The modern world is one saturated with one particular concept – “calories.” The term is plastered everywhere, including on all food labels and most menus, where they are often required to be displayed by law. On top of this, exercise machines and apps proudly display calories burned during the workout, emphasizing calorie-torching workouts as the best, most effective use of time. Amid all of this is a sea of individuals obsessed with balancing these calories, constantly looking towards these labels to think about how these calories in can be balance with calories out.
Yet, while this calorie paradigm reigns supreme, we happen to also find ourselves in a world with more overweight children and adults than ever before. Could it be that this calories paradigm has failed us, leading not towards more lean and healthy individuals, but instead towards a calorie-obsessed world burdened by uncontrollable weight gain?
With this series, I am here to test the current calorie paradigm. It is time we acknowledge the possibility that its implementation as a weight loss tool may have dangerous implications, and because of these, there may be something to be said for throwing this calories concept out the window (or, alternatively, working to ensure it plays a proper role in a more effective practice).
The thing is, the problem with calorie balance is not that the theory is “wrong,” but that it has been oversimplified and overemphasized leading to the poor implementation of what could potentially be a valuable piece of information. Today I will make the argument that this calories concept has gotten so out of hand that it may be necessary to take a step back – to forget about calories – at least temporarily, while we program our minds with a new, more effective, mentality.
“We get hungry, and if we can’t satisfy that hunger, we’ll get lethargic and our metabolism will slow down to balance our intake. This happens whether we’re lean or obese, and it confounds those authorities who recommend exercise and calorie restriction for weight loss. They operate under the assumption that the only adjustment to the calorie deficit created by either dieting or exercising will be a unilateral reduction in fat tissue. This would be convenient, but the evidence argues otherwise.”
Gary Taubes, Good Calories, Bad Calories
I have been spending some time going back through old textbooks to review metabolism and homeostatic processes in the human body. Today, while reading through the chapter on homeostatic control in my neuroscience textbook, I found myself thinking about calorie balance.
You may be wondering how neuroscience led to thoughts on calorie balance. Well, I was reading about how the brain and body work together to maintain homeostasis, the scientific term for an organism’s ability to maintain equilibrium using physiological processes. For example, the behavioral processes that the body uses to keep the body energized and well-functioning involve behaviors such as eating and drinking, along with movement. To produce these behaviors and maintain a steady balance, the body has an intricate balance of neural and endocrine (hormonal) systems in place.
As my eyes read over page after page describing these complex mechanisms, including explanations of all the hormones, enzymes, and neural pathways involved, I just couldn’t help but think how utterly absurd it is that this society is centered around a theory in which all these complex processes could just be thrown out the window and replaced with the simple concept: “Just eat less and exercise more.”
Now, you have to understand something – when it comes to discussing the power of the human mind, not many people get as excited as much as I do. The human mind has a remarkable ability to make decisions that lead directly to physical effects, including effects on the body itself. When it comes to the natural world this is an outstanding feature, as this ability to make conscious decisions that lead to physical effects is seen nowhere else in nature. Therefore, when it comes to the power of the human mind to create physical change in the body, I am completely on board and excited to discuss opportunities.
Yet, when it comes down to comprehending the extent of the role that our conscious minds have, our overemphasis on this superpower seems to have gone too far. I argue that it has gone so far as to lead us down a very dangerous path to metabolic dysfunction, alongside the excess weight accumulation problem that 70% of the nation’s population deals with today.
My hope for today is to shed light on this overemphasis of the power of the conscious mind in relation to its ability to control the body’s fat stores. While we have been told that we have control over our bodies by controlling how much we eat and how much energy we expend, I will argue that the problem goes much deeper than this and that this oversimplified calories concept poses a danger to those trying their hardest to take control of their bodies.
The human mind is powerful, and with it we are capable of making decisions that greatly impact the metabolic state of our own body – and yet, this process must be taken with care, which includes an understanding and appreciation for the proper connection between the mind and body.
Now, back to that exciting story with me reading through my textbooks…
So there I am, reading through textbooks on neuroscience and biology and all these endocrine and neurological processes that connect the brain and body. This includes how the brain produces both neural and endocrine signals, along with how the body responds (e.g. with movement, behavior, or internal responses), and then responds with signals of its own (e.g. the release of hormones that travel throughout the body, including the brain). With all of this constant communication, the body is able to maintain a state of homeostasis – that is, a state of dynamic equilibrium in which the systems supporting the body are constantly in flux, yet remain relatively steady over the long haul.
Curiously though, reading through these pages describing energy storage regulation, nowhere did I see any mention of how all these metabolic processes can just be overridden by the pre-frontal cortex (our brain’s conscious decision-making center). There were pages on different hormones and how they dictate hunger, along with how they dictate whether to store or burn the body’s fuel sources. There were pages on how these all interact with certain centers in the brain, causing behaviors such as eating or movement. However, there was not a single sentence on how all this is irrelevant, because we can just override it all with our remarkable pre-frontal cortex.
At least from a neuroscience perspective, it is safe to say that there is little (if anything) to be said about how our conscious decisions can overpower the complex system that is the human body.
That being said, the common wisdom is that we can – that if we can muster up the willpower and keep our calculations spot on, then we can force the body into a calorie deficit, forcing the body to let go of that excess stored weight. We are told that we have the control – that it is up to the individual to calculate out how much energy they consume and balance it with how much they expend. It is the job of the individual to manage his/her own energy balance in order to manage his/her own weight.
So, what gives? Can we control our weight by consciously calculating calories, or is this method setting us up for failure?
To determine the answer, we’ll have to explore both the theory and implementation of calorie balance.
Calorie balance:
In case you are unfamiliar with the calorie balance model, here’s how it looks:
calories in – calories out = change in energy stored
As it goes, this model is an extension of a fundamental law of nature, summed up with the first law of thermodynamics and simplified to the statement: energy can neither be created nor destroyed; therefore any difference in calories consumed and calories expended results in a change in weight.
As a model of weight loss, this then gets translated to the advice that to lose weight, one must create a calorie deficit. This can be done by either eating less and/or exercising more.
Simple, right? Just eat less, exercise more, and voila, goodbye fat rolls.
But, of course, if it were that easy, 70% of this country wouldn’t be overweight, and I wouldn’t be writing this post.
A Gap in Calorie Balance as a Weight Management Practice
To figure out why calorie balance doesn’t work so well in practice, let’s look more closely at the model.
We know that the first law of thermodynamics holds true – after all, it is a fundamental law of nature. It is correct to state that energy can’t be created nor destroyed, which means that energy that goes into the body must be accounted for by energy expended or energy stored.
Thus:
calories in – calories out = change in energy stored
However, the problem is that this gets translated to:
calories consumed – calories expended —> change in body weight
Based on this translation, the difference in calories consumed and calories expended will cause a change in weight:
- If calories consumed > calories expended, this will cause a positive change in body weight (weight gain)
- If calories consumed < calories expended, this will cause a negative change in body weight (weight loss)
This interpretation means that a calorie surplus causes weight gain, while a calorie deficit causes weight loss.
And at last, here we have the problem. It’s a subtle one, but can you catch it?
Energy balance tells us that the difference between calories in and calories out is equal to the change in internal energy (and a corresponding change in mass). Yet, does this statement of a basic fact imply any causation – that is, does stating that a calorie deficit is equal to weight loss give us any information as to what is actually causing weight loss?
The answer is no. While it may have its uses, calorie balance, as a theory, implies nothing in regards to what actually can cause a calorie deficit. Calorie balance, as a theory, implies nothing in regards to what can be done to lose weight.
All that calorie balance tells us is that if the difference in calories consumed and calories expended is negative, then the system (the body) is in a calorie deficit, from which we can assume that individual will lose weight. However, we could just as easily state it the other way around: if weight loss occurs, then a calorie deficit will also be present, which means that the individual consumed less energy than was expended.
Note here, there is no causal arrow – one factor does not drive the other. They are equal – if one side of the equation happens to be the case, then the other side must also be the case. That is what the equals sign means, and that is all the information we can take away from this fundamental law of nature.
So then, what actions can we take to cause a calorie deficit? What actions can we take to drive weight loss?
To open the discussion of possible actions commonly taken to create a calorie deficit, I want to ask an important question: With this understanding of the calorie balance to mean that a calorie deficit is equivalent to weight loss, does the basic calorie balance theory tell us that we can take any action to create a calorie deficit, thus causing weight loss? That is, does basic calorie balance tell us that we should just be able to manipulate the equation by any means possible to cause weight loss?
For example, can we just eat less and exercise more to cause the body to lose weight?
The simple answer – the calorie balance theory tells us nothing of this sort. It provides no information in regards to how a calorie deficit can be created. It simply tells us the end result and nothing more.
If we want to implement an effective weight loss strategy, the principles for this strategy are going to have to come from elsewhere.
At the end of the day, the theory is not what matters. What matters is the practices that we can put into place to create the actual results that we want. Now that we understand the theory of calorie balance and is limitations, we can move forward examining the common practice of calorie balance.
The common weight loss practice is to use calorie counting to create a calorie deficit (which we know is equivalent to weight loss). The practice that is put into place is to consciously calculate how much we consume and aim to balance it with how much we expend. Note, this is accomplished by simply aiming to eat less and exercise more, or going one step further to calculate desired caloric intake and expenditure and matching that goal with the estimated caloric content of food and exercise.
The Calorie Balance Practice: Consciously calculate caloric intake and balance with energy expenditure to create the energetic state (e.g. calorie deficit) that is aligned with the weight goal (e.g. weight loss).
Let me reiterate why this has become common practice. As the logic goes, because weight loss goes hand in hand with a calorie deficit, and a calorie deficit is created by consuming less than is expended, then all that needs to happen to lose weight is to eat less than is used. As the logic goes, if we can just eat less than we expend, then we will lose weight. The logic is that it is that simple – just eat less (by monitoring energy input) and expend more (by exercising more), and this will create a calorie deficit, which will cause the body to lose weight.
Now that we understand the common practice, we can examine whether or not it makes sense to use this approach given all of the information we know.
Is the practice of calorie balance the best approach to weight management?
Given that a calorie deficit is equivalent to weight loss, and that this state occurs when fewer calories are consumed than expended – does this imply that all that is needed for weight loss is to create a calorie deficit by any method we can think of – say, by restricting the amount of energy consumed and by exercising more?
Here’s the short answer:
As the real world experiment data clearly shows, the answer is no. The reality is, relying on the mind to be able to count how much energy is taken in and to balance it with how much energy is expended – this method, as a whole, is a large failure.
Sure, every once in a while an individual will come along and have great success counting calories to achieve the desired result. And moreover, sure, we may all have occasional temporary successes by eating less for a couple of weeks to drop a few pounds. But, over the long term for most individuals, this method really just leads to frustrated individuals who are sending themselves further down the path to metabolic dysregulation and dysfunction.
Unfortunately, those occasional wins are enough to keep fueling the calorie balance bandwagon, allowing it to maintain its status as the primary weight loss strategy. These occasional wins are enough to keep calories at the forefront of labels, menus, exercise machines, and diet strategies. Meanwhile, other variables get sidelined, even though they may very likely be a more powerful source of information – things like nutrient content, sugar content, presence of unnatural ingredients.
Where does this leave us? Should we actually forget about calories in the name of focusing our attention on these other, potentially more powerful variables? Or, is there a role for calories to play in our weight loss strategy?
As always, the answer is going to depend on one very important factor – you! The thing is, caloric content (of food and exercise) is one factor in a much larger system. As a factor, it may be worth considering as a variable in our own strategy.
Or maybe not – maybe it is worth throwing out this concept entirely in the name of a different strategy.
To arrive at our own answer, we’ll have to explore this concept in greater depth.
Exploring the Calorie Balance Theory
In the following articles, we will do just this – we will explore calorie balance from different perspectives so that you can answer, for yourself, whether or not calorie balance is something that you need to consider in your own weight loss strategy.
This multi-perspective approach is necessary because, to be honest, this is not an easy question to answer. What I can tell you right now is that if we know anything, it is that a world in which the calorie balance model reigns supreme is not a world made up of individuals with a healthy weight. As the data from this real world experiment clearly shows, telling society that all they need to do to lose weight is to count their calories happens to correlate with a world filled with overweight individuals.
Which means that calorie balance, as a practice, is definitely something that we should take a second look at.
A Deeper Examination of Calorie Balance as an Approach to Weight Loss
To continue this discussion of calorie balance, I have two pathways for you to choose from.
The first pathway is a continued discussion of the topic. Up next I will discuss how the calorie balance approach to weight loss falls apart when it comes to the data. Following this I will introduce you to the complex network of numerous factors that control your body’s metabolism.
The truth is, although we have been told that weight loss is simple (just eat less and exercise more), we all know that this is untrue. Weight loss, especially when done in a safe, healthy, and lasting fashion, is a really difficult task to accomplish.
What makes weight loss so complicated is that the human body is complex – it is no static structure that passively accepts what is forced upon it by our conscious choices.
And yet, the traditional calorie-focused approach tells us that this doesn’t matter – that if we can muster up the willpower we can force the body into a calorie deficit and force the body to shed those unwanted pounds.
While this may be true in some cases, the question remains, is this a safe and effective way to create a healthy body, or does this approach do the opposite- send dangerous signals to the body that program the body for poor metabolic health?
We will end with some insight into the most significant factors that control the body’s metabolism – factors that we can manipulate with our choices that significantly impact our fat stores – along with how our choices influence this factor to drive a state of good health vs. disease.
An alternative pathway:
The greatest weakness of the calorie balance approach to weight loss is that it can easily lead individuals to make poor choices regarding their health. In the following three articles I discuss these poor choices from the Reprogrammed three main perspectives:
Calorie Balance from a diet perspective – is the quantity of energy we consume a driving factor of weight loss, or are there other, more important qualities to the food we eat that impact our metabolic state?
Calorie Balance from an exercise perspective – is exercising to burn calories an effective weight loss strategy, or should our exercise strategy shift to focus on the signals it sends to the body?
Calorie Balance from a mindset perspective – is a calorie-centered mindset an effective strategy? Or is there a better perspective we can take?