Portion Control
- Bret McClellan
- Aug 19, 2018
- 3 min read
Talk to dieters anywhere and, in all likelihood, this phrase will come up: “It’s all about portion control.” Let it be known that “portion control” is complete and utter nonsense, and a battle that the dieter is PREDISPOSED to lose. If the dieter had any control over the portions in the first place, he/she wouldn’t be overweight to begin with! Restaurants these days make a habit of stockpiling FAR too much food on one plate than should be consumed in one meal. Foods, whether at a restaurant or a grocery store, are SPECIFICALLY ENGINEERED to be highly palatable, such that the very ACT of eating generates an elevated dopamine response in the body, which then solicits addictive behavior.
Who HASN’T chowed down on an entire tub of popcorn, or box of cereal, or tube of Pringles, or mountain of garlic cheese fries? It’s written in our very own genetic CODE to be PRONE to food addiction. Food is a GOOD thing, from a survival perspective. Without such an addiction, our ancestors wouldn’t have left nearly as many offspring, as more of them would’ve starved to death. It is BECAUSE of this dopamine response that humans have succeeded in dominating the planet.
Eventually, the concept of portion control boils down to the old, hackneyed and erroneous assumption that a calorie is a calorie, so you need to burn more calories than you consume to lose weight. Again, that concept could not be further off-base, since ALL CALORIES ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. If all calories WERE created equal, then consider this:
The average person needs to consume approximately 2,000 to 2,500 calories per day to match the body’s general output of energy.
A gallon of diesel fuel provides approximately 35,000 calories, or about 2,200 calories per cup.
Therefore, why don’t we just substitute our daily cup of coffee with a cup of diesel fuel instead? If “a calorie is a calorie,” then we should have no problem meeting our daily caloric requirements with a nice, hot cup of diesel, right? Obviously not. (DISCLAIMER: I’m not advocating bodily consumption of diesel fuel. I’m simply making a theoretical point about the absolute ABSURDITY of the “calorie is a calorie” myth. Do NOT drink or otherwise consume diesel fuel. It could cause severe health problems. Plus, it probably tastes horrible.)
My point is that you should heavily consider the SOURCES of your caloric intake. Get your calories from REAL, WHOLE foods to gain the benefits of clean fuel. Toxic calories such as those you would get from consuming grains, grain-containing products, and other processed foods can cause general, systemic inflammation in your body; trigger an immune system response; and lead to numerous and varying debilitating health issues, like obesity and countless other conditions.
There are tens of trillions of cells in your body, and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM was BUILT from the fuel source that YOU provided them. It’s YOUR choice: Clean up your diet to give your body the clean fuel that it deserves and reap the benefits, or continue down the abysmal path of mass-produced food options peddled by Big Agra and our beloved USDA (and we can already see those results for the general population, health-wise…)
Bret McClellan
Certified Primal Health Coach #239
McClellan Natural Health, Wellness & Nutrition
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