Today I want to attempt to clear some confusion around the "calorie deficit theory".  Of all the things that can spiral us into a binge-restrict cycle, is it the over simplified approach to losing body fat that I'm going  to call the “Calorie Deficit Control Method”.

 

 

You go on a calorie deficit → Lose some weight → Get hungry/cravings → Eat more or binge → Gain weight back → Go back into a calorie deficit → Lose some weight -→ Get hungry -→ Over-eat or binge → Gain weight back.

 

 

Calorie deficit → Lose some weight → weight plateaus → more calorie deficit and more exercise → no change in weight -→ What the hell!?

 

 

 

I discovered the inaccuracies and limitations of the calorie equation when I got into long distance running and triathlon training. I wanted to lose body fat, and so I set my calorie deficit target to 500cal per day on My Fitness Pal. 

 

But week after week, I became more and more frustrated and confused because I wasn't seeing the results. I ended doing up to 26 hours of cardio a week, sticking to a 1400 calorie diet, and the app was always showing at LEAST 500 calories of deficit a day, often more, yet I kept losing and gaining the same 0.5-1 kg (basically nothing was changing). What the hell was going on? I asked my lecturer at university, who told me I must just be tracking wrong.

 

Then I went into body building. I was put on an 1800 calorie diet to gain muscle. Had to stop all cardio, and just do 40 mins of weights 4-5 days a week. My body fat started to go down, and my muscle mass increased. 

 

After going through all of this, I became very interested in metabolism, and wanted to get the answers I wasn't getting in my nutrition papers.

 

I came across Dr Libby's book the Calorie Fallacy and was relieved to hear that I wasn't the only one who had experienced these results that seemed to conflict with the calorie deficit theory. Dr Libby herself, learned there must be more to calories and weight loss when she switched from running 10km a day and eating “carefully”, to walking, doing Thai Chi and just eating more intuitively. She unexpectedly found her clothes getting looser and went on the same quest for answers. 

 

 

The method that many women are using, and getting VERY frustrated with is what I want to call the “Calorie deficit control method”.

 

This is where you attempt to figure out what calories you are burning each day, set this as your calorie limit for the day, and then through either an app or a calorie controlled meal plan, attempt to stick to your daily calorie deficit. Every. Damn. Day.

 

After working with 100s of women over the last ten years, the general feedback I've had is that it works, and then it doesn't. Then it works again. Then it doesn't.

It's the most frustrating cycle of gaining and losing. Or losing, and then plateauing. Yo-yoing from happy and proud, to unhappy and defeated. It's an emotional rollercoaster.

 

Now, I'm not going to tell you calories don't matter at all. That would be a very black and white, all or nothing mentality. But you do deserve to understand them better. 

 

 

 

Calorie apps and many weight loss coaches will set you a calorie target based on an equation that works out your BMR (Basal metabolic rate) plus your physical activity level (PAL).

BMR + PAL gives you your “Estimated energy expenditure". 

 

 

BMR represents the energy you are using for the most BASIC survival functions, whilst in a rested state. (e.g. Regulating your temperature, balancing your chemicals, breathing, blood flow, growth and repair of hair and nails, brain function, digestion, fighting off infections).

 

The most accurate way to measure and estimate your BMR is through an oxygen collection method we call “Indirect calorimetry”.  However, apps simply work out your BMR with an equation (issue #1), and ASSUMES that it will be the same every day (issue #2). Which is not quite true. 

 

 

Say your BMR is estimated at 1400 calories per day based on your app or meal plan that has worked this out using an equation. 

 

It could be correct or….

 

 

 

 

 

These factors are not set in concrete. They can change day to day, or month by month. So it's important to view the BMR part of the equation very much as an “estimate”. 

 

 

As with BMR there are factors that will impact how much energy you are burning when you exercise that calculations may not account for. Such as your fitness level and lean mass. 

 

Say you plug into your app that you've done a 30 minute run that comes out at 300 calories.

 

This was your first run in 2 months. You're not fit, so your heart rate was  through the roof throughout the whole 30 mins, and it took 30 mins for it to come down after. It felt like a bloody HIIT workout. In which case you may have burned 400-500 calories from this run. (Including both the run and the cool down time)  

 

You've been running a lot and built up good running fitness. You breeze through this 30min run, with a steady heart rate. Within 10 mins after your run, your heart rate returns back to normal. You may have burned only 250 calories total with the run and cool down time.

 

(Note: If you have a heart rate monitor, or something like Woop, estimated calories burned will be much more accurate. But still not as accurate as if we collected your oxygen and carbon dioxide via indirect calorimetry whilst running).

 

 

Going back to my triathlon days - This helps explain why I wasn't losing weight even with a huge amount of cardio training, and restricting calories to my estimated BMR. I was getting fitter, and burning less calories during the workouts. My BMR dropped because I was losing muscle mass, and I was preserving energy during the day with a lower heart rate. I remember I was always cold. Another way my body was trying to preserve energy and “protect” me from this calorie deficit. 

 

This is what the body does. Whilst we are trying to be clever in reducing our calories and exercising more to create a bigger deficit, our body is working hard in the background to CLOSE the deficit gap. 

 

Let's call this “Your innate ability to self-regulate”

 

So should we stop exercising? 

 

 If you are doing it because you enjoy it, and you want to be fit, then keep going. But if you are hoping that more and more exercise is the answer to improving your body composition, you might find yourself fighting an uphill battle like I did.  

 

 

All foods and drink are given calorie value, and an app can provide you with a calorie estimate. This isn't totally useless. HOWEVER there are few things to note. 

 

1) FDA's of most countries allow up to a 20% inaccuracy (sometimes even more) in the calorie values on food packaging, and take-away food providers (e.g. Mcdonalds). 

 

So that burger could be 300calories or 450calories. 

That ice-cream could be 200 or 150

 

2) We are still using calorie values that were produced in 1900 by Wilbur Atwater. A crucial factor that was missed from these calculation was the caloric availability, the amount of calories we use to BURN the food. We know that the caloric availability of foods differ significantly based on their level of processing. Protein and fibre use up the most energy to break down. For example, for every 100 calories from protein, only 70 calories are available. Carb calories are 90-95 % available depending if it's complex carbs or sugar, and fat is almost 100% readily available. 

 

So girls who have been put on a 1200 calorie high protein, high non-starchy vege, low fat diet… You poor things could have been sitting in the 900 calorie range. No wonder you were starving! 

 

 

Not quite. Having a healthy relationship with food isn't about rejecting that calories exist, but about understanding their inaccuracies and  being mindful of how helpful they are to you. 

 

I think if you use the concept of calorie availability to help choose foods that keep you more satiated and nourished for the amount of calories they provide, this could be helpful. I.e. Eating wholefoods food with more protein and fibre. 

 

But calorie tracking or following “calorie controlled meal plans” becomes a problem when they are used for restriction and start over-riding your hunger and fullness cues.  

 

It's a problem when they make you panic that you have over-eaten despite still being hungry. Causing you to stop allowing yourself to eat because you'll “go over your calories”. OR if you force yourself to eat more to “meet your calories” for the day, even though you are full.

 

It becomes a problem when you are no longer asking yourself - what is going  to nourish my body? How hungry am I? 

Because you're asking yourself every time - How many calories are in this? 

 

 

Your weight and body composition is going to be impacted by more than just calories. Here are at least 9 other factors: 

 

Stress Hormones (Cortisol)

Blood sugar control (Insulin sensitivity or resistance)

Sex Hormones (estrogen/testosterone),

Liver Function

Gut Bacteria,

Thyroid function,

Nervous System (Sympathetic/Parasympathetic),

Emotions,

Genetics (Set point theory).

 

**Newsflash**

You could be in a calorie deficit, but if any combination of these 9 things are not functioning in a healthy way, you could experience NO shifts in body fat, or even be experiencing weight GAIN.

 

 

If you want to work towards finding and maintaining your healthiest weight, without the yoyo-ing, I encourage a different approach that is grounded in self-care and flexibility, rather than restriction or control…

 

 

 

 

Take time to learn about the other factors that play a role in your metabolism and energy balance such as your gut health, liver health, blood sugar balance, emotional drivers to eat.  You may find you get the results you want without even having to look at calories, because when each of these systems are working, and you're not eating emotionally, you build a strong metabolism, which will encourage a health weight. A really great start point, is switching to a balanced wholefood approach, based around plenty of plants, healthy fats, moderate carb and protein. (Boring I know, but what if it didn't actually have to be that complicated?)

 

I know, I know, you still want to lose weight. I get it. But thinking every day “I need to lose weight” - communicates to your nervous system - “Your under attack!!” and sets of a number of chemical signals to store and preserve body fat, rather than break it down. 

 

By thinking - What do I need to eat to be my healthiest self? We signal to our brain that we are trying to nourish our body. That this is about self-care, rather than self-restriction which will help keep the “fight or ”flight" response from being triggered. 

 

I know it might be hard to believe, but I encourage you to trust your body will take you to your healthiest weight, by being your healthiest self. 

 

 

We have these amazing hormones that can tell you if you need to eat more or less in a day. Leptin - our fullness hormone, and Ghrelin - our hunger hormone. Unlike your calorie counter or meal plan, these hormones respond to the daily BMR changes and shifts in activity expenditure. They are better at knowing if you got 300 calories from that burger or 500 calories. They are smarter than the apps, and can adapt with you. 

 

Dieting tends to remove our trust in these cues, and diet products we consume with artificial sweeteners can confuse these hormones. Practicing mindfulness, learning  to distinguish between emotional and physical hunger, and adopting a non-diet wholefood approach will help. 

 

 

I encourage you to be mindful of what you consume on social media and who you seek for nutrition support. I still hear stories of women being put on calorie deficits as low as 1200cal from Registered Dietitians and Nutritionists. It's not their fault, as I said, I was taught this method in uni too. They believe it is evidence based. But it takes a long time for universities to update their curriculum. 

 

Some of the women paving the way for women's health, who I have learned from, and will continue to learn from, include: 

 

Dr Libby Weaver

Dr Lara Briden

Dr Stacy Sims 

Dr Megan Rossi - The Gut Health Doctor

 

Learn from the true experts who didn't stop learning after their degree. Who challenge the norm, and have become experts in their field. Who have written books, used evidence to back their advice, and who can show 1000s of success stories.  

 

My mantra is to never stop learning, and never get “set” on one theory because you know what? It could change. There is still so much we don't know about the human body and nutrition science is always evolving. 

 

 You are your own N=1 experiment. If something isn't working for you, listen, and seek a different approach. 

 

I hope this was helpful, if you want to share your story with me I'd love to hear from via email or instagram.

 

Your friend and coach

Kim xx