The Calorie v Hormone Debate
The world of nutrition is about as diverse as the world of politics. Recently I saw this “calories don’t count, it’s all about food quality’’ podcast doing somewhat of the viral rounds. It was then followed up with the “calories do count’’ tribe harping on about the importance of numbers and equations.
If you have ever stumbled across a keto blog, you might be fooled into thinking that simply eating keto is the answer to eternal bliss
On the other hand if you have ever given time of day to a nutrition science podcast you would have walked away thinking you can eat whatever you like providing you’re in a deficit
Let’s take a quick look at the hormone camp.
This camp believes that hormones are the primary reason for fat loss or gain. They identify insulin as the culprit that drives carbs to be stored as fat. It’s also insulin that dysregulates leptin and ghrelin (the appetite hormones) that can influence you to overeat
In this camp keeping insulin under control is the key factor and carbohydrates which have the biggest impact on insulin are to be kept on the low side.
Let’s take a quick dive into the calorie camp
The good old science driven calorie camp will tell you that you eat anything as long as your calories are low enough. Pizza, ice cream, donuts, wine doesn’t matter so long as it fits your macros. Eat 2000 calories burn 2500 you’re in a deficit you’ll lose weight
Here’s what I think…
Both camps are right and wrong. Yes calories do matter. If I spend the next 4 weeks eating 8000 calories a day of cheese and bacon I’m gonna start putting on some fat. We do have to consider calories. On the other hand if you eat a total of 800 calories a day of just ice cream you may lose weight (probably more muscle than fat) BUT your blood sugars will be on such a rollercoaster that your cravings will far outweigh your willpower. Statistically 95% of low calorie dieters put the weight (and then some) back on.
BUT the problem with calories is a problem with the law of thermodynamics.The law of conservation of energy, also known as the first law of thermodynamics, states that the energy of a closed system can neither be created or destroyed. It shall be conserved. The law of thermodynamics is based on a closed chain system, essentially it’s a system that has very little or no other interactions with other systems or the outside environment. My problem is that that doesn’t sound much like the human body. Most human bodies I know urinate, defecate and sweat on a daily basis.
My second problem is there has not been a shred of evidence proving that there are 3,500 calories in a pound of fat (that’s 453 grams for us Kiwi folk) is actually true. Zoe Harcombe, British obesity researcher and author of “The obesity Epidemic’’ made it her personal mission to uncover the roots of 3500 calories being a pound of fat. Harcombe writes not one in seven governments and obesity organisations can provide evidence for any part of this formula. Not one iota of scientific evidence. We just keep repeating this fabricated calorie claim despite the fact that no one really knows where it even came from.
Ultimately when it comes to calories we are best guessing at best. For some people this best guessing can work. Having a rough estimate on how many calories you’re eating isn’t a bad thing. I have seen many people do really well with weight loss and calorie counting and it’s something I do give to a few clients. That said, I truly believe that if you eat real nutrient dense food in the right proportions for you, your body will tell you when it’s had enough.
The final nail in the calorie coffin (for me)
For me food isn’t just about weight loss and weight gain. It’s about how it makes you feel. Eating pizza and ice cream (which I do) makes me feel great but in a hedonistic way. It’s a short term hit of pleasure usually followed by feelings of lethargy. On the other hand if I control my carbs and eat nutrient dense foods I feel energised, I’m not hungry every 5 minutes and have more spring in my step. I also have to consider the interactions between the quality of food and our organs, the quality of our food and our inflammation, the quality of our food and our dis-ease. Food has a huge impact on so much of our body and mind which has nothing to do with weight loss and weight gain.
To conclude
I’m gonna be vanilla again and tell you that both counting calories and optimising hormones are right. For me food is a pleasure and not one that I feel I want to count calories with. You on the other hand might be different and that’s A-Okay. Just like Politics, I have my thoughts and they are neither right nor wrong. If you disagree, that’s A-Okay. And that my friend is the beauty of being a human.