calories are an arbitrary metric anyways, wood has a ton of calories but you can’t digest it, so they’re a very vague guideline at the very best, and misleading at worst
They’re still helpful in sorting out a 600 calorie meal that’s going to keep someone on track to lose weight versus a 1200 calorie meal that is going to make them gain weight. Even if it’s not exact, it’s a useful guideline.
Moreover, there’s not really much solid research which demonstrates that weight loss should even be the focus of improving our health. People who are considered “overweight” based on their BMI score (which is another completely arbitrary and unhelpful metric) should not be focusing on weight loss.
The thing that people should be focusing on is simply any type of regular physical activity. It doesn’t particularly matter much what that activity is, it’s far more effective to choose an activity you enjoy.
Agreed on BMI but you’re missing the point on calories. If people want to lose weight the simplest way is to count calories. Run a caloric deficit, lose weight. Doesn’t get any more simple than that. It doesn’t matter if it’s not 100% accurate if it works.
calories are an arbitrary metric anyways, wood has a ton of calories but you can’t digest it, so they’re a very vague guideline at the very best, and misleading at worst
They’re still helpful in sorting out a 600 calorie meal that’s going to keep someone on track to lose weight versus a 1200 calorie meal that is going to make them gain weight. Even if it’s not exact, it’s a useful guideline.
There’s not really much actual solid research which demonstrates that calorie-counting is an effective method of weight loss.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/stop-counting-calories
Moreover, there’s not really much solid research which demonstrates that weight loss should even be the focus of improving our health. People who are considered “overweight” based on their BMI score (which is another completely arbitrary and unhelpful metric) should not be focusing on weight loss.
The thing that people should be focusing on is simply any type of regular physical activity. It doesn’t particularly matter much what that activity is, it’s far more effective to choose an activity you enjoy.
Agreed on BMI but you’re missing the point on calories. If people want to lose weight the simplest way is to count calories. Run a caloric deficit, lose weight. Doesn’t get any more simple than that. It doesn’t matter if it’s not 100% accurate if it works.