When it comes to managing a healthy weight, the modern world would seem to be in a great struggle. Tips for losing weight are ever-present in any number of (often poor and contradictory) forms, making for a confused population that is failing to effectively manage the task.
This is such an important topic to address because effective weight loss has the ability to significantly impact each individual’s life on many levels. Of course, an obvious implication of excess weight is societal, as today’s world is not particularly sympathetic towards those carrying around excess weight. What may be even more significant, though, is what we don’t regularly think about – what is happening beneath the surface – inside the body – in response to excess fat accumulation.
While the body is designed to store fat, it is only designed to store so much. After a certain threshold, which will vary depending on the individual, any excess fat may begin to cause problems. The primary problems involved – the ones central to the Reprogrammed Systems Model – are the inflammatory response and hyperlipidemia resulting from the inability to keep that excess fat stored away safely.
Excess fat accumulation is dangerous particularly because it results in fat leakage into the bloodstream (hyperlipidemia), and that fat, along with the pro-inflammatory signaling molecules, can circulate throughout the body, creating a problem for organs and tissues throughout the body. The result is any number of pathophysiological conditions, including insulin resistance, atherosclerosis, and all of the downstream modern diseases that arise due to these conditions
Excess fat mass is dangerous. Therefore, we need effective solutions to address the issue. Unfortunately, as is plain to see by the high obesity statistics, the current method regularly employed to address excess fat mass is not effective. Therefore, we need a new solution, one I hope to help answer with the Reprogrammed Systems Model.
Integrating Old Ideas with the Reprogrammed Systems Model
Previously, I have used the Reprogrammed Systems Model to demonstrate how dysregulation in signaling processes can result in hyperlipidemia and inflammation, which in turn lead to metabolic dysfunction and modern disease. With this article I will expand on this model in the context of excess energy so that we may better understand excess fat accumulation.
As always, I will argue that the solution to the problem (the specific problem, now, being excess fat accumulation) lies in understanding the design of the human body, along with how that design breaks down in the modern world.
What this means is that there is one particular topic that needs to be addressed – the elephant in the room that I have avoided entirely thus far. This topic is the common wisdom used to address weight management, the one we all know so well: calorie balance theory.
The reigning theory that attempts to explain excess weight accumulation says that it is because we consume too much energy, while burning too little, that we then become fat. It is the abundance of calories entering the system that is the cause of excess fat.
Therefore, as the logic goes, to lose weight all we need to do is eat fewer calories and exercise more to burn more calories. This will result in a calorie deficit, meaning there must be a net loss of mass leaving the body (i.e. weight loss).
Unfortunately, despite decades spent telling people to simply eat less and exercise more, our obesity rates have not declined, resulting in a staggering more than 70% rate of overweight individuals. Instead of adults doing a better job of controlling their energy balance by counting calories, the problem has actually spread, including more adults and a staggering number of children as well.
This is a clear sign that the calorie balance model for weight management is a great failure.
In this discussion of what really drives energy dysregulation and excess fat accumulation, we need to address how calorie balance theory as a weight loss tool is inadequate, or even worse, possibly even detrimental. The advice to eat less and exercise more has failed our society, and I believe this means we are all in need of a change.
However, as we move forward to develop a new, more effective weight loss method, we must be careful not to ignore calorie balance altogether. Even if calorie balance as weight loss advice by itself has failed us, this is not to say that we should ignore this topic altogether.
There are some useful bits of information we can glean by understanding what calorie balance really means. If we can understand the truth behind calorie balance, while being cautious not to infer improper uses from it, then we can move forward with the Reprogrammed Systems Model as a more effective solution to addressing the excess weight problem.
To do this, let’s briefly refresh on the Reprogrammed Systems Model, and then look at how it can be integrated with energy balance theory.
Getting Back to the Reprogrammed Systems Model
Based on the Reprogrammed Systems Model, excessive fat accumulation is driven by energy dysregulation. When the body loses its ability to regulate energy levels, energy can build up in dangerous amounts.
One example of this energy dysregulation discussed previously is excessive/irregular insulin stimulation. When insulin, the body’s primary energy storage hormone, is secreted excessively and irregularly (i.e. the insulin spike), the body can be put in a position where it stores more energy than it burns. Thus, fat builds up in the body.
As often is the case, this example is oversimplified as there are numerous hormones involved in fat accumulation that must be taken into consideration. For example, we could consider a second important hormone controlling fat storage – leptin. While you can think of insulin more as an acute, short-lived signal that varies in response to each meal, leptin is more of a long-term signal. It is released by the adipose tissue when adipose tissue expands, serving as the body’s primary means of signaling its long-term energy stores. If these stores start filling up, leptin is released, resulting in a lowered appetite and more energy burning.
Of course, there is an obvious problem in today’s world, as this signal has clearly become dysfunctional. Leptin resistance is all-too-common, and the result is a society filled with individuals incapable of listening to the internal signal that their fat storage is full.
The problem is not necessarily that these signals are occasionally diverted from normal. Rather, the true problem is that the modern, industrialized body no longer responds with healthy internal signaling, and as a result, energy is able to accumulate excessively. For example, if a healthy body is put in a situation with too much insulin secretion, fat may begin to build-up. This is okay though, as this will result in a change in leptin levels, signaling to the body to eat less and burn more. An unhealthy body, however, is incapable of properly responding to the leptin signal, resulting in the ability for fat to build up continuously.
Thus, there is a need to Reprogram the body back to its natural state – a state in which it can properly regulate its own energy stores via these hormones. This is the approach I recommend, and it is the approach I will continue to explain up next.
Note: For a more in-depth discussion of how these hormones function, check out my series on the topic, so that you can see how they work properly given the proper environmental signals, along with how our industrialized lifestyle results in their dysfunction.
For the rest of this article, we need to shift away from these signaling pathways so that we can discuss how calorie balance can be integrated with these previously established concepts. While I have made it clear that we have these systems in place to regulate energy stores, and the failure of these systems may result in obesity, I have not addressed some important questions that are likely pressing on your mind.
Most pressing is the question of why we need to bother to understand anything about these mechanisms at all. If, as we’ve been told, fat accumulation is all about calories anyway, why can’t we just count calories and lose weight that way?
This is the important conversation we need to have now. In it, we need to answer the following questions:
- What is calorie balance and how does it tie into the Reprogrammed Systems Model?
- To what extent does calorie balance align with biological laws governing the human body?
- Given everything we know, is there anything wrong with simply counting calories as a weight management method?
What is calorie balance?
As the common wisdom goes, to maintain a body with a healthy weight we simply need to manage how much energy we consume and how much energy we expend. We all know the rule – it’s all about calories in vs calories out.
This “wisdom” is an extension of the first law of thermodynamics, also known as the conservation of energy. Because energy cannot be created nor destroyed, then the difference in energy that goes into a system and the energy that leaves that system is the change in energy of that system:
Energy in – Energy out = Change in Energy in the system
Which translates to:
Calories in – calories out = change in calories.
Because we are dealing with the problem of a positive change in mass, it follows that there has been a positive change in energy:
to cause weight gain: energy in > energy out,
and to reverse this situation:
to cause weight loss: energy in < energy out:
Note that this all comes directly from a scientific law. It has been, at least up to this point in history, irrefutable. To lose a large amount of fat mass, the body needs to be put into a calorie deficit, which means that fewer calories must enter the system than are leaving it.
Which is why we have been told for decades that we simply need to eat less and exercise more. If we can do this, then we will be creating a calorie deficit, forcing the body to shed the excess weight. Simple, right?
A Problem with this logic
But there’s a problem here, as there are several gaping holes in this logic. Contrary to common experts in the health and nutrition realm, it is a large leap from energy conservation, an irrefutable law, to the advice to eat less and exercise more. Contrary to common belief, it is not a direct extension of the law as we have been told. It is a large leap – a leap that is not supported by the data – resulting in the overwhelming failure of calorie balance dietary advice.
While we have come to believe that energy balance is as basic as calories consumed via macronutrients and calories burned off through exercise, the reality is very different. As we have seen through the building of the Reprogrammed Systems Model, the human body is not a simple, passive system. Our bodies are not passive structures that allow for energy to flood through without any response. The body is not something that will simply be forced into a calorie deficit – it is not something that will simply allow us to eat as little as we want or exercise to burn all we want. Read More about how weight is managed HERE.
There is a good chance that you already know this. Have you ever tried to put yourself through a long, calorie-torching workout, and then gone on to eat a low number of calories for the rest of the day? How did you feel during this time? Did you feel awake and alive? Did you have any motivation or desire to accomplish much else?
Chances are the answer is no. And even more, given that the weight did come off using this method, what kind of weight was it, was the end result beneficial to your body? I’ll discuss this point soon, but the short answer is that there is a fair chance that the weight loss achieved by this method is not entirely the kind of weight loss we want to achieve.
Where does this leave us? If “we” are not always capable of controlling the energy balance of our own bodies, then what is left to do? Is there any hope of getting the body into a calorie deficit without forcing ourselves to eat less and exercise more?
Calorie balance theory is correct to say that we must create a calorie deficit to lose weight. However, it is incorrect to suggest that it must be done by making a conscious effort to eat fewer calories and by exercising more.
In reality, there are other ways to do the job – methods which, as always, rely on understanding how the body is actually designed to function.
A Basic Principle of Biology
There is a common term for the ability for biological systems (e.g. the human body) to maintain balance – it’s called homeostasis. Looking across any sort of biological system (e.g. population sizes in ecosystems), these systems interact in dynamic fashions such that any perturbations (shifts away from normal) are always brought back to center by any number of forces.
The human body, which is arguably the most sophisticated biological design on this planet, is no different. It too has mechanisms in place that force any perturbations (e.g. weight gain) back to center (e.g. weight loss). Understand that it has to be this way. If the body was incapable of managing its own fat stores, our species would have died off long ago, the moment a drought hit or the rainy season came bringing food galore.
Because of the innumerable mechanisms in place to tightly control metabolism, our species (and similar ones before us) have thrived for millions of years, with all of this time spent in absence of the surplus of fat our bodies regularly experience today.
The body was designed with systems in place to prevent excess fat accumulation. This includes systems to prevent the consumption of too much food, along with counterbalances to burn off excess energy if it does begin to accumulate. It is, therefore, a logical fallacy to then say that it is simply consuming too much that then drives excess fat accumulation.
No, there is something more driving the progression of energy dysregulation, and we need to get to the bottom of what it is so that we can start addressing the root of the problem.
Yes, but knowing all this, does calorie balance work as a weight management tool?
All this talk about biology and mechanisms sounds nice, but at the end of the day, all that matters is results. While calorie balance theory may not address the underlying issues, can it still be used as an effective method for weight loss?
This is a very interesting question, one I have written about in great detail. For those who desire to stick with calorie balance as a weight loss tool, I recommend heading over to here to hear my logic on that topic.
For those ready to move on with the Reprogrammed Systems Model, here is the short answer to the question of the effectiveness of calorie balance as a weight loss tool.
The answer: it completely depends on the individual.
Calorie balance can absolutely be used as a weight loss tool. Many individuals have found great success using the method, as it can force the body into a calorie deficit, thus forcing the body to shed some weight.
However, there are many individuals who have found only utter frustration with the method. These frustrations arise from the fact that it is a big leap to assume that we can simply control energy balance with conscious control of calories.
Let’s look at that “big leap” in some greater depth:
The Leap from Energy Balance to “Eat Less and Exercise More”
The conservation of energy is a scientific law. Because energy cannot be created nor destroyed, it follows that to lose weight an individual must expend more energy than is consumed. However, it is a large leap to then say that to lose weight, that individual must consume fewer calories while working to burn more calories.
To understand why I will walk through what is missed when we make this “leap.”
First, true energy balance applies to a closed system, a system in which we can effectively understand and measure each input and each output. The human body, with its incredible complexity and many forms of boundaries, is not a good model of a closed system. It is incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to analyze the many ways by which energy is absorbed and released.
Second, when an energy deficit is created due to caloric restriction, this can be a dangerous signal to the body, resulting in damaging consequences. Historically speaking, the limiting of the amount of energy that the body receives has been understood by the body as a signal that a famine has hit, as this has been the reason for calorie deficits in the past. The body may very well respond to this signal by holding on to its energy stores, reserving this energy for the requirements it has to stay alive.
Third, energy deficits do not necessarily target fat mass. When we say we want to lose weight, what we really mean is that we want to lose fat mass. Unfortunately, calorie deficits don’t necessarily discriminate, which can result in loss of bone, muscle, and other healthy tissue.
All in all, using calorie balance to lose weight often results in poor (or even damaging) results because it is an incredible oversimplification of the system that is the human body. The human body is not passive – it does not just let us create deficits without repercussions.
The human body is active. It has a network of mechanisms in place to regulate its own energy stores. Even when dysfunctional, these mechanisms still exist, and they will respond when given dangerous signals, signals that may include too little energy coming in and too much energy being exerted.
Why I do not advocate for calorie balance theory as a weight management tool
The problem with calorie balance theory (i.e. the “just eat less and move more” advice) is that it does not address the underlying issue – instead, ignoring the issue of energy (dys)regulation entirely. It accepts that the body cannot regulate its own stores and instead employs an alternative method of doing so – that method being you and you’re conscious control. Calorie balance says that because your body can’t regulate energy stores, you have to do the job for it by consciously regulating how much you consume and balancing it out with how much you exercise.
Now, I didn’t spend all that time in my previous articles discussing how the body regulates energy stores just so that we can throw it all out the window and simply eat less and exercise more. It is folly to simply ignore all of the mechanisms designed to regulate your body’s energy stores because of an unsupported concept that you can just consciously control it yourself.
Let me make this clear – this doesn’t mean that, if you employ the calorie balance method, that it won’t work. I am not arguing that the calorie balance is wrong. However, I am arguing that the calorie balance method is not in alignment with the biological mechanisms driving the state of the human body, and therefore, when put into practice, it is going to have some major flaws.
Now, some of these flaws may end up being no big deal. For many individuals who use this method, there is still a fair chance that they see the results they want, particularly in the short term. However, as too many people have found out for themselves, many do not see results, especially in the long term. The worst part is that these flaws may even lead to this technique backfiring, as the restriction of calories can result in the body becoming even better at holding onto fat. See Calorie Balance: Programming the Body for Weight Gain and Poor Health
Calories count, but you shouldn’t have to count calories
That being said, energy balance can be a useful framework to help us as we move forward. Using calorie balance theory, on its own, may be a poor weight loss prescription for the population because it is an oversimplification of the design that is the human body. However, if we use this theory wisely, it may prove to be incredibly useful as part of a different method when weight loss is needed.
Calorie balance is a useful framework as it is a clear indication of success. Calories count – if an individual can successfully restrict calories, then that individual has a much greater likelihood of losing weight and improving health markers across the board.
But the method to do so matters. It is not as simple as eating less, as eating less can be construed by the body as a dangerous signal, a signal that may lead to the body becoming stressed, holding onto fat, and letting go of healthy, beneficial tissue.
Up next, I will show you how we can use the concept of calorie balance within the Reprogrammed Systems Model to help us make decisions in alignment with weight loss goals. By understanding how calorie balance plays a role in the main pathways driving modern disease, we can address modern disease with a wiser, more effective approach than has been traditionally used.
Thus far I have discussed the Reprogrammed Systems Model from a perspective of how the inputs into the body result in energy being sent down different pathways. One of these pathways is excessive energy accumulation, which we now understand in the context of a positive energy balance.
To address this positive energy balance, we can look back at our energy inputs, working to ensure that what we send into the body is sending the body down a pathway that heads away from energy storage. By understanding the energy that comes in, we can make great strides towards reducing positive energy balance and counteracting excessive energy accumulation.
Yet, this is only one piece of the equation. Calorie balance tells us that to create a calorie deficit, there are two variables that we need to address. As we move forward, let us shift our attention to the other piece of energy balance: energy out. By understanding how the signals we send to the body results in an effect at the energy out section of these pathways, we can expand on the model, making for an even more effective approach to addressing modern disease.