Because a person has little control over the amount calories their body consumes. For example, if you run and burn 300 calories in the morning your body compensates for this by consuming far less calories throughout the day. A better example would be a person who starves themselves to lose weight. These people feel sluggish and can't concentrate throughout the day because their body is reacting to the lack of calorie input by consuming far less calories. So was anything gained? Your body uses energy for things like brain function and maintaining body temperature. Things a person has little control over.
Just because 'calories in/calories out' isn't the only variable in the equation doesn't mean it is meaningless to monitor it. I'll agree that a few calories difference is irrelevant but it is fact that you can manipulate your body weight based solely on calories within the confines of any diet.
You can monitor total caloric input, the calories you eat. You can not monitor how much of those calories your body uses but that does not make the latter meaningless.
No, it's not. Yes you can monitor it. Sure, you won't get it down the every single calorie but you can get in the ballpark. In terms of pure consumption of calories, the brain's usage isn't going to make or break the scale. Eating excessive calories however, will.
yes it does. your body's caloric consumption is dependent on your bodies caloric intake. Thats why a person is sluggish when they starve themselves. it rly is. That's why every weight loss commercial (nutrisystems, weightwatchers, etc...) says something along the lines of 'eat as much as you want on this blah blah diet'. The amount of calories does not matter. What matters is what you are eating. you wont come close. The brain's usage was an example. maintaining body temperature was another. Everything single system in the body would be more examples of how your body uses energy and you have control over none of these. They will all adjust themselves to a lack of energy available by using less energy.
The 17 lbs I've lost in the last 2.5 weeks would tend to disagree with you. And yes, I monitored my calories in. And no, I haven't upped my exercise much during this time. Never felt sluggish either.
exercising is pretty much calorie counting. As previously stated, the relevant factor would be what you ate. Not how much. Did you eat alot of sugar? I doubt it.
As I said before, I exercised very little (maybe 3 long walks for a total of an hour and some gardening around the house) in a 3 week period. As for what I ate, yes sugar intake was within reason. But not because I was paying any special attention to it.
I understand. as i said exercising is calorie counting and therefore doesn't help lose fat (it is still very healthy) the reason u lost weight is because you cut back on sugar/carbs and not because u ate less calories. you can read the first 4 paragraphs of this and understand most of the science of fat loss http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin
