Friday Favorites: The 3,500 Calorie per Pound Rule Is Wrong
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- Опубліковано 9 лис 2023
- How many fewer calories do you have to eat every day to lose one pound of body fat?
If it were just a matter of your weight settling at the point at which your reduced calorie intake matches your reduced calorie output, it would take years for your weight loss to plateau. Instead, it often happens within six to eight months after starting a new diet. I explain why in my next video, The Reason Weight Loss Plateaus When You Diet (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-....
This is the first of 14 videos that are part of my fasting video series, for which I did two webinars. All these videos are on Nutritonfacts.org, or you can get them all in a digital download here: Intermittent Fasting (drgreger.org/collections/vide.... I also did webinars on Fasting and Disease Reversal (drgreger.org/collections/vide...) and Fasting and Cancer (drgreger.org/collections/vide....
The next several in this series are:
• The New Calories per Pound of Weight Loss Rule? (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-...)
• The Benefits of Calorie Restriction for Longevity (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-...)
• Potential Pitfalls of Calorie Restriction (nutritionfacts.org/video/pote...)
• Benefits of Fasting for Weight Loss Put to the Test (nutritionfacts.org/video/bene...)
• Is Fasting Beneficial for Weight Loss? (nutritionfacts.org/video/is-f...)
• Is Fasting for Weight Loss Safe? (nutritionfacts.org/video/is-f...)
Some other popular videos on weight loss are:
• Eating More to Weigh Less (nutritionfacts.org/video/eati...)
• Are There Foods with Negative Calories? (nutritionfacts.org/video/are-...)
• Nutrient Dense Approach to Weight Management (nutritionfacts.org/video/nutr...)
• How Much Exercise to Sustain Weight Loss (nutritionfacts.org/video/how-...)
• Keep Your Waist Circumference to Less than Half Your Height (nutritionfacts.org/video/keep...)
• Does Apple Cider Vinegar Help with Weight Loss? (nutritionfacts.org/video/appl...)
• Can Morbid Obesity Be Reversed Through Diet? (nutritionfacts.org/video/can-...)
• The Weight Loss Program that Got Better with Time (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-...)
• Are Weight Loss Pills Safe? (nutritionfacts.org/video/are-w...)
• Are Weight Loss Pills Effective? (nutritionfacts.org/video/are-w...)
• The Best Time to Exercise for Weight Loss (nutritionfacts.org/video/the-...)
I also tackled the ketogenic diet, if anyone is interested:
• Keto Diet Theory Put to the Test (nutritionfacts.org/video/keto-...)
• Keto Diet Results for Weight Loss (nutritionfacts.org/video/keto-...)
• Is Weight Loss on Ketosis Sustainable? (nutritionfacts.org/video/is-we...)
• Are Keto Diets Safe? (nutritionfacts.org/video/are-k...)
• Keto Diets: Muscle Growth and Bone Density (nutritionfacts.org/video/keto-...)
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-Michael Greger, MD FACLM
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My name is Suzie D. I want to thank you for your great books & information .... I have been vegan for 3 years.... I have lost 120 lbs.... I FEEL GREAT.... I have never believed the 3500 calorie rule
The 3500 calorie rule does work, just not continuously over time.
Got your book on how not to die and have been a whole food plant based vegan for 5 years. It has changed my life for the better. Have to exercise so I do Pilates everyday and make sure I move You are in constant motion on the treadmill so I got one. Walking and talking become a great way to live happily. Stairstepper also. If I start sitting too much it then becomes the norm. We are the habits we keep so mindfully choose your behaviors wisely. Thank you Dr Gregor! Ever want to speak in nyc or the Jersey Shore area I’d help.
And it is even more complex than “bigger bodies require more energy to move and maintain” because there are some very energy-intensive processes (like immune system activity) that are up or down regulated based on energy availability. I’m currently reading Herman Pontzer’s ‘Burn’ and enjoying it immensely. Highly recommended.
So a pound of fat does contain approximately 3500kcal, it's just that the body has compensation mechanisms that affect real world weight loss, so we can't use basic arithmetic to estimate weight loss.
Exactly
It's also a very inexact approximation so people shouldn't hold it to such a high standard as they do
The "rule" is correct. That is indeed the approximate amount of energy in a pound of pure fat. Metabolic adaptation doesn't change that.
Is it not that as the person loses weight then the BMR goes down? Therefore, they are no longer in a 500 calorie deficit. As the person looses weight the deficit gets smaller and smaller. Right?
Thats exactly what it is, this was a weird video tbh. The general rule still applies, so im not really sure what the doc is even arguing here. It should be noted though (and i thought this was what the video would be about) that the 3500 rule is an estimate based literally on the weight and energy based off a lb of fat. This number can vary wildly based on genetics and how much of the weight you are losing being from fat vs non fatty tissue. In other words, some people could lose a lb a week at a 2000 calorie deficit, and some could lose no weight on a 3500 calorie deficit. End of the day, it's finding the deficit that works best for you, not doing some exact math
"BMR increases with a decrease in body weight to about 0.02 kcal/min, corresponding to each 1% decrease in body weight" is from the National Institutes of Health.
In my study (n=1), switching to a WFPB diet, minimizing oil, limiting nuts and getting off my keister regularly resulted in more weight loss than I care to share with zero counting of calories.
OK, I did add up calories for a week just to see what I was taking in and it turned out to be just what I'd need to maintain my ideal weight.
Check out his video on the study that fed people the flavorless goop. That was an eye opener. It works with tasty vegan food, too. Listening to your body and not eating SAD CRAP that artificially enhances one's hunger is a game changer.
ua-cam.com/video/KIr7sZEpMYo/v-deo.html
which video?
ua-cam.com/video/KIr7sZEpMYo/v-deo.html
Clickbait. The rule was not contradicted in any of the examples. In all cases, there was a slowdown in weight loss because the subjects did not adjust their calorie intake as their weight (and energy expenditure) decreased, so they were not in a 500-calorie deficit.
wait - just because your burn rate changes doesn't equate to the 3500 calorie rule being wrong - it could just mean you can't reach a 3500 cal deficit as easily.
Correct. That's a flawed argument he makes. But still, I believe it is true that at a certain low or high calorie intake, weight still asymptotes.
In short the 3500 calorie per LB of fat is correct and it was never refuted in this video.
The video then goes on a tangent explaining a mechanic of reduced caloric eating.
Your body will likely try to fight a reduction of calories by reducing the energy it uses when resting.
I love this channel!
Thanks
Yes! I made a formula in excel that showed this happening as I lost weight......it's much more dramatic than you might expect....
Sorry, but I see a flaw in the explanation. The rule is about a deficit of 3500 kkcal, and it's the deficit compared to the calories burned. The reference amount changes. If you take this Into account, this rule works.
I thought you were going to say a pound of bodyweight lost isnt a pound of fat lost
So it seems like yes the 3500 calorie thing is true, but also you’d have to adjust your -500 as you lose weight because you’re burning less calories. Sure, if you stay the same it’s gonna plateau. But having a tracker where you put in your weight it’s gonna adjust. Technically, if you did keep eating 500 calories less than what you’re burning you would keep losing weight.
So within a broad range, 3500 kcal/pound holds. But at higher weights or lower weights, it asymptotes. I found that for me that figure is about 195 pounds.
Hunger and satiety signals are the most accurate “calorie counters”.
would love to know how many calories i should be eating. What's the formula, so I can plug in my weight?
Ive been binge watching you on chef aj. Absolutely incredible mind. Im in awe. 💚
Hey he also has a huge video archive at his website, I binged it for a month or two before I considered actually changing my diet. 8 years later--super happy I did change my diet (my way) and only wish I'd learned how to eat sooner! I'm 57 now. Daily dozen makes it super easy--but it's also good to know how it works-and realize we simply do not know it all, but we darned sure know enough.
I had 5 liposuccions, because of Lipodema, so I had no choice. It's no joke on the body ! If you want to do it just for looks. Please don't !
There’s also NEAT, not just weight-based BMR.
This video assumes you’re not adjusting calories in relative to calories out to maintain a 500-calorie deficit. Of course the tiny woman wouldn’t vanish, but the obese man could reach 700 pounds by eating 2 donuts a day, then 4, then 6… always 2 donuts ahead of what he burns
I’ve wondered how it effect weight loss/calorie requirements if while eating less to lose weight, you wore a weighted vest that you could add the weight you’ve lost back on in vest weight.
Would it help, hurt or be neutral
We call that reverse rucking. Can definitely help break a plateau
What you're describing is the wall people always wonder why the wall stalls there progress you just answered why
non linear relationships are confusing for the medical establishment
When you weigh yourself each day, you have to adjust your basal metabolic rate in the calories out portion of the equation. People who use the formula generally tend to do this. The more important factor that almost no one considers tho, is the one I thought you were going to talk about, and which I believe you've already made a video on: your body tends to move less with a greater calorie deficit, beyond what the basal metabolic rate calculators account for. E.g. a two hundred calorie deficit will be more effective over the long run than a five hundred calorie deficit, because the 500cal deficit signals your body to conserve energy. So your temp goes down, you twitch less, and you are psychologically less motivated to move your body.
And, you even tend to type less... 'though.'
Dis tru
Please can you do a video about gaining weight in a healthy way. There's so much loose this loose that, but some people struggle to gain any kind of weight and have problems with macros especially when on a high fiber diet. being really skeletal skinny with no energy is not healthy either
The concept of eating more to put on weight doesn't strike you as the opposite of eating less to take off weight? It's literally that simple.
@@ddpwe5269Unfortunately not so simple if you have a very high metabolism which some people do have, but it’s correct and I guess the only way lean more towards higher calorie dense foods like nuts, dried fruits, avocado/pasta, tofu, beans, legumes and less amount of whole grains, rice, potatoes, fruits, non starchy vegetables. But do eat them as they are still the healthier choice just in less amounts, reverse the order if you want to lose weight
Clickbait title. Video’s point is common knowledge.
👍👍😊
Unfortunately not one of your best videos. A daily 500 calorie deficit implies it evolves day by day, so if the calories burned reduces, the calories-in would also need to reduce to maintain that deficit. Simple math Dr. Greger!
The resulting message of the video explains why a fixed calorie intake will have a plateauing effect on weight loss. This idea was well explained :)
nice pedi
I can lose a lbs a day Easy. Losing weight is easy. Putting on weight is Hard.
Going to the bathroom doesn't count as losing weight.
I didn’t hear anything in the video that disputes the 3500 calorie rule. This video basically just says “if you want to maintain a 500 calorie deficit you need to account for the fact your body requires fewer calories as you lose weight.” The scenario presented in the video is someone who cuts 500 calories off their initial diet and then that is their new permanent baseline. And that scenario is presented to show the 3500 calorie rule is wrong.
Honestly a bit of an embarrassing analysis/title combination for this channel.
I find this thermodynamic discussion surprisingly out of date. A calorie is never just a calorie. A calorie of GMO soy oil is not a calorie of avocado oil. A calorie of highly refined sugar is not "equal" to a calorie of something like raw honey. Thermodynamics just ignore human biology. Weight isn't necessarily even fat, it can be the autoimmune system in high gear fighting undigested particles in the blood! I eliminated refined sugar, GMO foods, nonorganic foods, did no exercise (that thermodynamics claim are essential) and went from 260 to 180 which is the same 8 years later! Farm your microbiome, heal your gut, and the weight will leave! Isn't some "study", it is just how the body works!
This and the whole "a calorie is a calorie" myth are the two misconceptions that have created more weight loss frustration than anything else out there.
I've lost 3 pounds a week eating just a couple hundred calories below BMR for weeks at a time. It's not hard, but it's allegedly impossible according to the "calorie is a calorie" folks or the 3500 people. The human body doesn't work that way.