3 ms·
A calorie measures the heat released by setting the food on fire, which is not how your body metabolizes food. It's a proxy. You should be measuring the ATP y
by maxk42 4y ago
A calorie measures the heat released by setting the food on fire, which is not how your body metabolizes food. It's a proxy. You should be measuring the ATP yielded by eating food. For example, a molecule of glucose yields 32 ATP when metabolized, yet a molecule of DHA yields 136 molecules of ATP - nearly twice as many as predicted by the "calories" proxy. However, in the absence of oxaloacetic acid (as when the liver is using the majority of OAA for gluconeogenesis during intense exercise or when limiting carbohydrate consumption) your cells have to use a less efficient series of metabolic steps to produce energy and only end up yielding 22 ATP for DHA metabolism. I eat 3500 calories a day and don't exercise yet I'm losing about 2 pounds of fat per week.
CICO was never law.
- huntertwo 4y ago> You should be measuring the ATP yielded by eating food. The closest practical approximation of this is the calorie measurement we assign to foods. Sure our metabolic processes are not equivalent to a calorimeter - but its easier to measure calories than to account for the specific metabolic process each gram of macronutrient you consume goes through. So for all practical purposes, and in the context of hormonal effects, energy in vs energy out ie CICO is still law.
- maxk42 4y agoYou clearly didn't read the rest of my comment.
- djmips 4y agoWhat are you eating at 3500 calories a day that allows gluconeogenesis without intense exercise. From your comment this seems to indicate you are limiting carbohydrates. What does your diet consist of?