Everyone has heard of the calorie equation:<\/p>\n
calories in < calories out = weight loss<\/p>\n
calories in > calories out = weight gain<\/p>\n
We now know that as is often the case in nutrition, this was too much of a simplistic concept. You may have come across the statement that overeating 50 kcal\/day leads to a 5 lb weight gain over the course of a year. But can you really gauge your daily calorie intake exactly to 2,000 kcal\/day (or whatever your personal requirement is)? 50 kcal are less than one chocolate digestive. If such a small change had such a big impact, just eating 1,950 kcal a day would be sufficient to lose all the weight you wanted over time.<\/p>\n
The calorie content of food is established in labs by burning food and measuring the amount of energy released in the process. That\u2019s physics, and what goes on in the body once you have ingested your food is biology, biochemistry. What happens as food is burned for energy within the body is not the same as burning it in a lab, so calorie-counting is not really all that helpful.<\/p>\n
Many of us avoid nuts, eggs or avocados because of their fat content. The concept that eating fat makes us fat has been established for decades, but more and more research is now emerging that shows that dietary fat \u2013 not even saturated fat! \u2013 does not lead to weight gain.<\/p>\n
Energy from fat is difficult to store, as eating fat does not trigger the release of insulin \u2013 the fat-storage hormone. Only sugar and carbohydrates do that. So, when we eat fat, some of it is used for cell maintenance and repair, any excess is burned for energy. Carbohydrates will cause insulin spikes, and in the presence of insulin, excess sugar can be converted into fat and stored in fat cells. It is really carbs that cause weight gain, not fat.<\/p>\n
Further reading: David Ludwig \u2013 Always hungry? \u2013 Mark Hyman: Eat fat, get thin.<\/p>\n
Nutrition, clearly, has something to do with diet. And \u2018diet\u2019 with calorie-counting. But you are slim and healthy, maybe even athletic. Why would you worry about nutrition?<\/p>\n