I started thinking about this after reading some blogs about the accuracy of nutritional information on packaged foods.
Losing weight, in my opinion, is not an exact science. There are so many variables. Some are universal variables and some are internal. I will give some examples below, but what I really wanted to say is that each of us must find what works for us. If we are losing weight at a steady pace then we have it about right. If our weight loss is slow we may need to eat more or less, move more or less... we may have to try difefrent things and see what works.
And why do I think this is not an exact science? After all we know that we need to burn 3500 calories to lose 1 pound of fat, right?
Ok, here is my list of variables. I may be wrong, as I am going on what is in my head, not research.
- Base metabolic rate - I believe that the tools and methods to measure this are only estimates, however close to the truth they may be.
- Calories in a fixed amount of any food - not every cow has exactly the same proportion of fat to muscle, not every banana is the identical weight. Calories per portion can only ever be an average, even if in some cases it is a very accurate average.
- How many calories we burn on a given day - we are humans, not machines. How hard we work, how hot we are, how much muscle we have, how much water we drink, how much sleep we had... these all influence how efficiently our body burns calories.
- External conditions - our body burns more energy when cold than hot. We have to work harder cycling into a head wind than a tail wind.
- Burning fat versus muscle - lots of factors determine this and it can impact our weight loss and our ability to maintain those losses.
So given those variables (and probably others) my belief is that we need to stop trying to be perfectionists. Aside from perfectionism being a key to falling off the wagon and deciding that we are a failure rather than getting back on, it also means we get frustrated when the calories per day we are told to eat does not result in the loss we hope for. It means that we feel out of control when we have to guess the points/calories/fat in the food we eat.
So, my advice (wanted or not 
) is to use the available science to determine the best energy intake and output for you to lose weight. Then apply common sense. If your weight loss is slower than you would like, do you need to add or reduce your intake our output? What will work for you (ie is you are already hungry all day then reducing intake is probably not a good option!)?
) is to use the available science to determine the best energy intake and output for you to lose weight. Then apply common sense. If your weight loss is slower than you would like, do you need to add or reduce your intake our output? What will work for you (ie is you are already hungry all day then reducing intake is probably not a good option!)? And remember that there are 84 (or 168 if you are a 6 times a day eater!) meals every 4 weeks. If you used to have McDonalds for 10 of those and you slip up and have one per month, that is still a win in my books!
(PPS: some links about the calories in a portion of food point that explain it much better than I do!
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