My NEW Rant On The Deceiving Concept of CALORIE Counting

CALORIE COUNTING RANT: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ACCURATELY COUNT CALORIES

A calorie is a proposed unit of energy of heat potential specifically derived in a lab by burning nutrients and measuring the heat expelled and then giving it a unit of energy known as a calorie.

The calorie theory assumes and accepts a 20% variable. The numbers we use aren’t even represented accurately as carbs are assigned 4 calories when the equation actually assigns 4.1. Although someone can work hard to eat 1,500 calories per day, you could very well be consuming 1,800 calories or 1,200.

Results from large studies indicate that when verified, self-reported daily calorie amounts are under-reported on average by 47%, while exercise is overestimated by 50%. When health professionals and people in the field, like trainers and nutritionists, are verified, they are not much better, with an error rate of only 10% better than the public estimates.

We do not “burn” nutrients like carbs, fat, and protein for energy. We use certain materials to build ATP which is a unit of potential energy that then can be used in our cellular furnaces to be burnt for energy.

Proteins and fats are broken down into amino acids and fatty acids that can be used in cellular repair, new cell growth, and other structural uses, rather than being used as energy.

Proteins are used in every action and function of the body. They make hormones, neurotransmitters, immune cells, red blood cells, build tissues, and much more that have nothing to do with being “burnt” for energy.

Fatty acids build and repair our cell membranes. Their number one use is in the endoplasmic reticulum, and they support our brain and liver, and build our skin.

Glucose creates receptors on each of our cells, fills our glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, builds our biofilm, and feeds the bacterial population in and on our body.

It is impossible to know at any given moment how much of your caloric intake is being used for structure rather than energy, and that changes the energy in versus energy out balance dramatically and continually.

Some ingested calories do not ever get used for producing energy.

Some examples of this include the 7 calories we get from alcohol and the 4 from fructose. Calories from alcohol usually do not get used for energy and when they do, it is a small percentage that will be different each time alcohol is ingested.

Fructose calories are only metabolized in the liver and do not go to the rest of the body, This results in around 90% of the calories from fructose being stored as fat, no matter what the energy balance is in the rest of the body. These very important details can throw off the calories equation to the point of making the effort useless.

Insulin levels are what decide if energy coming in is stored or burned. There are many factors that can raise insulin beyond the normal level seen. These are based on a food’s macronutrient breakdown of carbs, protein, and fats.

When there is a hyper insulin response, the amount of energy coming in from food that goes to storage instead goes up significantly. Different preparations of the same foods can produce a 150% hyper insulin response, the order in which you eat carbs during a meal can cause a 300% increase, foods that have lectins raise the response by around 400%, the type and length of cooking can raise the response by up to 500% above normal, and certain chemicals like emulsifiers, pesticides, and plastics increase it as well.

Each of those separate factors will impact how much energy you use from your food and when these are combined, the number is incalculable.

Gut bacterial balance, health, and absorption ability can cause the release of nutrients into your system by 400%, and this will also have an impact on energy productions and use.

The calorie model cannot work as designed and this is a very big reason why so many people fail in their sincere efforts to lose weight.

So, what is more important than calories in weight loss and metabolic (hormonal) health?

1. Food Quality over food Quantity.
2. Eating less frequently, not fewer calories.
3. Get lots of natural fats, and eliminate chemically processed vegetable oils.
4. Exercise every day.
5. Get your nervous system checked by a chiropractor.

We can do better!

You might also like:

1. Food is Not Fuel
2. Calories or Insulin
3. Exercise Does Not Help You Burn More Calories