Could You Eat 79 Pounds of Broccoli?
My son Tom lost this week’s matchup, dubbed the “Dumpster Bowl”, and secured a last-place finish in his Fantasy Football league.
As a result, according to his league rules, he has to consume 10,000 calories during a 24-hour timespan some time over the next two weeks.
Tom knows I have some experience with eating large quantities of food, and he asked for my thoughts on which types of foods would make his task easier to achieve.
The first two foods that came to mind were pizza and some type of donut or pastry from Dunkin’ Donuts.
Then I decided to ask my Twitter followers for their thoughts, and the replies were many.
This somewhat ridiculous eating ‘punishment’ got me thinking about the very important and largely underrated concept of satiety.
Despite the many people who continue to insist that all calories are equal, and that the solution to obesity is to simply summon the willpower to eat fewer of them, a look at the list below calls attention to the fact that some foods are far easier to overeat than others.
For example, I don’t think I’d have any difficulty eating 20 apple fritters from Dunkin’ Donuts, and I’m fairly certain I could make easy work of 188 Oreos in a single day. That’s all one would have to consume to hit the 10,000 calorie mark.
On the other hand, I don’t think there’s any chance I could eat 12.26 pounds of wild salmon in 24 hours, nor could I put away 11 pounds of London broil or sardines packed in water. 130 hard boiled eggs? Not a chance.
As you review the foods listed below, pay attention to the protein:energy (P:E) ratios. The foods with higher P:E ratios typically provide greater satiety per calorie, and foods with very large amounts of fiber, such as broccoli, are extremely filling. I’d have to eat nearly 80 pounds of broccoli to reach 10,000 calories.
Here are just a few of the possible ways that Tom could consume 10,000 calories. Which of the following foods would be the easiest or most difficult for you?
For those who are trying to lose body fat or maintain weight loss, it can be extremely helpful to contemplate which foods provide YOU with the greatest satiety per calorie, and to make sure you reach for those foods before you eat foods that do not provide much satiety (I’m looking at you, Oreos).
You have better things to do in 2022 than constantly drawing on your limited supply of willpower.
If you’d like more information about Dr. Ted Naiman’s P:E ratio, I wrote about his book, The P:E Diet, in an article published last year. In the article, you’ll find an explanation of the P:E ratio, and links to his great book and his online P:E calculator.
This article appeared in the 12/26/2021 installment of the weekly Biggest Comeback email, sponsored by Simply Snackin’.
