I am always shocked to realize how many people today still think that losing/gaining weight is all about “calories in, calories out”, despite all the research that demonstrates otherwise. Today’s post is really about explaining why that theory is outdated. I hope it can be help some of you, especially the ladies out there who have tried changing the way they eat/move and still cannot manage to lose weight. Just a reminder: I’m not a doctor just a curious mamma who likes to understand this sort of thing but if you do have questions, please let me know!
The traditional theory
So for years, we’ve been told that dieting is all about calories in vs calories out. You eat 1000 calories, you expend 1000 calories, you gain no weight. Sure, this is correct, but consider this:
Calories in = the food we eat
Calories out =
- Energy we spend just living (breathing, being awake, etc)
- Energy we spend digesting and processing food
- Energy we spend exercising
This second point is something we don’t often think of and it’s also a big part of the reason all calories are not created equal.
A calorie is a calorie…not
The type of food you eat and how much you eat will affect how much you burn. What modern science has found in the past few years is that calories in and calories out are not independent variables. On the contrary, how much you burn is very dependent on the nature of what you consume. For example, it takes more energy to digest protein than to process carbohydrates. By the same token, you burn more energy when you take in whole foods than when you consume processed foods in the same amount of calories.
In this study, researchers made 2 groups of people eat 2 equally calorific meals, cheese sandwiches to be precise. The first group ate cheese sandwiches with whole grain bread and cheddar cheese (these were characterized as “whole foods”) and the other group ate cheese sandwiches with processed cheese and white sliced bread (characterized as “processed foods”. They then went on to measure their metabolic rate measured every hour for six hours after having eaten. It turns out the group that ate the “processed” sandwich used 50% less energy to digest and breakdown the meal. The following graph from the study illustrates how their metabolic rate varied after having eaten:
That could explain why people tend to be successful in weight loss when they turn to a non-processed food diet, whether it is paleo, vegan or whatever else. Non-processed foods take more energy to break down. I personally consume a lot more calories now then when I was on a normal “healthy” diet that included processed food but haven’t gained weight.
What this old mentality does to your metabolism
I recently sat down with one of Dubai’s leading nutritionist and metabolic coach, Stephanie Pech (who by the way is just amazingly knowledgeable), and we talked about this very topic. She rightly pointed out that this idea of all calories being created equal also has a hugely negative consequence on one’s metabolism:
“If you eat 1000 calories of candy per day, sure you will lose weight, but you won’t lose fat. You are cutting down the calories but depriving your body of nutrients it needs and essentially destroying your metabolism. When you don’t give your body the fuel it requires, it goes into starvation mode, and performs at the bare minimum level. Think of it as a sports car: if you don’t regularly change the oil and get it serviced, it will still run, but not at full throttle. Then, it eventually eats away at your muscle and you become what we call “skinny fat”, meaning you look slim but have high body fat. Not only is this terrible for your metabolism, it will also result in all the problems that come from minerals and vitamin deficiency.”
I’d also add to that that if you are over 40, remember, you are going to be losing around 1% of your muscle mass per year from now on, so skinny fat can happen very quickly.
Your microbiota and how it affects energy storage
Also, what you eat will alter your gut microbiota, which in turn also affects how effective your body is at processing micronutrients. Many studies, including this one and this one, have observed that obesity is characterized by specific alterations in the composition and function of the human gut microbiome. Your microbiota can influence your energy utilization from your diet and it influences the genes that regulate energy expenditure and storage.
What you eat affects your hormones
What you put in your body has a huge impact on your endocrine system. Hormones like leptin, cortisol, thyroid and estrogen have a massive role to play in how the body stores energy. If it isn’t balanced and working properly, your body just won’t metabolize energy as efficiently.
So there you have it
Of course, you need to make sure that calorie expenditure is higher than input if you want to lose weight, but you also need to make sure your body’s expenditure system is as efficient as it can possibly be. So if you are looking to lose weight, whatever you do, don’t tax your system with packaged foods, additives and all the other stuff just because they are “low fat”, “light” or “low calorie”. Look at the quality of your calories, not just the quantity.
