One of the hardest parts about losing weight is that we and our fellow human beings are notoriously inaccurate at estimating how many calories we consume or burn. One of the reasons that we have such difficulties is that the same foods we consume today are significantly higher in calories than they used to be.
Here are a few examples from the Centers For Disease Control (click here to check it out): As you can see from this picture, if you have been used to eating a bagel for breakfast every morning, you are getting an additional 210 calories per day that you weren’t getting 20 years ago. This could lead to an additional 20 pounds per year gained! All from a bagel and not being aware of the calories you are consuming.
To burn those extra calories you’d have to do yard work for almost an hour.
The difference from this common dining out offender is enough to add more than a few inches to the waistline.
You’d have to run on a treadmill at 5 mph for over 45 minutes to make up for that difference. And that’s not including the all-you-can-eat salad and breadsticks!!
You won’t just be supersizing your meal, you’ll be supersizing your waist.
You’d have to take a walk for almost two hours to make up the difference from just the fries, not to mention the supersized soft drink.
In The Weight Loss Counter Revolution book (which can be purchased on line by clicking here) I describe and bring evidence from scientific studies that have proven how inaccurate we are at estimating our caloric intake. These differences can easily explain the root cause of the obesity epidemic.
This article from the New York Times does a good job at describing the problem:
This is a great article that describes the problem although I strongly disagree with one point. The article advocates against calorie counting and only that “you have to pay attention to eating better and in moderation.” If you read my book you will see all the evidence why that is not the case. You HAVE to count your calories. If you’re not counting, you’re not in control and just don’t know how much you’re taking in. More on this in future posts…
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I'm sorry to say that it most definitely is
Is this for real????????
The changes in portions are staggering! One way to deal with this would be to avoid eating out as much as possible, and when you do, cut everything in half before you eat it. This would be an important part of a total calorie-counting program