Eatonomics

I have a list several items long on topics I need to blog about but have not recently found the time to post as much I would wish. This post was first was on that list so I will begin here. My gut and its growth over the last few years has been a frequent concern of mine as those that have heard me whine about it well know. However, up until recently, I have refused to actually do anything about it and despite my residence at Grad Center for 2 years, I have never once used the Bear's Lair to exercise. As I approach manhood, however, 7 days away for those scoring at home or even alone (SportsCenter reference, just ignore), I have persuaded myself that it is time to return to proper shape.

As a good liberal, I fiercely believe that government intervention is the solution to all problems, so I decided to consult the trusty USDA food pyramid for help on my new lifestyle diet. However, as some of you may have heard, the goverment has done away with the old simple pyramid for a complicated, illegible version.

BEFORE

AFTER

Basically what must have happened is that the low-carb craze didn't fit in with the 6-11 servings of bread and pasta mandate on the old pyramid. Consequently, they made the new pyramid to simply confuse the fuck out of people. The way it works is you go to mypyramid.gov and enter your age, sex and activity level and then they give you a personalized pyramid with how much of what shit you should be eating.

For me, the really interesting part of the site is mypyramidtracker.gov where you put in exactly what you eat and exactly what you do (down to the very minute) and it calculates how many calories you gain or lose each day. For example, on June 23rd I ate:

SALT, TABLE (3 dashes)
CHEESEBURGER, MEAT w/ MAYO ON BUN (1/4 lb)
APPLE (APPLES), FRESH (1 large)
FRENCH FRIES, FROM FROZEN, DEEP-FRIED (30 crinkle cuts)
BARBECUE SAUCE, LOW SODIUM (1.5 packets)
CORN, COOKED, FROM FROZEN (1 cup)
BUTTER (1 pat)
TWIZZLERS (25 bite sized pieces)
WATER (16 fl oz)

and I did:

TYPE - ACTIVITY - CATEGORY - METS - LEVEL - MINUTES - CALORIES

CALISTHENICS (E.G., PUSHUPS, SITUPS), VIGOROUS	LEISURE	8	VIGOROUS	15	224
MILD STRETCHING	LEISURE	2.5	LIGHT	15*	48
COOKING/FOOD PREPARATION - STANDING OR SITTING	HOME	2	LIGHT	30*	64
NON-FOOD SHOPPING, STANDING OR WALKING	HOME	2.3	LIGHT	20*	55
SITTING QUIETLY AND WATCHING TELEVISION	HOME	1	LIGHT	215*	♠
SLEEPING	HOME	0.9	LIGHT	600*	**
SITTING - STUDYING, GENERAL, READING / WRITING	HOME	1.8	LIGHT	30*	51
SITTING - IN CLASS, NOTE-TAKING/CLASS DISCUSSION	HOME	1.8	LIGHT	205*	350
RUNNING, 6 MPH (10 MIN/MILE)	LEISURE	10	VIGOROUS	20	384
DRESSING, UNDRESSING (STANDING OR SITTING)	HOME	2	LIGHT	20*	43
GROOMING (E.G.PERSONAL HYGIENE), SITTING/STANDING	HOME	2	LIGHT	15*	32
SHOWERING, TOWELING OFF (STANDING)	HOME	2	LIGHT	20*	43
WALKING, 3 MPH, LEVEL, MODERATE PACE, FIRM SURFACE	LEISURE	3.3	MODERATE	45	221
WALKING, 4.0 MPH, LEVEL, FIRM SURFACE, BRISK PACE	LEISURE	5	MODERATE	10	85
TYPING, ELECTRIC, MANUAL, OR COMPUTER	LEISURE	1.5	LIGHT	180*	192

so when you take the calories I ate minus the calories I worked off it works out to:
1677 Calories intake - 4193 Calories estimated energy requirement = -2516 Calories.

There are approxminately 3500 Calories in a pound so on that day I lost about .72 lbs. If I did that everyday for a week, I'd lose 5.03 pounds.

As I am taking 2 Economics classes and working on an Economics research assistantship I am constantly viewing the world (and myself) in Economic terms (a trend I will continue to discuss at a later point). Barring market failures, I would expect negative (or positive depending on how you view it) returns on this investment. I figure a continued deficit in my gut could lead to higher interest rates in BCE bonds.

Update: I weighed myself on the industrial strength scale at the Ratty loading dock today and I weigh 201 lbs. (Compared to the 215 I weighed at the end of the school year.)