Is A Calorie Really A Calorie

Before reading this, it should be important to know that I am not a licenced physician or registered dietitian.  The following is just based on my own experiences and research.

In undergrad and grad school (both of which included courses in advanced nutrition) we were taught that the way to lose weight was burn more Calories than you take in.  It was that black and white.  No if’s, and’s, or but’s.  We were also told that long, slow distance was the best cardio method and that bodypart splits were the way to go also FYI.

But, before we go any further, lets take a look at what a Calorie really is.  A calorie (small c) is the amount of heat (energy) it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree celsius.  A Calorie (or Kilocalorie or big C) is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water 1 degree Celsius.  That Calorie (or Kcal as it is sometimes abbreviated) is how we show the amount of energy that is in the food we eat.

Bored Yet?

Food is typically given a Caloric rating by the amount of energy it is believed to contain.  This rating is based off of Bomb Calorimetry, which is basically where they burn the material to see how much energy it releases.

Here’s my first problem. 

Our digestive system doesn’t literally set the food on fire in our stomach (although, I just had the gluten free Atomic Mofo’ Burger at Scotty’s Brewhouse and I can assure you that my stomach might have been on fire at one point).  How can we compare the difference between burning a substance (sometimes referred to as oxidizing) and breaking it down via digestive enzymes?  I’ve done quite a bit of research and this is one question that is yet to be answered, and if that isn’t right, the whole thing isn’t right.  What about the food pyramid?

Here’s my second problem.

Government bias.  I know.  I know.  Trust me, I’m not one of those typical government conspiracy nut jobs.  But, with every recommendation that is out there for health and weight loss, I can’t help but think, “Who’s making money off this?”  Check out the model for the “updated” food pyramid:

Check it out! Six Steps to a healthier, fatter you!

In school and in every registered dietitians office, you’ll see the almighty food pyramid.  They all want us to eat 50 – 60% of our caloric intake from “complex” carbohydrates and the rest from fats and protein.  That’s what I was always taught.  Anyways, back to the UFO conspiracy part.  Look at the upper right hand corner.  It says MyPyramid.gov.  Yes, that’s a government website.  Look at the bottom right corner.  It says Source:  U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Check out this chart (If it’s hard to read, just double click on it):

Gee.  I wonder why they want us to eat so much grain?  Is it because that’s what we make the most money off of?  Ah – ha!  Here’s a link to the actual web page I got that from.

Ok, well if not Calories, then what?

I recently started reading Robb Wolf’s book:  The Paleo Solution.  A lot of it makes sense.  In the paleolithic era, contrary to popular belief, the humans were the same height they are now and some of them lived to be well into their sixties.  Keep in mind they had ZERO medical care.  Obesity and cancer were non-issues.  They ate meat and got their carbohydrate intake from fruits and veggies.  Make sense?  They didn’t eat man made food.  Here’s a link to some of the research on it.

For some anecdotal evidence, I’ve personally been eating this way for about a month now and have lost about 8 pounds (without trying to) and have still been strong.  Don’t believe me?  Check out my workout log.  I’ve had several other clients in the last month have great success with it as well.

It’s not a diet.  It’s just a healthier way of eating.

This is not an affiliate link or an advertisement for Robb’s book.  I am NOT making one penny off this.  I just think people should think a little bit before they put some sort of man – made, processed piece of crap in their mouth!

SDMF,

Jason

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