Why Calories Don't Count, by Roxana Soetebeer MHP PHC

Why Calories Don't Count

Let's talk calories. You see it everywhere: calories in, calories out (CICO) as the gold standard for weight loss. But here's the thing: calories, as a unit of measurement, tell us nothing about food quality or how it impacts our health. And after losing 120 pounds myself—without counting a single calorie—I can confidently say that obsessing over calories is a distraction from what really matters: the nutrients we're giving our bodies.

What Are Calories, Anyway?

Calories are a measure of heat energy, originally intended for industrial processes—not for understanding nutrition. In physics labs, calories were used to quantify the energy required to raise the temperature of water. This measure—calories—has no relevance to the way human bodies actually process food.

In fact, calories are not consumed, burned, or part of any specific physiological function. Our bodies don't "burn" calories; they process chemical energy from food to fuel various functions. But thinking in terms of calories misses this entire biological reality.

Calories Don't Actually Apply to Humans

Here's a quick breakdown of why the calorie model is a flawed approach for managing weight or health:

  1. Calories Aren't Consumed: We don't consume calories; we consume food—molecules like protein, fat, carbs, vitamins, and minerals. The calorie label on the package doesn't tell you how your body will respond to these different molecules. Our bodies metabolize food based on its protein, fat, and carbohydrate content, with hormones like insulin affecting how each nutrient is stored or used for fuel. Even when two foods have the same calorie count, their impact on hunger, energy, and fat storage can be vastly different.
  2. Calories Aren't Burned: When we talk about "burning" calories, it's misleading. The body doesn't combust food in the way a lab does. Instead, it breaks food down through complex biochemical pathways, depending on the macronutrient composition influenced by hormones and enzymes.
  3. Calories Aren't Part of Any Physiological Process: Your body recognizes protein, fat, and carbs, but it doesn't recognize "calories." There's no calorie receptor in the body. There is no calorie transport chain. Nutrients affect hormones, satiety, and metabolism, while a calorie count does none of that.
Calories on Labels Are Only Estimates

It's worth noting that calorie counts on food labels aren't exact—they can be up to 20% off. So, even if you're meticulously tracking calories, the numbers you're working with could be significantly inaccurate, turning calorie counting into guesswork at best. Relying on these estimates doesn't give a reliable measure of the energy or nutrients your body actually receives.

And it doesn't stop there: calories burned through exercise are an even wilder guess. The calories you're told you've burned on a treadmill, for instance, are often inflated and fail to account for individual differences like muscle mass, metabolism, or fitness level. So, if we're trying to "balance" our intake and output with numbers that are estimates at best, and flat-out wrong at worst, it becomes clear that calorie counting is a poor tool for managing health and weight.

A Fun (but Not-So-Fun) Fact: Type 1 Diabetics and the Role of Insulin

Here's an example that really drives home how calories alone don't dictate weight or health. People with type 1 diabetes could eat thousands of calories, but if they don't inject insulin, they'll still waste away. Why? Because without insulin, the body cannot store fuel, regardless of how many calories they eat. This illustrates that our bodies don't respond to food purely based on its caloric content; they respond to the hormonal signals driven by nutrients—especially the role of insulin in fat storage and muscle preservation. Insulin is the 'key' that unlocks cells so they can absorb nutrients from food. Without insulin, nutrients can't be stored, no matter the calorie count.

All Calories Are Not Created Equal

Picture a 500-calorie snack: it could be a few cookies or a steak. While both may have the same calorie count, they affect your body in completely different ways. Cookies cause a quick spike in blood sugar, leading to a surge in insulin, which promotes fat storage. You might get a brief energy boost, but it's often followed by a crash and increased hunger. Steak, on the other hand, provides protein and fat that keep you full longer, support steady energy, and help build muscle—all with minimal impact on insulin. Plus, steak delivers vital nutrients that cookies simply don't.

So, while 500 calories of cookies and 500 calories of steak may look the same on paper, they trigger unique hormonal responses that influence hunger, energy, and fat storage. Your body's response depends on nutrient composition, not just calorie count.

Let's use other units of measure.
  • Liter: 1 Litre of water compared to 1 litre of orange juice
  • Cup: 1 cup of ground beef compared to one cup of kale
  • Ounce: 1 ounce of ground beef compared to 1 ounce of kale
  • Handful: a handful of peanuts compared to a handful of candy

These comparisons are so obviously bad, that no one would even entertain them. Well, calories have been so widely accepted, that everyone believes in them like the gospel. But the reality is, they are just as useless to gauge nutrition, because, as mentioned earlier, they do not provide any relevant information about nutrients. None. Calories are just as useless as a unit as litre, cup, ounce, or handful.

Just as volume measurements like cups or ounces don't reveal a food's nutrient content, calories don't account for vital nutrients like protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Calories only measure the heat a food produces in a lab, not its actual nutritional value.

The "Calories Make You Fat" Trap: Fat Phobia at Its Worst

Many avoid fats simply because they're higher in calories than carbs, but fats don't raise insulin levels the way carbs do. Counting calories often drives people to fear fat because, gram for gram, fat is more "calorie-dense" than carbs or protein. So, people start cutting fat and increasing carbs to "stay within their calorie limit." Here's where that gets you into trouble: when you replace fat with carbs, you're giving your body a constant flow of glucose, which leads to regular insulin spikes. This keeps you in a fat-storing mode, not a fat-burning one. Meanwhile, you're still hungry and probably looking for your next low-fat snack in two hours. It's not fat that makes us gain weight; it's the body's hormonal response, particularly insulin.

The insulin model of weight gain shows us that fat, when combined with lower carb intake, doesn't send insulin through the roof, meaning you stay satisfied longer and store less fat. By reducing carbs and focusing on fats, you lower insulin response, helping your body stay in a fat-burning state instead of a fat-storing one.

And while avid dieters do everything to avoid fat, fructose has been the true villain. Fructose alone can drive obesity.

The Bottom Line: Count Nutrients, Not Calories

If calories were truly all that mattered, losing weight would be as easy as creating a "caloric deficit," regardless of food quality. But anyone who's actually tried to do that long-term will tell you it's unsustainable, frustrating, and just plain exhausting. Focus on natural fats from whole-food sources, like animal fats, and avoid seed oils, which are linked to inflammation and metabolic issues. This approach supports your body's needs, helps regulate hunger naturally, and frees you from endless calorie-counting.

If you're wondering whether change is possible, trust me—I've been there. I lost 120 pounds, reversed insulin-dependent diabetes, battled back from NASH, GERD, and stage 3a chronic kidney disease, and I'm still here, sharing what I've learned along the way. In August, I spoke at a Low Carb for Better Health in Tennessee, and next month, I'll be talking about sugar addiction at a Keto event in Austria. I know what it's like to feel like there's no hope, and now I help others find theirs at kendo-keto.com. You don't have to face this journey alone—there's a way forward.

Final thought

Your body isn't a calculator; it's a complex, beautiful system. Fuel it right, and you'll experience the difference.

Written by Roxana Soetebeer, MHP, PHC
Published October 26th, 2024

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