Infinite vs Finite Games
Article Round-Up: 9.17.23
Enjoy this week’s curated round-up of articles, podcasts, and more from the web to help you live a healthier, happier life.
Meaningfully Mundane Photo of the Week:
Featured Thoughts: Food Tracking Errors
Takeaway: The benefits of logging food mean that you can identify exactly what areas of your diet need to be improved to see the results that you want. You can effectively take the guesswork out of what changes need to be made to make progress.
In this clip, I’m sharing my experience making a common mistake with my food tracking which led me to overeat by hundreds of calories unintentionally.
This highlights the importance of being vigilant about the accuracy of your food log to avoid making the same mistake and sabotaging your results.
Published This Week:
“How Dressing Up Can Boost Your Success” [Podcast]
Takeaway: It was 8am on a Monday morning. The auditorium was filled with 300 sleepy and hungover college students who slumped their way to their seats. The professor looked around, noticing a sea of closed eye-lids and pajama pants.
“It might as well be nap time at pre-school,” she probably thought to herself.
And then, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed one student: awake, attentive, dressed in professional attire. That student, among the crowd of nameless faces, is the one she remembered.
I was that student. Dressed to the nines for every class, every day. And it made a difference. Dressing up opened the door to more opportunities.
I’m sharing my story about why I dressed up for college, and the lessons you can take from that to boost your own success.
“Infinite Games vs Finite Games”
Takeaway: Finite games have defined rules and a goal of winning. Infinite games are characterized by ambiguity. The coexistence of both types of games offers a valuable perspective on dealing with failure.
It emphasizes that while finite game failures matter and can be painful, they are not the end; they are part of the journey toward success in the broader, ever-evolving game of life.
This means it’s important to strive for improvement, embrace consistency, and learn to navigate failure as a necessary stepping stone on the path to achievement. The goal of infinite games is to keep playing.
Reader Question:
How do you figure out how much protein to eat every day?
I have two answers to this question, each of which establishes an upper and lower limit to aim for.
The widely practiced approach suggests aiming for 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. For instance, if you weigh 150 pounds, your daily target is 150 grams of protein. This guideline is straightforward and works well for many individuals. However, it may not be suitable for everyone.
Here's my concern with this rule: What if you are 50 pounds overweight and your goal is to shed those extra pounds? Do you really need to consume an additional 50 grams of protein daily arbitrarily? The answer is no.
Instead, I recommend individuals target 1 gram of protein per pound of their ideal bodyweight. So, if you currently weigh 200 pounds but are working towards losing 50 pounds, your daily protein intake should be 150 grams. (Because eventually, your goal will be to weigh 150 pounds.)
This approach improves upon the common practice by eliminating unnecessary extra protein consumption.
The second option is to set your protein goal at 30% of your total daily calorie intake.
To provide context, there are 4 calories per gram of protein. Therefore, 150 grams of protein equals 600 calories (150 x 4). If your daily calorie goal for weight loss, for example, is 1600 calories, then your protein target is calculated as follows:
Calculate the total calories from protein: 1600 x 0.3 = 480 calories from protein.
Determine the equivalent number of grams: 480 calories / 4 = 120 grams of protein per day.
Using this method, your daily protein goal is 120 grams.
Now, suppose your ideal bodyweight is 150 pounds, and you are currently aiming for a daily calorie intake of 1600 calories for weight loss (your starting body weight is not a crucial factor here).
By applying both methods, you arrive at two different protein goals: 150 grams and 120 grams, respectively. These two figures establish your acceptable range for daily protein intake.
As long as you consume between 120 and 150 grams of protein each day, you are within the recommended range.
Our experience with clients has shown that working with ranges, rather than strict targets, is more effective when pursuing specific nutritional goals. Ranges reduce anxiety, perfectionist tendencies, and lead to better long-term outcomes.