This is a decent review of Gary Taubes' latest book, highlighting two of the central theses. First is that getting fat is probably more about what you eat than how much, because the first drives the second. The second idea is one I've blogged about several times:
Describing what he calls “the 20-calorie paradox,’’ he points out that for a lean 25- year-old to gain 50 pounds by the time he is 50, all that is needed is to consume exactly 20 calories more that he burns per day, every day. This is “less than a single bite of a . . . hamburger or croissant. Less than 2 ounces of [soft drink] or the typical beer. Less than three potato chips.’’ If calories in-calories out was all there was to it, “you [would] need only to rein yourself in by this amount — undereat by 20 calories a day — to undo it.’’
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/01/10/weighing_in_on_why_we_get_fat/
In other words, we can't make any headway if we view the body as a static vessel passively receiving and consuming "energy". The body is a highly dynamic system, with inputs affecting outputs and vice versa. If your work output didn't affect your energy inputs (aka "hunger"), all lumberjacks would have starved to death. Likewise, when folks undertake to restrict calories over time, their energy expenditure (movement, body heat) decreases. Obviously, I own a CrossFit affiliate and I view fitness as an essential element to a high quality of life, but for fat management, exercise is over-rated. The key to health and body composition management is to eat the right food.
Describing what he calls “the 20-calorie paradox,’’ he points out that for a lean 25- year-old to gain 50 pounds by the time he is 50, all that is needed is to consume exactly 20 calories more that he burns per day, every day. This is “less than a single bite of a . . . hamburger or croissant. Less than 2 ounces of [soft drink] or the typical beer. Less than three potato chips.’’ If calories in-calories out was all there was to it, “you [would] need only to rein yourself in by this amount — undereat by 20 calories a day — to undo it.’’
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2011/01/10/weighing_in_on_why_we_get_fat/
In other words, we can't make any headway if we view the body as a static vessel passively receiving and consuming "energy". The body is a highly dynamic system, with inputs affecting outputs and vice versa. If your work output didn't affect your energy inputs (aka "hunger"), all lumberjacks would have starved to death. Likewise, when folks undertake to restrict calories over time, their energy expenditure (movement, body heat) decreases. Obviously, I own a CrossFit affiliate and I view fitness as an essential element to a high quality of life, but for fat management, exercise is over-rated. The key to health and body composition management is to eat the right food.
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