5 ms·

To add on to this, my understanding is that technically "calories in, calories out" is correct in the sense that weight gain/loss depends on the net caloric int

To add on to this, my understanding is that technically "calories in, calories out" is correct in the sense that weight gain/loss depends on the net caloric intake for your body. But your base metabolic rate, and as a result your daily energy expenditure, is affected by many different things, including the composition of the calories and the timing of the consumption. Insulin plays a major role in weight gain/loss, and simple carbohydrates have a tendency to spike it.

betageek 10y ago
Exactly, no breakdown of thermodynamics needed, any calories not efficiently processed into usable energy will be emitted as waste.
- amelius 10y ago
  No thermodynamics needed to disprove it, but we probably need something more complicated than thermodynamics to get a good picture of the real balance.
  - UweSchmidt 10y ago
    Nothing more complicated than a scale in your bathroom is needed. Check daily and see if you lose weight with whatever combination of food/activity/metabolism you have going on. If you somehow gain or lose weight, eat accordingly.
    - garrettdc 10y ago
      Using the scale is great if you understand proper nutrient timing and partitioning. What if you don't know the basics of nutrition though? Where do I cut from? What can I add in that will assist with satiety but still reduce overall energy absorbed? Where do I go to understand that these are questions that need to be asked in the first place?
- gonzo 10y ago
  Or ... Stored. Which is the problem. If we really did eliminate the excess, nobody would be overweight.
r1chard5mith 10y ago
I agree. I think the problem stems from how we determine the caloric content[0] of a food stuff. We add the known caloric content of its ingredients, which we determine by burning them. This is probably just not a good model for how the body uses food. [0] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-food-manufacturers/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-food-manuf...
wastedhours 10y ago
This is the hard thing about the "calories in/calories out" statement, it's accurate for a specific thing: the calories of energy in a burnable form available to your body/the direct burned calories as a combination of RMR and exertion. The issue of course is that we use it in the context of different kinds of food and a simplistic assumption about how effective we are at converting a calorie in each into a burnable form. 2000 calories of energy from custard will be processed, stored and used differently than 2000 calories of energy from chicken.

betageek 10y ago

Exactly, no breakdown of thermodynamics needed, any calories not efficiently processed into usable energy will be emitted as waste.

amelius 10y ago
No thermodynamics needed to disprove it, but we probably need something more complicated than thermodynamics to get a good picture of the real balance.
- UweSchmidt 10y ago
  Nothing more complicated than a scale in your bathroom is needed. Check daily and see if you lose weight with whatever combination of food/activity/metabolism you have going on. If you somehow gain or lose weight, eat accordingly.
  - garrettdc 10y ago
    Using the scale is great if you understand proper nutrient timing and partitioning. What if you don't know the basics of nutrition though? Where do I cut from? What can I add in that will assist with satiety but still reduce overall energy absorbed? Where do I go to understand that these are questions that need to be asked in the first place?
gonzo 10y ago
Or ... Stored. Which is the problem. If we really did eliminate the excess, nobody would be overweight.

r1chard5mith 10y ago

I agree. I think the problem stems from how we determine the caloric content[0] of a food stuff. We add the known caloric content of its ingredients, which we determine by burning them. This is probably just not a good model for how the body uses food. [0] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-food-manufacturers/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-do-food-manuf...

wastedhours 10y ago

This is the hard thing about the "calories in/calories out" statement, it's accurate for a specific thing: the calories of energy in a burnable form available to your body/the direct burned calories as a combination of RMR and exertion. The issue of course is that we use it in the context of different kinds of food and a simplistic assumption about how effective we are at converting a calorie in each into a burnable form. 2000 calories of energy from custard will be processed, stored and used differently than 2000 calories of energy from chicken.