel better. But, my goals are different now, too. If a trainer were to ask me what I wanted, it would be “run faster, be stronger, be more healthy,” not “lose weight.” (as it was 12 years ago).
I just don’t think the average person can do it all at once – to go from an average lifestyle of junk, fast food, no exercise, etc, and go straight into 100% eating clean, perfect balance of protein/carbs/fat, no eating out, working out 6x/week, etc. Baby steps, and you don’t have to get it exactly right at first. That should be OK.
“Finally, hate to bicker terms even more, but your closing statment ‘But I know I’m not’ is tantamount to saying ‘always.’ I have a hard time believing that someone over 20% bodyfat is qualified to use those terms.” <– Total BS/Elitist attitude.
Kim´s last blog ..Wise Words from Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels
Kim–Thanks for the support. I think your middle paragraph sums it up nicely about the average obese person trying to lose weight. Consistent small steps forward are way better than big steps forward followed by even bigger steps backward. And thanks for defending me, but I have a pretty thick skin. Ted didn’t offend me at all
I also found this post timely. I changed what I eat, but still consume too many calories. Obviously, that’s not giving me the weight loss results I’d like. I agree with Kim that change requires stages, and I feel that achieving small goals boosts enthusiasm.
I’ve got way over 20% fat and I know that what Mac is saying is true. The average person who is getting fit slowly probably wants to see some results so they will keep with it.. Starting with a calories in/calories out approach is probably the best bet for the average person. Get them used to tracking what they’re eating and putting in their mouth. Then worry about the balance when someone actually begins to care.
Not so much a disagreement as an alternative route. I HATE (with a passion I can’t put in a comment) calorie counting. I find it painful and mindless. So I don’t do it. Instead, I have determined the count (with a relatively small margin of error) for the lunch I pack which saves me counting that daily (I make the same thing every day). Breakfast is the same every day (oatmeal at work), and for dinner I make a large (usually crock-pot) recipe that lasts 4-6 days depending on servings, and go by the counts in the cookbook. That lets me know the ballpark of my calories in, without feeling bound to a rigid count. I have the advantage of a high (2900/day) basal metabolic rate, so staying deficient isn’t too hard.
My weight-gain came from 1) not spreading meals out and eating 2/3 of my calories at one time (dinner) and 2) epilepsy meds. I’ve gotten into the practice of prepping meals to space out over the day (as mentioned above) and will hopefully be switching to a different med in a couple of weeks.
All that being said, I think Gwen nails the quantity/quality issue – quantity at the start to have noticeable loss and as you’re making progress the details about quality become more important.
Joel´s last blog ..I am stronger than pizza (tonight)
Joel–Even though you hate calorie counting, in essence that’s what you’re doing. You’ve wrapped it up into a system that works for you which is awesome. One of the main points of my post today is that there are many ways to accomplish the goal of creating a calorie deficit. You’ve illustrated that point well and maybe other readers will try your method and find that it works for them as well. Thanks for the great idea!
I will say, as a woman diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, which often includes a healthy side of insulin resistance… Calorie counting left me hungry and miserable, and the low fat diet was the worst. I could not stick to either. Once I found out that I had PCOS and that I was eating all wrong (too many refined carbs, especially power bars, not enough protein/acid, not enough snacks), I no longer needed to count calories at all to maintain a reasonable weight, just listened to my hunger and ate food combinations that didn’t cause insulin spikes. The pounds started drifting off at about a pound of two a week and I felt full all the time. My mood improved too.
But, I think my situation is very specific to someone with a relatively active lifestyle who was gaining weight solely because of undiagnosed insulin problems.
I will also say that it is pretty difficult to gain weight when all you can eat is fruit (as I found out when pregnant with morning sickness), even if you eat it constantly. I don’t recommend that diet to anybody.
Great post! I agree. I really dislike “always” statements. However, there are three blanket statements that I stand behind.
1. Maintain a calorie deficit, as you said in the post.
2. Maintain a positive nitrogen balance (PNB).
3. Do a full body strength training workout at least once weekly.
The first one is for weight loss and the last two are to ensure that your weight loss isn’t from muscle loss.
Dr. Kal´s last blog ..Weight Loss Blog Surfing
I’m like Joel above. I calorie count by prepping several days meals in advance. For what it’s worth I think calories in need to be less than calories out but it’s probably better to have good calories in.
AndrewE´s last blog ..Great runs and a blogger meetup
Andrew–I agree with you. But if you’re struggling, then I still say baby steps.
Dr. Kal–I’ve never heard the term positive nitrogen balance. Would you care to elaborate a bit?
I don’t totally agree with your post. Not to be argumentative, but rather in a contractive way, I hope. I’m new to your blog, so I’ve missed plenty and maybe going to say what’s already been discussed- in that case, please forgive me.
I’d like to argue that WHAT you eat is very important. I can go 30-30-40 and gets X amount of calories from salad and snickers and be all carbed up and pass out from hyperglycemia. Or I can eat something high in protein and healthy fat, and a good carb choice (read “low glycemic index”) (this ends up being in the ballpark of 30-30-40 plenty often, though I go a bit higher with fats) and start changing my body comp. Getting fit is awesome. Losing weight, however, does not necessarily equate to being more fit.
Have you discussed glycemic index scores on your blog? Eating 2000 cals a day is very high. To do that, you need to be either a high level athlete with a serious intake need, or eating a diet with a lot of high glycemic foods, which is never that great. I am in a pretty serious strength and conditioning program and maintaining 12-15% body fat, at about 1200-1400 cal/day.
Just trying to offer a different perspective. Have a great day!
Nitrogen is a component of amino acids and ultimately proteins. Your muscles, tissues, and enzymes are made from protein. Your body is constantly breaking itself down and building itself up. When proteins are broken down, some of the by products including nitrogen are released through your urine.
In order to re-build your muscles, tissues, and enzymes, the body needs nitrogen. If your body doesn’t have enough nitrogen then it will selectively rebuild your tissues and enzymes, forgoing muscle.
In order to keep your body from cannibalizing the muscle you currently have, you must consume more nitrogen/protein than you excrete (positive nitrogen balance). You also must participate in a minimal amount of strength training.
Hope that helps.
Dr. Kal´s last blog ..Weight Loss Blog Surfing
I think people are confusing their issues. To lose weight, caloric deficit is where it’s at. For decent health, those calories matter. If I eat 1400 calories of potato chips a day, I would probably lose weight, but would feel like crap, and my health (and exercise) would suffer. Though 1400 calories a day of even good food isn’t enough for me.
I’m also not so sure that a blanket statement about a bigger deficit leading to faster weight loss. If I tried to eat too fewer calories, I’d likely binge, and that does lots of harm. If I quit exercising, I could eat less, though I don’t think I’d lose more fat, I think my metabolism would slow down to compensate. As it is, I don’t count calories, I just eat as healthy as is comfortable (not going for perfect), and I no longer overeat. I still get to enjoy my food, don’t need to eat the same thing daily.
julie´s last blog ..Eat less, exercise less
Sure, maybe the issue can be confused, but the blog is titled “getFITslowly,” not “loseweightslowely.” Fitness involves body weight and nutrition, ability to squat, swim, lift, push, jump, etc, and a functional brain- not just fitting into new clothes.
I’ve understood the idea of a calorie deficit for a long time, but I recently took my eating to the next level. This next level was being concerned with the type of calories I eat, and my nutritional health. Normal calorie counting wasn’t working for me, and when I did keep it up I’d lose 10 or so pounds, but always ended up down-in-the-dumps, and tired. Now I focus on getting my food from vegetables, salads, fruits, beans, nuts and whole grains.
I don’t count the fat, protein, carbs and calories everday, because I know that sticking to the previous eating regimen will provide me with a calorie deficit until I get to my ideal weight. This eating regimen will also provide me with my full nutritional needs including protein, calcium, polyphenols, etc. Every few weeks if I’ve adjusted my meal plan, I look it over and crunched the numbers to makesure that I am indeed eating what I need to.
I’ve only concentrated on what sources I’m getting my calories and nutrients from, and not my weight. I do track my weight as one statistic on my weight loss and exercise transformation. I’m also tracking blood pressure, resting heart rate and body measurements. I’ve lost 34 lbs over the last 2 months, and have 42lbs to go till I reach my goal weight of 220lbs. As I keep this eating routine up and exercising up, I know that I will be nutritionally healthy and will have the body I need to go hiking, backpacking and biking this coming summer.
Dr. Kal–Thanks for the info! I knew that Nitrogen was a major component of protein, but I wasn’t sure about your use of the term positive nitrogen balance.
Julie–I’ve always preached “do what works for you” at Get Fit Slowly. And yes, I agree that eating 1400 calories of potato chips, even if it put into a negative calorie balance, is not a good diet plan. Also, I stand by my statement about how a bigger calorie deficit produces a bigger weight loss. It is harder to accomplish, and not a very maintainable practice. But if Joe creates a 1,000 calorie per day deficit and Bob creates a 500 calorie per day deficit, then Joe WILL lose twice as much weigh in the same amount of time as Bob. Again, there’s no one way to get fit slowly. As long as what you’re doing is working for you, then I’m all for it!
Sara–Thanks for encompassing the whole body (mind+body+lifestyle) aspects into the conversation. You’re comment is spot on!
Adam–Eating the right (or the wrong) kinds of foods definitely has an impact on how one feels. Please understand that I’m not advocating eating an unbalanced diet, or a junk food diet, as a means to achieving a calorie deficit. The original point of this post was that if you’re not counting calories, even if you are eating healthy foods, then you are most likely eating too many calories to lose weight. Too much healthy food can make you fat just as much as too much unhealthy food. From the looks of things, you’ve got your weight loss under control right now so I wouldn’t change a thing. If you’re rate slows down, or stops completely, then the first thing I’d take a look at would be the total number of calories you are consuming in a given day.
It’s very difficult to take something seriously when someone puts an absolute on it. What he said has a lot of merit, but only when you are talking to someone who truly understands their body and understands when to stop eating. In my opinion, it’s more important to understand what you are putting in your body, but only after you’ve discovered (and maintained) the ability to put the fork down when your body is satisfied and not over eat. Many people have gained weight on health food by eating too much and not understanding the basic principles behind proper diet and weight loss.
As someone whose body fat was close to 45%, and I’ve reduced to as low as 9% (my current % is between 13-15), I wholeheartedly agree with Mac’s last statement. The folks in Starbucks should focus “solely” on quantity in the beginning and forget about eating “healthy” or even macros! These folks are not fat not because they don’t eat healthy. They’re fat because they are, like I was, a glutton and over-consumption of food is their addiction.
I was a FAT (not overweight) and militant vegetarian for 3 years and most dieticians would probably dote over how “clean” I was eating. But, they’d probably cringe at the amount of brown rice and beans or whole wheat pasta and “organic” marinara sauce I would eat in one sitting. And what’s funny is that running in the “no-meat” circles, I met so many obese vegetarians. So, quality pales in comparison to quantity when it comes to weight or fat loss.
As many have already said, going from obese to lean must be taken in stages/baby steps. As Mac points out, the over-riding “law” is that calories are King, and everything else, including ideal macro ratios and quality of food, is up for debate.
Good post Mac …
But, from a business standpoint, why would the trainer tell them the simple basics (eat less) that’s required to lose weight? He’d be taking money out of his pocket;)
Mac,
I think you should keep posting about this. This discussion is a great one — people have presented their positions very well.
I have to say, I read about this stuff a lot, and I’ve never heard about the importance of nitrogen. I’ll have to check into this.
As you know, I’m a huge believer in calorie counting. You just can’t get around calorie math when you’re trying to lose weight. But first and foremost, before you start counting a single calorie, you have to turn away from processed foods. There are lots of reasons for this, and the mechanism by which this contributes to weight loss is largely indirect, but cooking virtually everything you eat from whole foods changes both how you eat and the lifestyle that supports over-eating. It presents a big problem for people because it takes time, and people’s lives often aren’t set up to take time to cook — but the solutions they find to this time problem lead directly to over-eating.
I love Julie’s comments about eating 1400 calories in the form of potato chips. I call this “angry dieting.” This argument between the “quantity” camp and the “quality” camp is a non-argument — people who reduce the concept of calorie counting strictly to a matter of quantity are, in my experience, furious about being required to eat less and are really resisting the lifestyle changes that are required to lose weight. By “lifestyle changes” I mean specifically the ways in which you change the ways you spend time. You, for example, have added two hours of gym time to your week, which means you’ve taken away two hours that you were spending doing something else. I’d love to hear from you about what you’re spending two hours less doing.
Also from Julie’s comment, I agree with her about the problem with an excessive calorie deficit. As you know, one of my early arguments with you was your insistence on planning for a calorie deficit in excess of 500 calories a day. I was enormously relieved when you finally let go of that. You’ll recall that on one episode of The Biggest Loser, Jillian scolds one of the contestants who is not losing much weight by telling her that she needs to be eating MORE. Hunger is the enemy of any diet.
This is a great discussion, Mac. I’m really struck by how sustainability-oriented your thinking is these days.
Dan–I agree. It’s been a great discussion. I’m really happy with it and wish I wrote posts that generated this kind of discussion more often. I’m curious if you’d be willing to share some of what you are reading on this topic–either publicly as a comment, or privately in an email. I’d really like to read more about it as well.
Regarding processed foods: I haven’t been able to kick them out of my house completely, but I’ve managed to cut them down a lot. I’m still eating canned soups and such but have pretty much cut out all crackers, chips, cereals (except oatmeal) and refined breads. I’ve added a bit of protein processed foods. I’m now drinking 1 store bought protein shake per day with my breakfast or immediately after working out with my trainer. With time, I still hope to improve on my scheduling so that I will make more wholesome foods at home on a regular basis. I’d love to get a slow cooker, fill it with healthy foods, and let them cook all day for example.
Regarding time management: On the days that I added exercise with my trainer, I’m getting out of bed an hour earlier. But I’m also going to bed an hour earlier the night before so I’m not really losing sleep, just shifting the schedule for the day. I’m aware that the only time I ever get up earlier than I want to is when I have someone depending on me (or when I’m paying someone). I don’t know if I’ll be paying my trainer forever (I’m sure he hopes I will be, right B?) but it’s working right now.
Thanks for the comment. I really look forward to your reading suggestions.
@ Dan –
I completely agree on the processed foods. Regardless of what you’re trying to do weight-wise, they’re just not good for our bodies. My wife and I have focused lately (in large part influenced by our desire to build good habits for our 1-yr-old) on eating less-processed foods and on making more things from scratch. After doing this for a while, I’ve noticed that I don’t feel very good after consuming much processed (or high-sugar content) food. That’s helped me be motivated to not eat or eat less of those things.