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Google Maps Removes Feature That Showed Walking Distance as Calories and Cupcakes

  • October 17, 2017

A feature that Google Maps thought would be fun to try met a quick demise when users complained that telling them how many calories they’d expend if they walked rather than rode was equivalent to shaming them for eating. One problem, according to BuzzFeed, was that along with the calorie count, Google tallied up how many mini cupcakes the calories equaled. Reader comments offered more insight, from accusing Google of shaming them for eating to indignation that Google would have the nerve to even mention calories.

I’m sure Google thought this feature would be both fun and helpful and, in a way, it is interesting to know how many calories you could burn off walking a mile or more. That said, if you’re comparing exercise to the calorie count of cupcakes, when it comes to losing weight — and keeping it off — your diet is far more important than exercise. Physical movement is simply the leverage agent that allows you to truly optimize your health and fitness.

One of the keys to long-term weight management is healthy metabolism and mitochondrial function. The key is to eat in such a way that your body is able to burn fat as its primary fuel rather than sugars (nutritional ketosis). Eating less and paying attention to the timing of your meals (fasting or intermittently fasting and avoiding late-night eating) can also be useful for kick starting your metabolism in the right direction.

Most of us eat far too much sugar and grains — of which cupcakes contain both — and far too little healthy fat. Many also eat too much protein. But the good news is burning fat for fuel will increase both the quality and length of your life.

Of course, physical movement throughout the day is good for you. That’s why I live by the motto, “Stand up, sit less and move more.” This is where taking a 10-minute walk can help, especially if you have a chronic disease like diabetes. The more you exercise, the lower your risk of type 2 diabetes. Increasing exercise from 150 minutes to 300 minutes per week can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes by 36 percent.