Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes.
Burn by Herman Pontzer.
What’s unique about these two books and authors?
The association for behavior analysis international (ABAI) invited both authors to speak at their annual convention and they offered conflicting messages.
Gary in 2014.
Herman in 2022.
I attended both. I made sure I arrived 5 minutes early so as not to miss their 50 minutes of expanding-my-scope-wisdom.
Back in 2014, I was a young, hungry (all the puns intended) master’s student at the time, eager to learn as much as I could on topics tangential to my interests in physical activity and sedentary behavior – diets, nutrition, metabolism—those things.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Gary is kind of a big deal, a best-selling author on those topics. He’s made the rounds on popular podcasts. I wondered what I could learn to fuel my master’s thesis.
I finished his book sometime in 2014 or 2015, but I finished it. It was dense and through to get through at times.
Fast forward 8 years, to this year. By the time I chatted up with Herman after his presentation, I finished my master’s program, a Ph.D. at the University of Florida, and entered the industry. I read Herman’s advisor’s book during my Ph.D. program, The Story of the Human Body by Daniel Lieberman.
(I only found this out while talking to Herman). Oh, and I screwed up his name, I said “Oh yeah, I read that book by Daniel Kahneman”
Wow! What a silly academic mistake to make. Ha!
Research A vs. Research B
Throughout chapters 5 and 6 of his book, you finish thinking that Pontzer has it out for Taubes. After all, Pontzer prefaced his arguments with chapter sections titled, “More data, less shouting”.
Taubes argued in his book, that the type or quality of calories mattered most when it came to weight loss and preventable disease. Specifically, eating too many carbohydrates, or added sugars, was the blame to excess body fat.
Pontzer, on the other hand, meticulously pointed out – through research published before and after Taubes’ book – that the quantity of calories mattered most.
What’s responsible for weight loss? Calories in, calories out.
Regardless of the distribution of macronutrients (fats vs. carbohydrates vs. proteins), if you eat fewer calories than you burn, then you lose weight. And vice versa.
Pontzer took a fun, shit-talking (with data) approach to the complicated yet simple topic of human metabolism. He made it accessible and easy to understand. A few research findings were hard to follow as I had to reread a few sections myself.
How does this impact BehaviorFit?
As a scientist it is important to adjust my behavior in the face of new data, for the first understanding old data, and thinking about my own practice.
Accurate content
I wrote blogs, created social media content, and hell, even made a business card swayed by calorie type rather than calorie quantity as a guiding principle.
In my early research days, popular press books like Good Calories, Bad Calories swayed my thinking and own behavior. While I personally am sorting out the details and gauging my own interest level on the topic, I must remain unbiased as possible in the content I produce moving forward.
Improved coaching
Coincidentally, several years ago, for those clients interested in weight loss, I only required clients to count calories if that goal was appropriate for him or her. A few clients over the years asked about macronutrients, and my response often reverted back to the general calories in, calories out (CICO) approach to weight loss.
I can refer clients to primary and secondary sources and let each client decide which strategy they may choose (e.g., lower carb, lower calories, higher protein). However, if clients choose a diet strategy that is contraindicated (goes against) what the research tells us, I can advise against it.
Referring to the experts
As an expert in behavior change, I will stay in my lane. Although I read, look up original sources, and do my best to understand new topics, my position is to still take a behavioral approach to any health and fitness problem and refer deeper questions to the nutrition and metabolic experts.
I am fortunate for the education, and opportunities to attend ABAI, and thankful for authors like Gary Taubes and Herman Pontzer. Publishing on these topics helps us all understand complicated topics in a new light.
