A question about Cron-O-Meter

[dieublanc]

As a quick introduction I am a 38 yr old male, 5 foot 11, 164 lbs 21.5% body fat who works out daily, but has a bit of a 'beer belly'. After reading about The Longevity Diet book in the Toronto Star newspaper I picked up a copy and am very impressed with the scientific research. I have been on "The Game On Diet" (http://www.thegameondiet.com/) for 2 weeks now which is a competitive one month diet "game" played with others where we have to eat 5 small meals a day, each meal has carbs, protein and a healthy fat and we have to drink tons of water etc. The diet cuts out all sugar, processed meats, white flour, juices, pop etc which I understand is a great start to the CR lifestyle! We do get 100 calories of whatever we like a day (chocolate in my case), and we get a day off each week. I've lost 6 lbs which hopefully isn't too fast in a 2 week period. I'm in no rush to lose weight.

 

Anyway onto my question. I noticed from some of the previous posts in this forum that Cron-O-Meter (http://cronometer.com/) is popular here. Is the Cron-O-Meter based on a CR lifestyle or on the normal reccomended daily amount for a person (I assume these 2 numbers don't match)? For example if I were to get 100% on the energy/calories amount would that be 100% of what I would need/should get if I were on the CR lifestyle or is it based on the US gov't recommended amount for a 38 year old male of my proportions?

 

Thanks for any help you can give and I look forward to associating with you as I/we attempt to live a healthier (and hopefully longer) life.

[Michael R]

As a quick introduction

Welcome.

 

I've lost 6 lbs which hopefully isn't too fast in a 2 week period. I'm in no rush to lose weight.

It's good not to be in a rush. If you're 21.5% body fat, work out daily, and have only a bit of a 'beer belly,' 3 lbs/week is really too fast: you should keep it down to 1-2/wk.

 

I noticed from some of the previous posts in this forum that Cron-O-Meter (http://cronometer.com/) is popular here. Is the Cron-O-Meter based on a CR lifestyle or on the normal reccomended daily amount for a person (I assume these 2 numbers don't match)?

That's not a crazy assumption, and is likely true for some nutrients, but the science isn't there to support any actual alterations. The rodents are fed exactly the same amount of micronutrients, essential fatty acids, and (usually) protein as their AL littermates: that's one reason why we know that the effects are due only to Calories, and not to alterations in other aspects of the diets. So, we're stuck with the normal recommendations (which aside from vitamin D are very solid). But you can adjust your own 'RDAs' in COM under File > Edit Nutrition Targets if there are any you're convinced need tweaked.

[Guest Diana]

In response to the question:

 

"Is the Cron-O-Meter based on a CR lifestyle or on the normal reccomended daily amount for a person (I assume these 2 numbers don't match)? For example if I were to get 100% on the energy/calories amount would that be 100% of what I would need/should get if I were on the CR lifestyle or is it based on the US gov't recommended amount for a 38 year old male of my proportions?"

 

I think Cron-O-Meter is based on the dietary reference intakes, including RDAs and EARs(which can be based on age and gender).

 

It could be the Cron-O-Meter is based on RDAs (Recommended Dietary Allowances). RDAs are set for each nutrient at an amount that is sufficient to meet 98% of healthy individuals. These recommendations are not based off of total caloric intake, but instead they are based off of the amount appropriate to avoid malnutrition. Since micro-nutrients do not contribute Calories to the diet - like the macro-nutrients proteins, carbs, and fats - these recommendations do not change based on Calories consumed. Micro-nutrients contribute to body/cell functioning and are needed at specific levels not related to Caloric intake. In other words, a CR diet would require the same amount of these nutrients that is recommended for someone on a 2,000 Calorie diet (or that of any other Caloric intake).

 

It may be that the Cron-O-Meter is based on EARs-Estimated Average Requirements. The EARs are very similar to RDAs but provide more specific recommendations set for each nutrient based on age and gender (pregnancy and lactation can also be factors). Since I recall the Cron-O-Meter allowing the option to indicate if I was pregnant/lactating, I would assume they base their recommendations off of the EARs when possible. EARs for some nutrients have not been established though, and so I would imagine the RDAs might be used in those cases.

 

Overall, I would say the important answer to the question is that CR does not affect the recommended amount of mirco-nutrient intake. Attaining these recommended levels can become more difficult with CR because a decrease in food intake generally means a decrease in nutrients. Thus, it is very important to make sure proper, nutrient rich foods are eaten when observing CR to reach the recommendations and to avoid deficiency in any nutrient.

[dieublanc]

Thanks so much for the replies. I didn't get an email notification that anyone had responded but decided to check back. Excellent information. Thanks again. I've lost 11 lbs in 5 weeks which is probably still a bit fast but am enjoying eating real food. Will do this for a couple more months and then will see about reducing calories.