Calories in Vs Calories Out

Have you ever heard this before? This notion reiterates that as long as your caloric intake is less than your expenditure, or your expenditure surpassed that of your intake, this will lead to a net negative energy balance and weight loss will result. Theoretically this is valid, and this principle must be adhered to in order to lose weight. However, our food choices greatly influence the way that our hormones are released. This intern can increase the likelihood of a caloric surplus, or make it harder to maintain a deficit. It is often not because of lack of will power. Biochemically, our bodies hormones influence enzymes that regulate our metabolic pathways. Here’s how!!

4 reasons why a calorie is not just a calorie:

Why being selective in where those calories are coming from can be critical

1. REFINED/ SIMPLE CARBOHYDRATES - A high intake of refined/ simple carbohydrates will cause a spike in blood sugar due to the absence of fibre to slow the absorption down. This quick spike in blood sugar causes a subsequent release in insulin. Insulin causes GLUT 4 transporters to migrate to the cell surface and increase uptake of glucose into the cell. Once glucose levels quickly drop in the blood, the hormone Ghrelin, the hunger hormone, is released. This can lead to consumption of calories beyond energy needs. Although glucose storage is the primary function of insulin, it also works on various enzymes to stimulate and inhibit metabolic pathways. When insulin is high, lipolysis (fat breakdown) is inhibited through inhibition of the enzyme Hormone sensitive lipase.

2. ALCOHOL - High alcohol consumption can also indirectly lead to lipogenesis (fat synthesis). Alcohol unlike carbohydrates contributes 7 calories per gram. (Carbohydrates are 4cal/gram). Additionally, ethanol is metabolized into Acetyl Coa, which has 2 fates. It can be made into energy by the body or get diverted to lipogenesis (fat synthesis). When excess Acetyl Coa accumulates and energy needs are met, it shuts off the energy-producing pathway and will stimulate the enzyme fatty acid synthase to synthesize and store fat. Research has also shown that independent of the energy density of this molecule, Alcohol (Ethanol) additionally activates AgRP neurons in the brain that are normally stimulated by starvation. This triggers intense feelings of hunger, which is one reason why alcohol is often coupled with overeating.

3. MICRONUTRIENT COMPOSITION - As a nutritionist, I believe in nutrient dense food choices, but I also believe in balance. The notion that a calorie is just a calorie, incentivizes people to eat processed, energy dense, nutrient poor food as a staple in their diet, because as long as they stay in a calorie deficit they will reach their goals. Please understand that external appearance does not always dictate the state of your internal health. You can be extremely lean but very unhealthy. So if your goal is strictly to lose weight, then this in theory can work. However, when it comes to your health, choosing nutritious foods not only allows you to eat a greater volume of food, but will also helps manage your blood sugar and make staying in a calorie deficit much easier.

4. PROTEIN CONSUMPTION - An important consideration when entering a calorie deficit for weight loss purposes is to maintain a relatively high consumption of protein (Approx. 1g / lb body weight). Evolutionarily, it was not advantageous to break down fat for energy. As unfortunate as it is for today’s modern goals, the body will release glucocorticosteroids first, to stimulate muscle protein breakdown. This will cause glucogenic amino acids to be used from body proteins to make new glucose via gluconeogenesis. This will help maintain blood glucose levels and energy needs. Fat does not yield much glucose by comparison. Maintaining a high protein intake will help preserve muscle mass during weight loss, as dietary amino acids will be probed into being used instead of muscle protein. This is critical so that by the time the body diverts to fat metabolism, you will have maintained most of your muscle mass to keep a healthy resting metabolic rate.

Summary

All things considered, every body is beautiful and should be loved regardless of weight or size, but if you would like to loose weight for health reasons or physique goals, integrating a calorie deficit comprising of the 80/20 ratio of clean eating to treat foods should help enable you to stick to healthy eating as a lifestyle long term. Yes, you must be in a net negative energy balance, but when health is considered it is best to satisfy those calories with majority nutrient dense foods to improve overall health.

References

Cains, S., Blomeley, C., Kollo, M., Rácz, R., & Burdakov, D. (2017). Agrp neuron activity is required for alcohol-induced overeating. Nature communications, 8, 14014. doi:10.1038/ncomms14014

Chien Yeat , N., Cava, E., & Mittendorfer, B. (2017). Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss . Advances in Nutrition, 8(3), 511–519. doi: 10.3945/an.116.014506