The calorie was invented in the 1800s by chemists, but what really changed the world view on the calorie was when Lulu Hunt Peters published a book called Diet and Health, With Key to the Calories in 1918.
This book shifted food into numbers. Hunt determined that anyone her size could eat whatever she wanted as long as they maintained a strict diet of 1,200 calories. She used the words 'punishment' and 'sin' around food. The book was also written around WW1 so she said restricting calories was an act of patriotism. She stated, “that for every pang of hunger we feel we can have a double joy that, knowing for every pang we feel, we lose a pound and save worse pangs in little children.” O_o
This book, without a doubt, is the reason why our diet culture and skinny-mindset society is the way that it is today.
Technically speaking:
One calorie = the amount of energy you need to heat up 1 gram of water by 1 degree celsius
BUT the way food burns in your body is radically different from burning it up in a container to heat up water.
Most calorie counts on labels are inaccurate because they are based on a system of averages that completely ignore the complexity of digestion that is unique to each person.
The thermic-effect of food:
Your immune system, muscle mass, and the length of your digestive tract all play a role in caloric utilization
Foods interact with your body unlike anyone else on the planet, so the way you digest and use energy from a banana is going to be different from someone else.
The type of food you eat determines the net gain of calories you end up with
Fat, fiber and protein require more energy and time for your body to digest. You actually burn calories while digesting them.
For example, if you eat 100 calories of protein, your body requires 20-30 of those calories just to digest and absorb it. Giving you a net of 70-80 calories.
A peer-reviewed study revealed that when the average person eats almonds, they received just 129 calories per serving rather than the 170 calories reported on the label!
The cooking of food can affect calorie absorption
Whether it's baking, boiling, microwaving, or flame grilling, when you cook your food, it brings about a change in structure, chemistry, and calorie availability.
For example, the cell walls of cooked spinach are easily broken into, allowing your body to absorb far more calories than uncooked spinach.
Your microbiome determines how many calories you're extracting from food
Your microbiome is EVERYTHING.
A study published in the International Journal of Obesity revealed that a higher diversity of gut bacteria is directly correlated with less weight gain and improved energy metabolism regardless of calorie intake.
It's estimated that every human has 1-2 pounds of gut microbes in their stomach. A study in BMC Microbiology noted that a higher ratio of "bad" bacteria can cause your body to absorb more calories than with a higher ratio of "good" bacteria.
At the end of the day, it's about Quality Over Quantity
It's time to stop obsessing over calories, delete your MyFitnessPal, and start eating whole foods.
Why? Because you can eat 2,000 calories a day and still be malnourished.
It kills me when people pick up a bag of chips and say "Oh, it's only 200 calories!" 😫🥴
Look at the ingredients instead, there is not one whole food in a bag of chips unless you want to count ultra-processed corn as food, but I definitely don't.
Sure, you can count calories and macros for your short-term muscle building or fat loss goals, but YOU DON'T HAVE TO. Your health journey should be less about restricting and more about swapping. You don't have to be neurotic about what you eat and what you don't, rather, be consistent with eating higher quality, nutrient-dense foods. Again, you ask, why? Because everything that you eat makes up all the cells in your body, from your mitochondria to your toenails. And your cells have everything to do with hormone utilization, fat storage, energy expenditure and so, so much more.
Bottom line is, that counting calories is not sustainable long-term or entirely accurate. It can also lead to obsessiveness, malnourishment, and eating disorders.
And if you're thinking: Well, I don't have the motivation to eat healthily, I can't resist my cravings and I just want to eat whatever I want. It takes time and dedication to turn your knowledge into behavior. The majority of your eating habits come from your childhood. You can't just reverse that in a day.
Be patient, give yourself grace, and do what you can to eat real food.
It's not a give it all or nothing diet. It's a give it all or something diet.
References
Stevenson, S. (2021). Eat smarter: Use the power of food to reboot your metabolism, Upgrade your brain, and Transform your life. Little, Brown.
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