Why you should try to burn fewer calories, not more

Burning calories is a bankrupt concept.   And paying attention to how many calories you burn is as utterly bankrupt as trying to eat healthy by counting calories.

In the CBS piece about our barefoot running event, they suggested that a benefit of barefoot running is that it burns more calories.  Not only does this miss the entire point of natural running (a healthier stride, less injury), but it is factually wrong.  Research by Dan Lieberman up at Harvard (and others) have shown that barefoot running is more efficient -- i.e., you expend less energy for a given distance.  This is because, in part, you actually use your arch to store your momentum and release it in your next stride.  So if you run properly, the end result will be to burn fewer calories, not more.  And that's a good thing.

This is true for other movements too, not just running.  For any given exercise, you should seek to expend as few calories as possible.  Don't get me wrong, you want some big workouts where you burn through a bunch of calories.  That's why I say "for any given exercise".  But for that specific workout, you should seek to accomplish it as efficiently as possible.  That means good form.  No wasted movement.

Good form allows you to do more with less.  Athletes understand this.  Good form allows you to:
  • hit a golf ball further and more accurately with the same or fewer calories
  • hit a baseball out of the park with the same or fewer calories
  • throw a football further and harder with the same or fewer calories
Or say that you're in the wild on a persistence hunt.  You don't know how long the hunt will last -- 2 miles, 5 miles, 10 miles.  If you're successful, you'll have more work ahead of you to butcher the animal and possibly carry it some distance.  If you're not successful, then you still have some work ahead of you.  Due to the uncertainty of life in the wild, you want to accomplish your objectives while conserving as much energy as possible, husbanding your resources, and being more efficient.  For a given objective, you want to burn as few calories as possible. 
 
So the next time you hear someone say that an activity is a great way to burn calories, alarm bells should go off.  Remember that whenever there is an external goal -- like in sports or life in the wild -- there is a desire to expend fewer calories for a given motion.
 
It's not about counting calories.  It's about moving and exercising in the right ways.  It's about eating the right kinds of foods.  It's quality, not quantity.

Comments

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The whole Calorie concept is

Submitted by Steve B on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 16:14.

The whole Calorie concept is a lot of bunk really..  It's really no  more than just a theory than anything.. Some people lose weight when increasing calories, others gain weight when restricting calories..  It truly is about the type of food you eat, how often (less is more) and the quality of it.  I found a great plan for me (high animal protein-- I LOVE BEEF/BISON)  and I am sticking to it for life.  Although it seems wheat/gluten isn't good for anyone, some people do seem thrive on a more vegan type diet- the opposite of paleo..   http://www.stevebeisheim.com

 I have a hard enough time

Submitted by Aaron Curl on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 06:25.

 I have a hard enough time advising people to eat more sat. fat and now tell them to quit burning so many calories. People already think I'm nuts.....now I'll be committed. 

John,Great point, I totally

Submitted by Todd Hargrove on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 16:22.

John,Great point, I totally agree.  In case anyone is interested, and at the risk of blatant self-promotion, here is a blog post I wrote on the idea that efficiency is the esence of coordinated and healthy movement:http://toddhargrove.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/coordination-part-ii/

Thanks for that post. I agree

Submitted by jayfist on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 14:07.

Thanks for that post. I agree totally and its what i have always said to my buddys when exercising. quality is better that quantity. 50 push ups with bad form is worse than 30 done properly.

 I do agree in theory, but in

Submitted by AMusingMarina on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 12:03.

 I do agree in theory, but in our world of the super-busy and super-sedentary... well, I feel like I need to burn all the calories I can in the little time I do have for intense physical activity if I want to keep my waistline from expanding. Especially as I add more fat to my diet. Paleo isn't magic, after all, and if I only manage to burn, say, 1,400 calories a day as a small female required to sit for most of the day, the pork, steak and butter will become belly fat. Doesn't take much steak to exceed 1400 cals, unfortunately. Until I have more time to play outside, I feel like I'm doomed to keep counting calories. I tried going very low-carb and not counting for more than a month, but couldn't continue when I saw that I was gaining back the weight that I'd managed to lose through counting those calories. Any advice/tips/solutions?

 Thanks for the replies guys!

Submitted by AMusingMarina on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 10:04.

 Thanks for the replies guys! I might try LCHF with no calorie counting again in the future. For now, I'm just focusing on maintaining my weight and getting used to paleo. But I'd love to gain some weight, too, as long as it's muscle rather than fat.   Aaron, I am sure that it was belly fat that I gained during that non-calorie counting month, since my jeans got tighter and I looked different in the mirror after a few weeks. Actually, are there any studies you can point me to that I could read online about calories ceasing to matter when in the ketogenic state? I have read the claim, but I'd love to see some long-term scientific study contradict my own negative experience.           I don't know, could be that it was more of a 50/50 ratio of protein to fat, and maybe I didn't go low carb enough... not sure if I was in a ketogenic state. I did eat some carrots and lots of veggies in general, though a majority were leafy greens. And I could never cut out my daily 12oz of kombucha.          It's just hard, psychologically speaking, to go from eating cakes, pasta, breads and fruit to mostly meat, all in the space of one year. I'm sad that my LCHF experiment didn't work, but so happy to have one or two fruits a day.   It's also possible that my appetite is more psychological - if food is around within easy reach and I don't have a reason not to eat it, I keep craving it till everything is gone. And this gets worse if I'm bored or stressed. I thought that cutting out the carbs would fix that, but it didn't - I always feel hungry if yummy food is available, whether I'm actually hungry or not. So maybe it's those issues keeping me back.         So the dilemma becomes: save up money for a shrink, or spend it on grass-fed beef, pastured eggs and the Primal Leap? 

 I disagree, paleo is magic!

Submitted by Aaron Curl on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 06:40.

 I disagree, paleo is magic! If you are following it to a T you will never, ever have to count a calorie! The pork, steak and butter will NOT become belly fat! When on a paleo lifestyle the sat. fat is used for fuel instead of carbs, you will be iving in a ketogenic state. If you eat more sat. fat and continue to eat grains....yah count calories! I actually have to restrain myself from running  too much because I don't want to lose any more weight. You said you went very-low carb for a more than a month? The weight gain you are speaking of...was that from a scale? If so...ignore the scale! You probably started gaining some muscle mass which happens because of the protein increase. Most women experience breast gains as well! Ignore scales and look in the mirror....this is the true test. 

 @AMusingMarina If you don't

Submitted by Dennis Molander on Fri, 08/20/2010 - 00:25.

 @AMusingMarina If you don't have other problem you don't have to be afraid of animal protein & fat will become fat on your belly.The rules I've leared about LowCarb food (as I also think Paleo is) from the most popular version in Sweden (LCHF - Low Carb High Fat) is to eat slow, eat only until you're full (not more!), eat when hungry & try to stick to 30/70% protein/fat.Doing that you can practically be disabled and still loose weight until your body is rather balaced.Physical activity can in fact stimulate hunger. I'm not saying physical activity is bad - on the contrary. But it has very little to do with weight-loss.

I advice you to (re)read The

Submitted by Tom on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 20:34.

I advice you to (re)read The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson and, if you've got the money and the motivation, buy The Primal Leap (which is just out and especially targets weight loss).I'm not affiliated with Mark Sisson in any way, shape or form, and I've never had to lose weight but you can't go wrong with following his advice. 

I've actually been thinking

Submitted by Asangsterii on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 10:21.

I've actually been thinking about this a lot lately, and you helped to further explain what's been on my mind lately.In Tai Chi (which I really only did for a few months), I was taught to expend as little energy doing each movement as possible with maximum results.  If you tense up or unbalance yourself, everything falls apart.  This applies to standing, walking, attacking, defending, sitting, squatting, crawling, falling, and even breathing.  After a while, I realized that everything that I was being taught made perfect sense, and it was all because of structure.When your body is properly structured, you barely need to use any effort at all.  Obviously a Tai Chi practitioner isn't going to try to muscle an assailant on to the floor, nor should any reasonable person.  If your body is structured properly, everything else naturally and effortlessly follows.This applies to so many other things--standing, working, running, lifting--and I wish more people knew about it.  It seems so obvious to me, now, and I've been trying to get the word out for months now. Structure, structure, structure!Anyway, I ramble.  Good post, great points.

This is an awesome point! I

Submitted by Darrin on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 09:54.

This is an awesome point! I never thought of it quite this way before. When it comes to exercising, we should definitely be looking for the best bang for our buck rather than the simplistic and superficial view of calories.

Hey John, love your blog, I'm

Submitted by Alec on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 09:01.

Hey John, love your blog, I'm a lurker, don't think I've commented before, just wanted to chime in. I'm big into Crossfit and olympic lifting and when you're trying to move big weights with oly lifts you really need to be efficient and use your strongest muscles (hips, posterior chain) and not try to muscle up the bar with your puny biceps and rotator muscles. Efficiency is very important for moving super heavy weights!As a side comment I get so irritated with those silly new shape up sneakers with the curves on the feet and the claim that they burn extra calories. Maybe that's true but who cares? Go barefoot!

 "you should seek to

Submitted by Grok on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 01:18.

 "you should seek to accomplish it as efficiently as possible.  That means good form.  No wasted movement."Bingo! Well said.

 Brilliant! This is the same

Submitted by Dennis Molander on Thu, 08/19/2010 - 02:43.

 Brilliant! This is the same view as eastern philosophy, qigong, budo and traditional martial arts have upon wasting energy and unnecessary movements. Old knowledge but in great need to write about in todays society.