Do Calories Matter in Weight Loss?

I heard it so many times people saying “I don’t eat that much, but I am still putting on weight and I just can’t lose any”.

If you are seeking long-term results, and you heard the claims that you "always need to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight", I have great news for you - you can drop that outdated, inefficient and one of the most back-breaking things on this planet, i.e. counting calories, right now! Let me briefly explain to you why.

“ All calories are under the ultimate realm of control of your hormones, which essentially tell your body either to store or to burn fat, and hormones are influenced by the foods you eat and certain lifestyle habits.”

Biochemically calories from different foods are not all treated equally by your system.

Certain calories may come from foods that trigger different hormones in your body, such as insulin, testosterone and estrogen (not necessarily always good if, in excess - a good example will be “men boobs” in men or PCOS in women), growth hormone, or may cause an inflammatory response or free radical damage of the cells.

Some foods may:

• not lead to satiety at all even though they are high in calories

• be low in calories but may cause more cravings, including for sugar and sweets

• set you into a fat-storing mode by triggering fat-storing hormones even if you are in a calorie deficit

• leave you tired and sluggish, instead of giving you energy and vitality

Therefore it is perfectly possible that a person might be in a calorie deficit, but the foods that s/he is eating (even in small amounts) are constantly throwing her/his system into a fat-storing mode by triggering fat-storing hormones. Some foods triggering an inflammatory response may result in an increase in cortisol (which works to lower inflammation), which is also a fat-storing hormone. This is exactly the scenario when a person is cutting out calories and is not eating much at all, but is still gaining weight or having a hard time losing it.

A good example is 200 kcal of cookies and 200kcal of salmon.

Cookies will trigger fat-storing hormones and put a strain on the pancreas and liver that may throw you off into a fat-storing mode for up to 3 days ahead. Cookies will leave you hungry shortly after (due to a blood sugar spike at first followed by a steep drop) and trigger more sugar cravings in future. Then, as the satiety-promoting hormones such as peptide YY and cholecystokinin will not be activated, your appetite will eventually increase. Finally, cookies adversely affect your gut microbiome and will fuel inflammation in the body.

In contrast, salmon will facilitate fat-burning and satiety-promoting hormones and will provide nutrients to rebuild tissues like skin, muscles, organs, glands, ligaments, bones, brain cells etc, lower inflammation, promote cardiovascular, mental and skin health, support cognitive function and immunity and bring many other positive benefits.

Popular False Statements

“A calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from” is profoundly false as I have explained above.

“Everything in moderation” - maybe only if you’re 18 or under and you’re one of those people who don’t put on much weight no matter what foods they eat. Although, such poor fat-storing ability of the body is something to be thankful for, sadly, such people are not immune to other health issues that may be caused by dietary factors or hormonal and metabolic changes later in life. (So no, these people are not witches or warlocks :) ) Plus, the word “moderation” is so subjective, it can mean different things to different people and not reflect an objectively moderate consumption of certain foods.

“Eat less, move more” is ineffective long term. It may cause hair fallout, brittle bones, dull skin colour and a general unhealthy tired look and a lousy mood. It will continue “feeding your sickness” if you have any health issues. It may not even result in any weight loss at all if your body is in a fat-storing mode caused by your hormones. Your body can reduce its use of energy spending, so that any calories you eat will be converted into body fat, in case “a famine is coming again”. Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) slows down, and you barely lose any weight or on the contrary - gain weight from almost anything you eat. Another scenario is when a person is doing high-intensity exercise 5 times a week but is still not losing weight or building muscle but not burning fat. Yes, you can have both fat and developed muscle mass at the same time, one is not exclusive to the other.

What Really Matters

For long-term sustainable results in losing weight and keeping it off, as well as looking healthy and feeling great (versus like a vampire sucked the life out of you two days ago), calories are insignificant, but the categories and the quality of foods you choose are what plays the key role. Their proportions matter a lot, some need to be kept under limits which differ for each person and some of which I usually push my clients to increase. But the calories here are not what a decisive criterion is.

Having said that, it does not follow that since calories are not as significant, you may now be granted a licence to overeat. This is one of the pivotal factors for many people seeking to lose weight for good - the combo of mindful and intuitive eating plus a healthy diet tailored to your body type that will yield lasting results. One does not stand a chance without the other. Overeating and emotional eating out stress or boredom (or sometimes even happiness) on a regular basis will undoubtedly hinder your healthy weight goals. This is a problem so common that almost any person who has ever been on a diet in his/her life has come across this at least once in her life. This is why I coach my clients on the strategies that help resolve this problem and it is an integral part of the Weight Loss Courses I run.

Your Questions Answered

At this point I believe you may have some questions. Let me see if I can answer them.

Question 1: Does it follow that I can get away with consuming twice or triple the amount of my required caloric intake?

Answer 1: If I would be eating two or three times more calories than my body needs, I will of course become bigger and have more adipose tissue (and water retention) than I do now. No doubt about that. However, that also would tell me that most likely my diet is out of balance and/or I am most likely overeating due to emotional overeating patterns and not listening to my intrinsic signals of hunger and satiety. Whenever you ignore natural satiety signals and continue eating past the point of being full, there can be no chance for fat-burning, because your insulin, a fat-storing hormone, as well as cortisol will be high, your liver is overloaded and the whole system is stressed out. So I would not take this scenario as the only evidence of calories playing the central role in weight loss.

When, however, I am not in calorie deficit and perhaps even eating a little more calories that is deemed to be 'appropriate for weight loss' (all within reasonable amounts, so it's not triple the amount required), if the foods that I am choosing are not the ones that will be triggering fat-storing hormones and I am not overeating, my weight will be healthy and I'll be burning off excess body fat.

Question 2: My friend is counting calories and keeps her diet in a caloric deficit. She is in great shape and allows herself to squeeze in desserts and even some fast foods within her estimated caloric allowance to keep herself in deficit. She says calorie deficit is most important.

Answer 2: Each person has a very different rate at which her/his body is storing fat. An occasional treat is of course nothing to be afraid of and can be a part of a healthy diet, especially during the weight maintenance phase. However, constantly counting calories in order to give priority to foods that have other negative effects on your health, immune system, the gut microbiome (and hence mood, depression, PMS, cravings, etc.), blood pressure, etc, is certainly not a piece of sound nutritional advice. Same applies to undereating and malnourishment on a regular basis due to restricting calories. Healthy nutrition is about nourishing your body, not the absence of nutrition. I would dare to suppose your friend is under 40, perhaps did not have pregnancies, is blessed with a healthy liver at this stage in her life, she is not suffering from food intolerances (or avoiding trigger foods), her fat storing capacity is not as high as some other person with a very sluggish metabolism, she does not have insulin sensititvity problems. However, she might well be malnourished and her immune system is not functioning well, meaning she's more prone to infections, complications and her recovery is longer.

On the other side of the spectrum, other people like myself have a very good fat storing capacity. At one point in life, I was consuming very few calories, half of my required intake, and I was doing 1-hour cardio 4 times a week. But because the foods I was choosing were the ones that were triggering fat-storing hormones, I was not losing weight - I was losing hair, my skin was inflamed, and my overall look was not healthy. Eventually, I was putting on more weight instead.

Hope this helps!