Calories In/Calories Out

After several days of overeating and undermoving, I'm ready to get back to a normal eating and exercise schedule.  As we move through the "Holiday" Season, and on to New Year's resolutions, many folks are talking about changing their eating habits and looking to a healthier future.

In general, there is no magic bullet to getting to or staying at a healthy weight.  Eat less and move more is at the core of much health advice.  This in one way or another applies to discussions about cholesterol and heart disease, blood pressure, cancer risk, bone health and other issues.

There are many reasons why people eat too much, but this doesn't change the math of calories in versus calories out.

As a way of reminding everyone that there is more than one way to work towards healthy eating, I thought I'd do a round-up of all the programs, tips, "diets" and eating styles I have heard from actual users recently.  I'm also throwing in some contradictory research, just for fun, to show that data can be interpreted, ignored, highlighted and skewed. In the end we just need to find what works for us to reach the healthy calories in/calories out balance.  I am not promoting any of these, in fact some of them I think are kind of questionable!  Check your science and decide for yourself.

The China Study (completely plant-based diet, no meat, fish dairy products or eggs)

• An alternate philosophy is proposed by the Weston Price Foundation, which includes eating whole, unprocessed foods, meat from pasture-fed animals, and liberal consumption of animal fats, especially butter.  There is a critique of the china Study from them here.

Quitting a 2 full-sugar-sodas-a-day habit
Not eating at the movies
Not snacking on cheese
Only eating when you are hungry
Not eating fruit after 4pm
Lots of salads
Coconut Oil

• Coconut oil contains saturated fat which has been linked to heart disease.  There are many claims about coconut oil, but little actual research.  Some good info is here.

Walking
Biking
Running
Eating half as much as you used to
Not eating cold cereal
Eating a really big breakfast

• New research shows that despite the conventional weight-loss wisdom, the idea that eating breakfast helps you lose weight stems largely from misconstrued studies.  Read about myths surrounding breakfast here.

And finally, the debate about which matters more for weight loss, eating less or exercise, continues.  Or not.  In my admittedly limited research, I could not find links to any articles or research that says exercise is more important than diet in weight loss.  Exercise burns calories and is important for weight maintenance and general good health, but most people are more likely to lose more calories by eating less than by exercising.

• Read about science-based weight-loss tips and some anthropological research about diet, exercise and metabolism.

Happy Eating Everyone!