Calories In, Calories Out — Or Is There More To It?

With the holidays behind us and a brand new year ahead, a healthy body may be on many people’s minds. After all, we all want to start a new year (hello, 2021!) looking and feeling our best — a goal that’s often difficult to navigate.

Calories In, Calories Out — Or Is There More To It?

At The Kahm Clinic, when it comes to helping our clients achieve their health goals, we don’t believe it is as simple as “calories in, calories out.” Sure, that belief is perpetuated by the media and trendy fad diets, but if it were truly that simple, we wouldn’t see so many clients complaining about the cycle of weight loss and re-gain or struggling with eating disorders as a result of intake restrictions. In a recent YouTube video, nutritionist Elaina Efrid dives into a research study that reviews the results from multiple studies and supports this idea. 

The study reveals that, when you reduce your caloric intake, your body immediately begins to compensate. This idea may sound familiar, as it’s been a hot topic on our YouTube videos and in our blog posts. When you decrease your fuel levels by eating fewer calories, it actually stimulates your appetite, making you more hungry and more likely to eat high-calorie foods. It also reduces your metabolism. It’s easy to see that both of these outcomes work against the goal of weight loss. 

The study further concludes that a full year after dieting, the hormones that regulate hunger (Ghrelin) and fullness (Leptin) remain different than baseline. These results indicate that dieting impacts your hormones so much that your appetite remains higher, making you more likely to regain weight even a year later. Another section of the study shows that it takes as few as four days of fasting or eating less for the body to slow down the metabolism in order to compensate for the missing energy or calories.

The Kahm Clinic’s Approach

Ultimately, this research review suggests that we need to take a more comprehensive approach to weight management than simply decreasing the intake of fat or carbohydrates. There are numerous factors that go into weight management or body composition change, and our focus goes far beyond a number on the scale. Through Metabolic Testing and Body Composition Analysis, we look at what’s going on internally to ensure that we’re fueling your body in a way that allows you to be your happiest, healthiest self. 

As Elaina explains at the end of the video, “It may take longer to reach your goals than whatever that fad diet is promising you, but doesn’t it make more sense to commit to a long-term behavior change that leads to permanent weight loss?”

For more information about calorie deficits, check out our blog post, Creating an Appropriate Calorie Deficit for Healthy Nutrition Goals.

To talk to a professional about a calorie deficit that works for your body, please reach out to our staff or schedule an appointment at The Kahm Clinic.

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