Is a Calorie Really *Just* a Calorie?

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You often hear many things about nutrition. One of the things you’ll hear (say, from somebody on Instagram — just an example) is that calories are all that count and that you needn’t bother with anything else. So long as you keep track of how much you’re consuming (or so they say), you can eat whatever you want (poptarts, cheese fries, plastic bottle caps, etc) and still lose weight. This advice is sometimes offered as “IIFYM” or “calories in, calories out”. And while I believe there is something very true in the claims there being made, I do not believe they capture all there is to be said.

(Before anyone offers any smart remarks, I happen to very well understand that a calorie as a unit of energy is, of course, simply that. The part, however, that often and unnecessarily confuses people, is with respect to whether counting calories is the only thing a person need be concerned about when it comes to eating healthy, losing weight, etc.)

Another thing you’ll hear about nutrition (also on Instagram) is that calories do not count for much if anything, and it’s only the quality (or types) of food that make any real difference. So long as you eat the right things and avoid the types of food that children eat, then you will lose weight and feel absolutely energized. Again, I believe there is something right about this, but also something left out.

The last thing you’ll hear about nutrition (and this will be coming from me) is that while there is something accurate to be found in both of these viewpoints, neither offers the complete account.

The fact is this: How much you eat matters and so does what it consists of.

There are two reasons for this.

The first, and hopefully most obvious, is that making better food decisions (and avoiding the types of food that children eat) is by itself one of the best ways to control for calories. Surely it is much easier to not over-stuff yourself when meals are comprised primarily of lean meat and fresh fruit and colorful vegetables, etc. Certain foods are hyper-palatable. They are not only easy to overeat, but very hard not to. Here is where the slogan, “I bet you can’t eat just one!” comes from.

Second, is that food types do more to the body than just plump it up or thin it out. Various foods can affect the body in variations ways, from inflammation, and so on. (I once got a parasite from eating a parasite.)

The picture is simply far more nuanced than many Instagram experts will lead you to believe. Again, neither position is wrong all the way through, but the truth (as is often, but not always, the case) is found more-so in the middle.

Perhaps we can think of it like this. Calories count, but they are not the only thing that counts, nor do we have to count calories if we care to lose weight. A person can very well lose weight, and very often does lose weight, by focusing on higher quality foods or other strategies altogether (such as intermittent fasting). But the reason this person loses weight is not just because the foods are better for them, but also because the foods are lower in calories than cheese fries and pop-tarts, but not plastic bottle caps.

When people ask me (also an Instagram expert) what they should do to lose weight, I try to give the simplest advice I can without being an absolutist.

It’s not that I don’t believe in absolutes (I believe in absolutes, absolutely; I am a religious man, after all), it’s just that I don’t think absolutes are extraordinarily helpful when it comes to nutrition.

For example: I will often tell a person that eating protein shakes is a good thing for weight loss. I do not mean this absolutely, of course. I do not mean that you will only lose weight if you eat protein shakes. I only mean that protein shakes are often an effective approach, for reasons I explain in the following video.

The same with intermittent fasting.

My final advice on this front is to not be led astray by simplistic accounts of things. Simple is good. Simplistic, is not. Furthermore, it is quite important to realize that all dieting involves restriction. There is no getting around this very basic matter of fact. All success comes down to managing compromise. So whether you decide to count calories or limit certain foods from your eating plan or not eat at certain times, the question isn’t one of whether or not your diet plan will be restrictive, but rather: what restrictions are you going to make?

– Pat

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