How to Lose Weight…
Let’s cut straight to the heart of the matter.
We want to lose weight, and we want good advice.
Eating less to lose weight makes sense.
But we get told differently.
‘Eat less’ turns into ‘Eat better’ and then into ‘Eat healthy food choices, eat frequently to keep your metabolism revving and your blood sugar stable and DON’T SKIP MEALS!’
‘Eating Less’ becomes STARVATION MODE and METABOLIC SLOW DOWN and LOSING MUSCLE and all sorts of other things that are so bad for you they warrant all capital letters.
So what’s going on?
Is the scientific community actually THIS split on the issue?
Nope.
Bigger things are at play.
Here’s the giant pink elephant in the middle of the room that nobody wants to talk about:
Americans spend OVER 1.6 TRILLION ON FOOD PER YEAR.
Nobody wants to give up those kinda profits!
If you eat less, profits suffer.
1.6 TRILLION….that’s a LOT.
If you eat less, people lose their jobs.
If you eat less, you pay less taxes to the government..I’m not sure what 1.6 TRILLION would net in taxes, but my guess is, it’s a very big number.
The bottom line is that if you choose to eat less, your are choosing to swim against the current.
But we all know the current is NOT leading anywhere that we want to be.
If the US food supply is currently around 3,900 Calories per person per day, then swimming with the current is going to lead to obesity, self esteem issues, diabetes and a host of other lifestyle related diseases.
(And at 3,900 Calories…It’s not like you can simply ‘exercise away’ these extra calories.)
So Choose to Eat Less, and understand why when you go looking for support you may be met with nagging and ‘you’re doing it wrong’ type advice (see my last post on Social Support to get an idea of what I’m talking about)
BP
PS- The easiest way to eat less, that allows you get amazing results without having to broadcast your diet to the world? Eat Stop Eat.
(The 1.6 Trillion figure can be referenced to here: Plunkett Research (2008). Food industry overview, 2008.)
In the interest of accuracy, there’s not likely to be a tax loss, as people will still spend the money they save on food.
Great post, the $1.5T number boggles my mind!
Brad, you deserve a medal for stating the obvious that people do not want to commit to: EAT LESS!!!
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It is so simple but still hard to implement for so many.
Currently in Fasting state !!! [ ups, i think the starvation mode just kicked in and i will loose all my muscles
Hi Brad,
Great post, as always!
If you’ll allow me, I’d like to ask you a question about the opposite of overeating: I frequently read on other fitness sites that if one is not eating enough (say, under 1800 cal. per day on a daily basis for a male adult), this could stop or slow down fat loss. Is this true?
In that case under-eating would be as bad as over-eating… So, what would you consider the lowest number of cal. under which one should not go (on a daily basis of course)?
Many thanks in advance, and greetings from Montréal!
Still can’t understand why almost all expert, fitness blogger etc. are talking about the same. (the capital letters in your post). It can’t be that all of them is intrested in food business.. Or many of them just following the mainstream and dont have a clue about what they talking?
We are bombarded with food advertisements all day everyday. It’s no wonder people eat so much; we are constantly reminded that we should be eating!
I also really like your blogging style. Short, to-the-point sentences. No big paragraphs. I always end up reading your posts. TLDNR (Too Long, Did Not Read) does not apply to Brad, heh.
Pat,
No, the less you eat, the more fat you will lose. If you eat too little, and do not weight train, you could lose muscle too. But you can eat a LOT less than 1800 cal. and preserve muscle mass. A study showed that people on an 800 cal per day diet for 12 weeks, eating 80g protein per day, and strength training 3 times per week, did not lose any muscle.
What Lars Said
Hey Brad!
Since it is so hard to determine calories with food, can you provide examples of say a 2,000 calorie day on your blog? I have plateaud a bit on ESE and I am afraid it has to do with the weekend binge, but it could also be the evening meals.
Thanks!
Great, thanks guys!
Wow, 1.6Trillion is a really big motivator for the food industry and I can see why they do not want us to stop eating. As Matt said, I love your short-to-the-point posts. Great stuff too.
Thanks for the information!
Great and to the point Brad. I’ve not only been enjoying my food, exercise, and lifestyle, I’ve also saved so much money on ESE. It’s the cheapest healthy diet I’ve ever been on! Thanks for this.
P.S. I’ve had many a crazy night where that elephant is – none other than the (in)famous Bourbon St. in New Orleans.
It’s the hard cold truth as the others mentionned
It reminded me of when I told my husband how much we spend on food every year (I’m an accountant) and he could not believe that we spend more on food then on mortage, taxes and heating together! Anyways I’ve also noticed recently how many trainers on the internet promote the mini frequent meals way of eating as a way to sell the supplements and books with whom they are affiliated…..Thanks Brad for making me a more educated and less naive consumer.
Brad,
STOP SPREADING…THE TRUTH!!!
please eat more…I want my bonus at the end of the year. workstopwork…
Brad,
I was interested in something you said about being poor being correlated with being obese and diabetic in the philife podcast. Do you think this has to do with government subsidies?
That tends to go against the point that you’re making here.
Dan, I know you asked Brad to field this one, but I currently live and work in a “poor area” of New York City. The poor tend to have less money but eat more calories. Think of cheap, fast food, processed/packaged foods…food stamps can only stretch so far. A single mom with four kids can probably buy two dozen boxes of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese for around $24. That’s 24 highly caloric meals at $1/piece that can be split up among four little kids. Now look at two breasts of Perdue chicken, maybe $3 or $4? And if it’s organic, it’s more like $8 or $9. The you look at vegetables like spinach or broccoli that may cost $4 a bunch and feed the family once. Why not buy the huge bag of potatoes? They’re cheaper and there’s tons more. Or why not buy all four of your kids Happy Meals and spend $10 and be done with it?
We need to have a food revolution where all people have fair access to food that won’t kill them. I’m a frigging teacher and can’t buy organic b/c my dollars have to compete with a high cost of living. All of these things are related. The food that is cheap to make is the most widely available, regardless of how it affects our bodies.
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Nutrition – How to Lose Weight: Let’s cut straight to the heart of the matter. Eating less to lose weight makes sense. But we get told differently….