Do Calories Really Matter When It Comes to Weight Loss?

In 30 seconds, we were bombarded with out of context statistics ranging from the ‘fact’ that “the average person” will gain 15 kilos between the ages of 20 and 50, that a 6 calorie stick of celery somehow becomes 30 calories when cooked and that veganism is a “diet for the privileged.”

We were even left on tenterhooks when the topic of juice was brought up…

Add to that an American voiceover the likes of which only the most epic of Hollywood blockbusters would receive, it’s pretty clear why this video has so many of the health and fitness community talking.

And we want to weigh in.

BUT, before we crack on, yes, we did, in fact, watch said video - all 1 hour 52 minutes and 31 seconds of it – paying very close attention to the sections titled How to Burn Fat, Calorie Counting, Does Exercise Help Us Lose Weight? And Juice is Bad!

If drama was the aim, Professor Giles Yeo certainly has game.

In just under 2 hours he not only promoted his book “Why Calories Don’t Count: How We Got The Science of Weight Loss Wrong,” but he made the whole idea of losing weight sound, well, downright confusing.

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight, you will undoubtedly have heard of the calories in vs calories out concept.

AKA the Calorie Deficit.

In short, this concept supports the idea that if you eat fewer calories than you burn each day, you will lose weight. Simple, right?

However, Professor Yeo does not agree with this. He believes that the quality of the food we eat is more important for weight loss rather than its caloric content, which is where it all gets just a bit murky…

Calories in = the energy you get from food. Calories out = the energy you burn.
You primarily use these calories to fuel three main bodily processes:

1. Basic Metabolism – This refers to your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), which is the amount of energy you use when at rest while your body carries out all its essential life functions, such as your heart beating, breathing, hormone production, etc.
   As you age, your BMR naturally decreases; however, people with more muscle tissue compared to adipose (fat) tissue tend to maintain a higher BMR than those with a higher body fat percentage.

2. Digestion – Ironically, you use approximately 10–15% of the calories you consume to digest the food that provides you with those calories!

3. Physical movement – Any energy that’s left after all of the above will be used to fuel physical activity and movement. This includes all physical movement, from simply typing at your computer to lifting weights in the gym.

To determine how many calories you should be eating daily to support these functions, you need to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). You can do this yourself, but it’s much easier to use a TDEE calculator, which will do all the calculations for you, taking into account your activity level, age, and lifestyle.

You can probably already tell that the whole calorie discussion can be a bit of a maze, can’t you? So, we’ll keep this next part brief…

When you know your TDEE and understand how many calories your body needs to perform essential life functions, it becomes much easier to figure out how many calories you should be consuming to lose weight.

How?

By eating fewer calories than your TDEE, you will create a calorie deficit, prompting your body to use stored energy—such as glycogen and fat—to meet its needs, thus leading to weight loss.

In a nutshell, consuming fewer calories than your body burns equals weight loss.

However, this is where things get quite complicated, as there are some rather biased studies that claim that what you eat is more important for weight loss than how much you eat.

Take the Keto Diet and Atkins, for example. Their low-carb approach seems to help people lose weight faster while consuming the same number of calories as someone eating a balanced diet. But they fail to accurately show how much of that weight loss comes from water and muscle tissue loss—not fat.

Professor Yeo seems to fall into this camp.

Not all calories are created equal.

Yeo argues that not all calories are created equal, and he is correct. Eighty-two calories from eating 200g of carrots have more nutritional value in terms of micronutrients than 256 calories from eating 82g of chips.

In theory, you could eat fast food every day and still maintain a calorie deficit and lose weight, but your overall health would suffer as you likely wouldn’t be meeting your other nutritional needs.

In fact, the Twinkie Diet phenomenon in America demonstrated just that.

Foods that provide more vitamins, minerals, and other essential nutrients—such as fruit, vegetables, and whole grains—will have a better impact on your overall health than highly processed foods with low nutritional value.

Nutrient-rich diets, like the Mediterranean Diet, are known to reduce an individual’s risk of developing chronic diseases and obesity. This is certainly one area where the "If It Fits Your Macros" model fails to take into account.

This is why, here at MuscleFood, we promote a healthy, balanced diet made up of plenty of nutrient-dense foods for a healthy body, a healthy heart, and a healthy lifestyle.

Are you confused? We’re confused too...

We could go round in circles all day, but it gets even more complex when considering the science of how hormones, metabolism, hunger, and more come into play, so…

Yeo is right, but he’s also wrong.

Yes, nutrient density matters. Foods rich in vitamins and minerals will inevitably have a better long-term impact on your body, mind, and health. Plus, eating these foods might actually make your weight loss journey a bit easier.

But, at the end of the day, if you want to lose weight for good, you must consume fewer calories than you burn. That is a simple, undeniable fact.

And don’t even get us started on his comment that exercise is only useful for athletes to lose weight… honestly, that’s just biased thinking.

Calorie deficits work for sustainable weight loss. What’s your opinion?

If you’d like to start your weight loss journey but aren’t sure where to begin, we can help with our Prepped Pots! Check them out and kick-start your journey to a healthier you.