[Ed. note: One of our readers read our recent posts on the value of calorie disclosure laws and wanted to join the discussion.]
by Thomas McSorley
I read this week’s earlier posts [here and here] about the questionable worth of calorie disclosure laws as a solution to the nation’s obesity epidemic with very mixed feelings. While I appreciate the importance of using data to discern good policy, I also personally know how effective calorie disclosure can be in effecting weight loss. Until a year ago, I had been obese nearly my entire life. (I’m 27.) After a series of false starts (over a period of years), I finally began to achieve sustainable weight loss by logging everything I ate on a “food diary” website, and also by exercising fairly regularly (for thirty or so minutes most days . . . by no means training for a triathalon). After a week of focused effort, I lost a couple pounds. By keeping up the program over a year, I had lost seventy, 1 to 2 pounds a week. I’ve now kept it off for a year (and lost a handful more). (In the spirit of full disclosure, I also eliminated most meat and dairy from my home consumption and bulked up my diet of vegetables and fiber-rich grains and legumes.)
The key—the absolute, unquestionable key—to my weight loss was a clear daily calorie target and the availability of calorie data. When I would eat at restaurants where calorie data wasn’t available, I would work hard to eat the healthiest thing I could figure out and overestimate the calories on my food diary. This worked fine, and most chain restaurants (the only ones affected by the new national calorie disclosure law) have calorie data on their websites so I could plan when I ate at them. However, now that I’m in the “sustaining” weight loss phase, I especially appreciate those restaurants that have calories right on the menu or package. If the calories are there, I cannot ignore them. I always get the right thing. If they are not, I’ve been known to cheat. In the short term, this hasn’t had any adverse effects, but over the long run, I know that having calories printed right there on restaurant menus (the way they are on everything I eat at home) will significantly bolster my ability to stay at a healthy weight.
Calorie disclosure laws certainly aren’t a panacea; they require the recipient of the data to be serious about using the information. But, sustainable weight loss isn’t just about a wishy-washy attempt to “eat better, exercise more.” To lose weight effectively and in a way that keeps it off, I had to be serious and scientific about hitting a hard calorie goal every single day. Even though I probably wasn’t going to order the bacon double cheeseburger whether or not I knew it had exactly 1500 calories (seriously, without fries), the difference between a grilled salmon dish with 350 and one with 450 calories meant a significant difference in a carefully calibrated program.
So, I celebrated the news that restaurant calorie disclosure was going to be nationally mandated, and I know of at least one person who will be using the data. (I already love walking into take out places in Philly and New York, and Pret a Manger, that have the numbers printed right there.) Like the new gruesome cigarette packs, I’m not sure that the calorie disclosure laws will save many lives or make many more people healthier, but I’m not complaining about them.
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