Introduction

So often, we talk to women who seem to be doing all the "right" things- eating at a calorie deficit, avoiding processed foods, exercising daily, yet still struggle to see any weight loss, and some even continue to gain- very frustrating.



So what is going on here?


Let's talk calories:

Some consider ”calories in vs calories out” to be the holy grail of weight loss, while others say it’s all related to hormones. What are we to think? Does the type of calorie matter?



"Calories in vs calories out" is based on the first law of thermodynamics: change in weight = energy consumed - energy expended. If calories in exceed calories out, you will gain weight. If calories out exceed calories in, you will lose weight.



A calorie of meat may be the same as a calorie of bread in a closed system, but what happens when you put these foods into a complex human body?


Calories In vs. Calories Out: Is it Really That Simple?


As we see in diseases like anorexia, meaning literally, "eating nothing", if you don’t take in energy, you lose weight.



On the TV show Survivor, where contestants eat a restrictive diet of mainly rice, they almost all show some weight loss by the end.


Obviously, the above scenarios are undesirable to be in, but it certainly acts as an example that less food = weight loss. I say weight and not fat intentionally here as, just because someone loses weight, does not mean it was all fat



Even at a less extreme level though, it’s not so easy for many people to achieve similar results following this premise. If weight loss is all about simply reducing your calories, then why are some people still GAINING weight after months of dieting and exercise?


Why Some People Still Gain Weight After Dieting and Exercise

A 2015 study looking at over 175,000 men and women found that the probability of losing weight by eating less and exercising more after 9 years was 0.6% (1).



A 99.4% failure rate.



What’s up with that?


And there are many studies indicating that basically all diets result in the same short-term weight loss, followed by weight regain.



What’s important to understand is that the amount of calories burned DEPENDS on the amount of calories consumed (2). When we restrict calories, our metabolism slows down to reduce caloric output (calorie burning).



Not only that, but hunger hormones then drive us to eat more later to compensate for the lack of calories (3). These hormones are trying to maintain our metabolism set point and are very hard to resist- why so many people fall off the wagon.


If you manage to hang in there with your restrictive diet for a long time, you may lose weight in the beginning, but once your metabolism slows down, you will plateau. The real kicker is that this reduced metabolism may continue on for a long time even when you increase your calories back up, which means you might gain weight on the amount of calories that was previously maintaining your weight.(4)


Do you even really want the same results as the examples I gave above? Think about what those people went through to lose that weight, think about how these people FEEL on a daily basis. Of course those are extreme examples, but chronic dieters often feel deprived, hungry, tired, irritable, cold, can't think, and have no sex drive.


Focus on Other Factors for Weight Loss

There are many variables that cause different rates of fat storage and affect how much we want to eat. So yes, technically, calories matter, but for many, simply eating less and moving more does not work. We need to instead hack the metabolic processes that affect our appetite and fat storage:

  • the effect of the different macronutrients (fat, carbs, and protein) on fat storage

  • the effect of our many hormones that affect fat storage such as: thyroid hormone, cortisol, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, growth hormone, insulin, and more.

  • the health of your gut microbiome

  • your digestion and detoxification processes

  • your sleep

  • when and how often you eat

  • genetics


THESE are the things that we should be focusing on, NOT counting calories.


Conclusion

Where to go from here? If you don’t know which of the above areas need work to start to improve your body composition, we highly recommend working with an Ember naturopathic doctor who can help direct you. We can support you in tweaking your diet so that it is supportive of your goals, AND sustainable. We can also provide you with in-depth testing to get to the root of your resistant weight loss.


References:

  1. Am J Public Health. 2015 Sep;105(9):e54-9. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2015.302773. Epub 2015 Jul 16. Probability of an Obese Person Attaining Normal Body Weight: Cohort Study Using Electronic Health Records. Fildes A1, Charlton J1, Rudisill C1, Littlejohns P1, Prevost AT1, Gulliford MC1.

  2. Labadaum U et al. Obesity, abdominal obesity, physical activity, and caloric intake in US adults: 1988 to 2010. AN J Med. 2014 Aug; 127(8):717-27.

  3. Suminthran P. Long-term persistence of hormonal adaptations to weight loss. N Engl J Med. 2011 Oct 27; 365(17):1597-604.

  4. Rosenbaum et al. Long-term persistence of adaptive thermogenesis in subjects who have maintained a reduced body weight. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct; 88(4):906-12.