Calories in and calories out is often the first thing people think about when they think about attempting to get a bodily change. There are hundreds of calorie counting apps that can be downloaded to help with this big task, however, depending on the app; it can make things so much more difficult. Sometimes what happens is you lower your calories and you end up gaining fat mass or weight, or you increase your calories and you end up losing fat mass or weight. It can cause frustration and make users feel lost as to why their bodies are changing in ways they didn’t expect. Plus, if you are making something yourself, sometimes it can be difficult to input the ingredients when there are two options for a red pepper.
What is the energy expenditure equation?
The equation has two parts: calories in, which is considered food and drink intake, subtracted from calories out, which is anything that can cause energy expenditure, like walking from the bus stop to your home, gym class, or a physiotherapy session. Depending on two those component,s there are three possible outcomes.
1. Calories in – calories out = negative energy balance: this means that there will most likely be some weight loss because one is expending more calories than in-taking.
2. Calories in – calories out = positive energy balance: this means that there will most likely be some weight gain because one is in-taking more calories than expending.
3. Calories in – calories out = neutral energy balance: this means that there will most likely be no change in weight because one is in-taking and expending the same amount of calories.
However, as mentioned earlier, this isn’t always how things work.
This equation doesn’t consider something important: that the body is not like the combustion engine of your car or the combustion engine that is used to determine the calorie content of your food. This consideration is something very important and why calorie counting can be a very daunting task for most people. We know now that food isn’t created equally by nature or by food manufacturers and research shows that our bodies do not treat food equally either. The food we eat isn’t 100% what we are absorbing because of hundreds of factors that affect digestion and our body has its own priorities.
Another consideration is that the body is not totally our own. It sounds odd but everyone has their own individual microbiome, or the gut bacteria in the digestive system. If someone’s microbiome changes it can also cause changes in how the body absorbs and digests food.
Finally, the body doesn’t have set inputs and outputs, which goes along with the earlier information that sometimes the body doesn’t react the way we expend it to when we change our nutrition. The concept that food is purely fuel no longer applies and shows us that it can be normal for people who are calorie counting to feel confused and frustrated.
So, is there a better option?
Consider portion sizes: a simple way to plate up your food is playing with portion sizes and there are two ways to do that.
1. Hand portion sizes: It’s a nice option for anyone, because you don’t have to worry about grams or different plate sizes.
For women it is suggested the following per meal:
· 1 palm of protein dense food
· 1 fist of vegetables (ideally with lots of colour)
· 1 cupped hand of carb dense food
· 1 thumb of fat dense food
For men it is suggested the following per meal:
· 2 palm of protein dense food
· 2 fist of vegetables (ideally with lots of colour)
· 2 cupped hand of carb dense food
· 2 thumb of fat dense food
These numbers can change assuming you are somewhat active and eat more than three meals a day, however these values can be higher or lower based on activity level and other factors like hunger, goals, satiety, and more!
2. Plate sizes: Again, another great option because most of the time food is served on a plate! Your typical plate should look something like this:
· Half the plate should be vegetables (ideally with lots of colour)
· A quarter of the plate should be a protein source
· A quarter of the plate should be split with starches (whole grains, potatoes) and fats (nuts, oils, seeds)
· Ideally, the drink is water or tea
· If having dessert, a small serving (about a quarter of the plate) of fruit.
The key is eating slowly, chewing your food, and listening to your body as you eat. If you are 80% satisfied, wait for 10-20 minutes and drink water to see if you are still satisfied but not full.
Resources:
Berardi, J. M. (2012). Precision nutrition. Toronto: Precision Nutrition, Inc.
If you are interested in our Nutrition Services, please contact our Head Coach at koebela@yorku.ca