Eat Less, Move More to Lose Weight is Wrong

There is an outdated model of weight loss.  Unfortunately, it is still the most commonly taught model in medical schools and still the most common advice given out by doctors.  I gave this advice and tried to follow this advice myself for years because this is what I was taught and so I believed it was correct and helpful.  Regretfully, it was neither.

The calories in/calories out theory of energy balance suggests that if you create a 3500 calorie deficit (by eating less and/or moving more), you will lose one pound of fat.  It's wrong.

In 2022 (almost 2023!), we 100% know for sure that that is not how the body works. 

The human body is way too complex for it to be that simple.  And that is why the "eat less, move more" approach to weight loss works for next to no one over the long term.  

There is a different theory, the Carbohydrate-Insulin Model of Energy Balance, that suggests that when we eat, our body has a hormonal response to the food we have chosen to eat. The body’s hormonal response to one food can be very different from the hormonal response to a different food.  For example, a calorie from a sugar cookie creates a different hormonal response in the body than a calorie from a piece of chicken. 

Hormones control how food is processed in our body.  Hormones control our hunger and satiety levels.  Hormones control our weight loss and weight gain.  And since food choices determine the body’s hormonal responses, food choices matter to our weight and our overall health and wellbeing. 

Every individual person has an individual hormonal response to food. That is why one person may crave carbohydrates while another person can seem to take them or leave them.  Some bodies are "carb sensitive" and some other bodies are not.  Every person's individual body is different.  That is one reason why weight gain is not a personal failing, a lack of willpower or a negative comment on a person's character.  Some people gain weight more easily than others.  Fact.  

The key to weighing what you want to weigh is figuring out how your individual body responds to the foods that you are choosing to eat.  This takes being willing to eat in a new way and experiment with different food choices.

If you feel that your body isn’t responding well to your current food choices, you can choose to eat differently.