![How long would the paper have to be? [Let’s see how close you get]
| RISE Macclesfield | Group Personal Training gym weight loss programmes](https://myrise.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/majk.jpg)
I was reading one of the books I got for Christmas the other day.
It referenced what’s called The Library Of Babel.
A fictional library where there exists books with every combination of letters there can be.
Not dissimilar to the infinite monkeys on infinite typewriters writing the full works of Shakespeare.
Infinity is pretty big, of course.
Let’s cut it down drastically.
A book with just one ‘word’ per line.
A five letter ‘word’.
Every combination of five letters there is.
Whether it’s a real word or not.
Normal type / font size.
How long would a single page have to be get all those five letter ‘words’ on?
Go on, have a guess.
Scroll down when you’re done.
I’ll wait.
……..
……..
……..
……..
……..
……..
……..
The sheet of paper would have to be……….
60 miles long.
Bit, innit?
Even bigger than you thought?
Us humans are less good at estimating things things than we like to think we are.
Our food intake being a prime example.
Countless times I’ve had conversations along these lines with people:
Member: “I’m not losing weight and I don’t know why. I’m being really good” or “I can’t seem to lose weight no matter, what I try!”
Me: “Ok, let’s have a look. Do you know how many calories you have on an average day?”
“I’m not 100% sure, but I’d say no more than 1,200 / 1,500 / 2,000.”
“Ok. Could we maybe track accurately for a few days to see and go from there?”
Few days later……….
Member: “Oh my. I can’t believe how much I was eating”.
It’s super common that the reality of what we’re consuming is 50% or more higher than we thought.
Happens plenty of times that it’s two or three times as high.
99% of time people have tracked, their response has been “that explains it”.
Acknowledging that we’re not as good at estimating as we’d like to think is powerful.
Strips away the emotion.
We’re all rubbish at it.
In studies, nearly everyone underestimates how much they consume.
Qualified and experienced nutritionists too.
They underestimate by a bit less than average.
But the most knowledgeable people in the world in that field still underestimate.
It’s perfectly normal.
Doing something to add a bit of accuracy into what we’re doing is a huge return on investment.
It’s a little bit of faff.
But probably less than we’re telling ourselves.
A few dozen minutes over a few days.
Less total time than a single workout.
Many, many, many, many times more benefit.
If you’re not sure how to track accurately, check the Learn tab and / or ask a coach in a Session.
If you’re not already a member, just join and let’s help you get some amazing results –> www.myrise.co.uk/apply for info www.myrise.co.uk/join to just get cracking.
Much love,
Jon ‘List of’ Hall
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RISE in Macclesfield was established in 2012 and specialise in Group Personal Training weight loss programmes for those that don’t like the gym and find diets boring and restrictive!
