Calorie Question

[LNE]

I am on Day 10 of Whole30 and I feel great and healthy.  In the past I have counted calories. On whole30 I know calorie counting is out. However, I want to understand something. If 3500 calories make up a pound, then even on this new healthy way of eating, isn't it possible for an individual to gain weight if they eat too many calories (even of healthy Whole30 food)? Or do the Whole30 creators not believe in the 3500 calories=a pound science? Or is the assumption - that by being whole30 compliant one will naturally eat less calories (without the burden of counting them)? 

[praxisproject]

Calories are just a unit of energy, they matter very little when it comes to gut health, hormones, digestion and metabolism.

The human body is not a closed system, things like inflammation and nutrition are important (calories don't measure nutrition).

 

I can eat a starvation level of calories and lose no weight, add some gluten and I can put on up to 10 kilos, literally (inflammation to the max!).

 

Don't sweat the calories, stick to the template

 

Eating template meals and avoiding snacks is recommended for stabilising your hormones and appetite.

[Tom Denham]

You might consume equal calorie-amounts of cupcakes and ground beef, but your body responds very differently to each. The concept of 3500 calories = one pound sounds good, but that is not how the body works. Here is an article that is part of a series on the topic that explains how calorie math does not work. You might want to poke around on the site and find the other articles too... 

 

http://www.gnolls.org/3409/the-calorie-paradox-did-four-rice-chex-make-america-fat-part-ii-of-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-calorie/

[kirkor]

 Or is the assumption - that by being whole30 compliant one will naturally eat less calories (without the burden of counting them)? 

 

This.

Without as much processed food, without sugar, by following the template, avoiding snacking, eating consciously, and all the other tenets of the program, you will be better able to trust your body's hunger & satiety cues.  For most people, this often ends up in a reduction in calories compared to their old way of eating.

However, the synergy is achieved by following all the rules, not merely eating compliant food.  A person who gorges on coconut milk and olive oil every day will likely gain weight.

[MeadowLily]

"Do not count points, track calories, or weigh your food. The replacement for that behavior is following the meal template and paying attention to your feelings. If you try to do both, you will fail at following the meal template and paying attention to your feelings. They may not seem your best choice now, but they really are what works for a lifetime of health and happiness."   Tom Denham

 

And ......

 

"Weighing yourself makes weight loss slower. I know it sounds crazy, but our experience around here is that people who focus on weight loss by weighing and measuring slow weight loss. So if you really want to lose weight, get rid of your scale. 

 

 

Your question about what you should be eating is coming from your disappointment about the number on your scale. That is another reason we tell you not to weigh yourself during a Whole30. Letting a scale number tell you what you can or should eat is part of the broken system that the Whole30 is supposed to replace. Your menu should not vary according to the scale. A food is either good for you or it is not. "    Tom Denham

[MeadowLily]

"Most people lose weight during a Whole30. Eating only healthy foods tends to make that happen. However, the Whole30 is not a weight loss program, it is a health improvement program. It really works best if you focus on trying to improve your health and let the weight take care of itself. Therefore, it takes some trust on your part that this program is good for you and will yield good results. Unfortunately, if you focus on weight loss, you can mess up your Whole30 and either slow weight loss or hurt your health.

The key to this program is eating as much as is recommended in the meal template. If you try to speed weight loss by eating less food or less fat, it interferes with your hormones achieving a normal, healthy balance and often backfires. Here is a link to the meal template...http://whole9life.co...ng-Template.pdf"    Tom Denham

[MeadowLily]

You can't count points or calories and follow this program.   Most women are told that they need about "26 points" aday.  I've researched it...plus those few extra for the weekly total.     So maybe you can have 33 total aday.   If you're counting macros and you try to follow the Whole 30,  you're basically cut off of complete nutrition at the bee's knees.

 

Weighing yourself makes weight loss slower.   

 

Extreme rapid weight loss...people who lose 100 lbs  in a year...may have lost 75 lbs of muscle mass.   The rapid weight regain or rebound weight from this type of dieting results in loss of lean body mass.      Nobody wants that.

 

Forget dieting.  Forget counting points and calories.

 

Even if you could manage to lose 10 lbs  in one week...imagine your shock when you find out that you've just lost 9.5   pounds of muscle and only .5  pounds of fat.    

 

The real question, what kind of weight loss are you going for?   A rapid loss of lean body mass?   You don't want that.  The quicker the loss the greater the rebound weight gain.   It's not lean body mass you're putting back on either.

 

Safe loss  is  one pound a week.  You can maintain your muscle mass this way.   

 

I will never think of weight loss in the same way again.   Hang on to your macros and eat your mackerels.  Hang on to your muscle tone and skin's elasticity.     If you try to fast track it or turbo speed weight loss....you will have regrets.  No one wants rebound weight gain with "friends" or skin that swings with the summer breeze.

 

Take it very slowly.    Getting on the scales will slow you down.   It's a head body connection.  

[cayenne]

I have often wondered the same thing-calories in, calories out. A calorie is a calorie. I have also found processed calories are more apt to make me retain water etc.

[Brewer5]

Ah, but a calorie is not just a calorie.  What matters most is what our bodies are able to do with our food.

 

Check out The Calorie Myth:

 

"The human body does not recognize all calories as equal. Some foods are used to repair tissue, boost brain power, and fuel our metabolism—while others are stored as fat."

 

http://www.amazon.com/Calorie-Myth-Exercise-Weight-Better/dp/0062267345/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1420130816&sr=8-1&keywords=the+calorie+myth

[MeadowLily]

Sugar alcohol calories are not equal to the calories in a beautiful salmon.

 

 

           

[kirkor]

a beautiful salmon.

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

[MeadowLily]

The Bear knows.