3,000 Calories a Day Proved to be a Failed Experiment Resulting in Corpulence

I didn't want to reduce my carbs or go on any kind of "diet" per se; I just wanted to watch my calories, keep them under 3,000. My calorie watch failed. I gained 12 pounds while "watching" my calories (watching myself eat more and more) because I denied, to my detriment, that I was a carb addict (as most people are). 

I sat down at counted how many carbs I was eating a day: in excess of 300. 

Since keeping my carbs and sugars down. No desserts, dried fruit, bedtime cereal, etc., has cut my daily carbs in half and so far I've lost 7 pounds.

To conclude, the "3,000 Calories a Day" proved to be a big fat failure. Gary Taubes, who writes extensively about the dangers of eating high carbs, is right. 

Comments

[Moogbass]

The only way I can lose weight is to pour on the exercise. I've gone from 215 to 195 just by riding my bike every other night (about 15 miles). I maintain that weight by portion control. Eventually, a person's stomach must shrink or something, because now I eat a fraction of what I used to and I am full. I still eat chocolate, ice cream, etc., just less of it.

[Jeffrey McMahon]

Sadly, I've gone through weightgain periods while over exercising and overeating.

[Jesse Menn]

I'm staying under 3100 -- which means I'm really staying under something 26 - 2700. The carbs are sort of a no-shit that these are bad for you. If you're not acknowledging that you're actively fooling yourself. Not that I think those low-carb, high-protein diets are GOOD (though the idea of eating three steaks and half a dozen eggs for every meal does appeal to me), but some carb moderation should be a no brainer.

Oh, and for what it's worth, my girlfriend has stopped eating pork because of Foer's book.

[jeffrey McMahon]

Yeah, carb moderation is a "no-brainer," yet I denied my excess carb intake until recently. Bad habits . . .