Calorie Counting - Not All Calories Are Created Equally

The easiest and most common way to diet is to count calories, essentially calories in vs calories out. The caloric value for 1 gram of fat is 9. Protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. It is for this reason so many diets including the government food pyramids have labeled fat as the enemy. Cutting fat makes it easier to cut calories. One of the leading voices against fat in the diet was Ancel Keys, the architect of the 7 Country Study. This study was his chance to prove how cultures that ate a low fat diet were thinner, heathier and had far less heart disease.  There was a problem with his methods however; the study was not objective as he chose to include only evidence that supported his hypothesis while excluding evidence to the contrary.  He cherry picked the 7 countries that best suited his needs. He excluded France for instance, a country with low obesity and heart disease and a diet high in fat. The result of the study was a food recommendation high in carbohydrates and low in fat.  Unfortunately this line of reasoning has led to more obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancers. Incidentally, the Mediterranean Diet, considered one of the healthiest in the world, is 40% fat.

Calorie counting can be effective to a point, but the body doesn’t treat all calories equally.

Carbohydrates

Let’s take carbohydrates for example. Carbohydrates come in both simple and complex forms, essentially the more fiber the more complex.  Complex carbohydrates digest more slowly eliciting a lower insulin response. When we eat carbohydrates they literally begin to break down the moment they enter your mouth. Carbohydrates digest quickly and get released through the digestive system into the blood as glucose.  In response to this high blood sugar the pancreas releases insulin to uptake the glucose. The greater the blood sugar levels the greater the insulin release. This in turn causes low blood sugar with leads to increased appetite and cravings for more carbohydrates thus making it harder to stay within your caloric goal. In addition the excess glucose is stored as body fat.

Proteins

Proteins on the other hand tend to be somewhat more satisfying. Proteins when broken down by the digestive system are reduced to amino acids before they can be utilized by the body. This process of mastication, digestion and utilization requires significant energy, about 30% of the proteins caloric value. This energy is released as heat called the thermic effect. Thus over eating 100 calories of protein really sets you back only 70cals. Protein also helps to lower the appetite enhancing hormone ghrelin while increasing appetite suppressing hormones. A study on the National Institute of Health website found a high protein diet reduced subjects’ caloric intake by 441 calories.

Fats 

Even harder to do than losing weight is maintaining that weight loss once it is achieved. The body will do all it can to put the weight back on. Basically your system will release ghrelin to increase appetite, breakdown muscle protein for fuel and slow your metabolism to a crawl. This is why most diets fail over time. It is literally possible, actually likely to gain weight back while eating a low calorie maintenance diet. Dietary fat, however, has something to say about this. Fat intake increases metabolism and protects metabolism drop off during calorie restriction dieting.

The 2018 Framingham State Food Study looked at how the ratio of our macronutrients fats, protein and carbohydrates affects metabolism after weight loss.  Protein was set at 20% of calories for all three test groups. The subjects were put into one of three groups. Low fat group: 60% carbs and 20% fat, moderate fat group: 40% carbs and 40% fat or high fat group 20% carbs and 60% fat. At the end of the study those in the high fat group had significantly higher energy expenditure the low fat group, about 250 calories per day more on average.  That translates to 20 pounds over 3 years.

Beyond weight gain and weight loss, empty calories like snack foods are mostly devoid of nutritional value. Eating nutrition rich foods will give you the vitamin, mineral and trace elements you need to stay healthy. While counting calories may be a good start for a leaner heathier you, what those calories consist of is even more meaningful. So, go ahead count your calories, but be mindful to track your macros and fiber too, keep foods whole, organic when possible and add lots of color to your plate.  

References:

Framingham.edu - Results of the Ground Breaking Framingham State Food Study

News.Harvard.edu/gazette – Zeroing in on long term weight loss

Pubmed.ncbi.nim.nih.gov/16002798 – A high protein diet induced sustained reductions in appetite

Healthline.com/nutrition – How protein can help you lose weight