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> This is not a meme but basic physics. The issue is: How are we defining calories IN? Consider the extreme example of having a parasitic worm living in your

> This is not a meme but basic physics. The issue is: How are we defining calories IN? Consider the extreme example of having a parasitic worm living in your digestive system. Is IN == [food passing mouth] or is IN == [food not being ingested by worm(s)]? Now consider "normal" digestive flora. How are we defining IN here?

gassiss 4y ago
you're technically right, but just nitpicking. Of course you could count the calories in fibers and that wouldn't make you fat, as your body can't process that. But most people do not eat fiber for 90% of their meals
- acuozzo 4y ago
  > you're technically right, but just nitpicking I was hinting at something bigger than just a nitpick. I'm hypothesizing that gut flora interfere with macronutrient ingestion in a statistically significant way. Microorganisms exist which produce glucose from materials that, if ingested by a human, would be emitted as waste. What if colonies of these microorganisms were present in the human gut and unevenly distributed in the population?
- lukeschlather 4y ago
  People often switch from more processed grains to whole grains specifically to increase their fiber intake and reduce the processable calories they're ingesting. I don't think it's nitpicking at all, this is the most basic stuff you need to think about when doing dieting - CICO is naive at best.
  - gassiss 4y ago
    yeah, foods with more fiber will also make you less hungry, which in turn makes you eat less calories... CICO is a great approach for the general population, and works great even amongst professionals that have weight management as their career (bodybuilders).
hooverd 4y ago
Basic physics says a human can live on a cup of gasoline a day.
- scotty79 4y ago
  Sure you can! You just need to figure a way to digest it. Ask chemistry.
asdff 4y ago
All of that doesn't matter. Calories in just serves as a reference point for you to see how much you are actually eating. Then you can make changes to calories in, and see results on the scale. Sure everyone is at different efficiencies, that doesn't matter though. You are basically putting in less gas in the tank; that's going to make a hybrid and a gas hog both go for less miles than what a full tank would do.
- acuozzo 4y ago
  You're not addressing the following in your analogy which can have a significant impact on CICO if IN==passes_mouth. 1. Having a hole in your gas tank (parasite(s) e.g. a tapeworm) 2. Having a modification to your fuel tank to convert ethanol into octane (non-parasitic digestive microorganisms a.k.a. "gut flora")

gassiss 4y ago

you're technically right, but just nitpicking. Of course you could count the calories in fibers and that wouldn't make you fat, as your body can't process that. But most people do not eat fiber for 90% of their meals

acuozzo 4y ago
> you're technically right, but just nitpicking I was hinting at something bigger than just a nitpick. I'm hypothesizing that gut flora interfere with macronutrient ingestion in a statistically significant way. Microorganisms exist which produce glucose from materials that, if ingested by a human, would be emitted as waste. What if colonies of these microorganisms were present in the human gut and unevenly distributed in the population?
lukeschlather 4y ago
People often switch from more processed grains to whole grains specifically to increase their fiber intake and reduce the processable calories they're ingesting. I don't think it's nitpicking at all, this is the most basic stuff you need to think about when doing dieting - CICO is naive at best.
- gassiss 4y ago
  yeah, foods with more fiber will also make you less hungry, which in turn makes you eat less calories... CICO is a great approach for the general population, and works great even amongst professionals that have weight management as their career (bodybuilders).

hooverd 4y ago

Basic physics says a human can live on a cup of gasoline a day.

scotty79 4y ago
Sure you can! You just need to figure a way to digest it. Ask chemistry.

asdff 4y ago

All of that doesn't matter. Calories in just serves as a reference point for you to see how much you are actually eating. Then you can make changes to calories in, and see results on the scale. Sure everyone is at different efficiencies, that doesn't matter though. You are basically putting in less gas in the tank; that's going to make a hybrid and a gas hog both go for less miles than what a full tank would do.

acuozzo 4y ago
You're not addressing the following in your analogy which can have a significant impact on CICO if IN==passes_mouth. 1. Having a hole in your gas tank (parasite(s) e.g. a tapeworm) 2. Having a modification to your fuel tank to convert ethanol into octane (non-parasitic digestive microorganisms a.k.a. "gut flora")