Diet Myths Revealed #2

Eating less will make you weigh less

Will eating less make you weigh less? The simple answer is NO.

It is a widespread belief that people who are overweight just need to eat less and exercise more. The idea that eating less will make you weigh less is based on so many assumptions. This idea leads to the thought that if you eat 500 fewer calories the body will give up 500 calories of fat, to make up the difference.This is the naivety and over simplified information used in the world of dieting today! The body does not exchange calories for fat.

For example, if an average person has a basal metabolic rate (BMR) requirement for 2000 calories a day (this is the number of calories the person would need if they were ill in bed all day just to survive), and say that they have a requirement for 500 additional calories if they are up and about.

This idea that a reduction of 500 calories will result in the body giving up 500 calories of fat assumes that neither the BMR requirement (2000 calories) nor the additional requirement (500 calories) change. 

However, both BMR and the additional requirement of calories will change. The person who eats less has less energy and they will likely do less additional activity that day, so they won’t go to the gym or walk to the shop,  they will be too tired. 

More importantly the body will reduce its maintenance for the day, it will save cell repair and building bone density for another day as there is not enough nutrition and food available, so it has cut back its functions. Cell repair is important for the maintenance of hair, skin and nails.

Look at it this way, if you stop flying tomorrow or you lose your job, you don’t automatically dip into savings, you cut your spending and the body does exactly the same. 

Eating less will not necessarily mean you will weigh less and in the meantime the health of your body is being damaged.

Diet Myths Revealed #1

Energy in equals energy out

When it comes to diet and exercise we have all heard the mantra “energy in equals energy out” just eat less and exercise more!

Diet "experts" even add the quote “we cannot change the laws of physics/the laws of the thermodynamics.”  But Is this what the laws of physics actually say?

This myth is fairly scientific, but if you can understand the mis-interpretations of these laws you will understand why so many diets based on calories DONT work if you wish for long term health and fat loss!

There are four laws of the thermodynamics, with only 2 laws that we apply to diet. The 2 laws we take into account are the first and  second laws, and neither of these say "energy in equals energy out".

The First Law 

"In a closed system, in thermal equilibrium, energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Energy can be changed from one form to another, but it shall be conserved."

HOWEVER, the human body is NOT a closed system and it is not in thermal equilibrium (although it is contstantly trying to achieve equilibrium). 

Therefore, we also need to consider the second law.

The Second Law - Entropy

Energy will be lost and energy will be used up in making available energy. We need to take both of these into account.

This second law is known as the law of common sense and this is the law that proves that a calorie is not a calorie!

For example, 

the energy it takes to make a carbohydrate available to the body for energy compared to the energy used up converting a protein to usable energy is substantially different. 

100 calories of carbohydrate eaten may make 93 calories of energy available to the body; 

100 calories of protein eaten may make only 70 calories of energy available 

That’s a significant advantage for dieters and helps to explain the effectiveness of low carbohydrate diets.

The Human Body is NOT a simple machine.

These ‘laws of physics' were developed during the industrial revolution to help understand if we could make a perfectly efficient steam engine. The laws were and are all about energy, not weight. 

The laws say nothing about weight being conserved – we jump between energy and weight as if they are the same in the world of dieting and so our conversions and assumptions are wrong.

The laws of thermodynamics were never intended to become the fundamental principles of dieting. They do have some relevance to dieting, but only when they are correctly applied and when all the caveats are taking into consideration.

There is simply no law that says energy in equals energy out. Even if there were, the corollary would surely be – less energy in equals less energy out! 

So energy in does NOT equal energy out.  Through this understanding we can start to tackle many of the diet myths to allow us to develop a better understanding of nutrition, food and how it affects out bodies. 

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