How are you doing ?
This calories in vs calories out pseudo-maths has been a real peeve of mine since doing my Nutrition Masters in 2018.
I don't mean to wag my fingers and say 'I think you'll find it's a little more nuanced than that'
But I will.
And it is.
Main problem: Calorie counting can be broadly right.
But only in the same way that BMI is broadly right.
Helpful for some rule-of-thumbs
But you'd find Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Angelina Jolie would likely be classed as obese and underweight (respectively, and respectfully).
Both of them look quite healthy to me...
The challenge with calorie counting isn't that it helps people track how much they're eating per se.
It's that it leads to the conclusion that
a) All calories are created equal
b) If I lose weight, I'm burning fat
c) Small changes in calories make a quick difference
These are simply not right.
And I'm going to start taking you on this journey so read up. (It'll likely link to next week's email too).
a) "All calories are created equal"
Calories are how we measure energy. But when we eat, our bodies are looking to absorb nutrients.
We get scurvy if we lack Vitamin C, Beri Beri if we miss Thiamine, Kwashiorkor if our protein's very low.
This means that some calories, with low nutritional yield, might be called 'empty calories'.