The idea of “Calories In” vs “Calories Out” has been the basis of diet culture. The abbreviated term CICO (calories in calories out) refers to the calories taken in compared to the amount of calories expended by the body. While the idea of consuming more calories can lead to weight gain and consuming less calories can lead to weight loss, it isn’t accurate in reality and is actually and oversimplification of nutrition. Many factors go into both calories taken in through the diet and expended by the body every day.
Calories In
We NEED to eat nutrient-dense foods to perform daily tasks and maintain basic functioning. Food can also help keep us disease free and help us recover. Additionally, food can help our microbiome flourish, fire our metabolism and help build muscle.
Calories Out
Many wearables and calorie calculators claim to be capable of predicting calorie output, however, they probably don’t take into consideration your genes, stress, hormone levels or everyday activities.
Our Basal Metabolic Rate uses calories as energy to keep the lights on and organs running.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) includes our everyday movements such as bending over to pick something up and folding laundry to activities even small movements like fidgeting.
Even metabolizing food uses calories to break down food into smaller, usable molecules.
Counting calories is like trying to budget your finances. You don’t know exactly how much money you’ll be making or spending in a given year. The same concept applies to counting calories. There are a multitude of factors that influence not only our body’s expenditure of energy, but also its intake of it. Even if you meticulously counted every calorie, you could never land on the exact number of calories your body expends because we don't absorb all calories we consume based on our gut bacteria and the availability of the food to be broken down by our unique biochemistry.
Focusing on controllable factors can lead to sustainable, bodily health.
